MVP Reflects On First Meeting With Fellow AEW Star & Hurt Syndicate Member MJF

MJF joining The Hurt Syndicate came as a shock to many AEW fans, especially those who instead predicted that Ricochet would've aligned himself with the faction instead. However, according to THS spokesperson, MVP, he personally has a history with Friedman and recently recalled the first time he met the former AEW World Champion and the impression he made on the veteran.

"Lot of people don't know, he – I met him in the North East when he was 18/19 – and I was going to do a House of Hardcore show for Tommy Dreamer in the ECW arena," MVP claimed during an episode of his "Marking Out" podcast. The veteran further explained that he wanted to see a documentary screening in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and when he asked around, he was told that a kid – MJF – offered to drive him there. "He was there, early, to pick me up at the hotel, we drove to Asbury Park together, and we watched the screening together, we hung out, we had a few drinks, we ate, we rode back."

MVP further recalled that Friedman was very inquisitive about the pro wrestling industry, and explained that it wasn't necessarily the fact that he was being asked questions, but how insightful the questions, themselves, were. "As a vet who had been around, I quickly picked up, like, this kid's sharp," he noted. "He wasn't just asking questions to try and impress me, like, he really was asking insightful business questions. (...) I was really impressed by where he was coming from; he already was understanding the business of professional wrestling."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Marking Out" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.