Swerve Strickland Is 'Proud' Of AEW Star MJF

While they might not have crossed paths in AEW just yet, Swerve Strickland and MJF have known each other for several years having wrestled each other in places like DEFY and Wrestling REVOLVER. Since those days on the independent circuit, both men have gone on to become two of the biggest names in wrestling today, with Maxwell Jacob Friedman even crossing over into the world of acting by appearing in movies like "Happy Gilmore 2." Strickland was asked about potentially crossing over into acting by Chris Van Vliet during a recent appearance on the "Insight" podcast, which led to Strickland admitting that he is immensely proud of what MJF has done with his career.

"He's like a workhorse at what he's doing, doing both [wrestling and acting], like leaving set to come be on TV and get bloodied up by Mark Briscoe," Strickland said. "Go to Mexico, then do Mexico and like the pay-per-view, I'm like 'Dude, oh my God.' Like shout out to him, he's another one that's like bridging the gap as well for the next generation of like, the crossover star you know? Shout out to him. He's another one I was like–I was wrestling him when he was 18, when he was 17, 18, I knew him since then, and he was another one like you look at him like 'This guy's got it. This guy's got it.' To see what he's doing, I'm not surprised, but I'm still always like proud of it, and I tell him that all the time."

MJF is currently away from the ring due to his hectic acting schedule, but he is reportedly set to appear at the WrestleCade convention this weekend, a rare appearance for the former AEW World Champion as he doesn't do wrestling-related appearances while he's away from the ring. Whether that means he will be back in AEW soon remains to be seen, but he has reportedly finished filming his role for another movie, meaning that an AEW return could be on the horizon.

Please credit "Insight" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.