MJF Says Characters Make Cash In Pro Wrestling, Not Flips
There is an old saying, 'if it isn't broke, don't fix it.' AEW fastest rising star MJF applies that saying to his craft. He has found a way to get under fans skin with ease and has an old school approach to in-ring work. MJF was recently on the Talk Is Jericho podcast and spoke about his approach.
"There is a lot of guys on our roster that can do their 'flippy dos,' and their cool little moves and that's cute," MJF exclaimed. "That doesn't create cash. What creates cash is controversy, what creates cash is characters. When I say characters, I'm not saying I'm portraying anyone, because I'm being myself 110 percent of the time. When I say characters, I say someone that creates intrigue, someone that takes you to the edge of your seat, that you have to listen to.
"When I was on the independents, I got to work the top tier indies. But a lot of the fans would be upset saying, 'He doesn't know how to do a 450-shooting star press, he doesn't know how to wrestle.' Listen dipsh-t, I can do that all day long. But at the end of the day, I'm coming to get the winners purse. Now, I do not care if you like what I do in the ring. Bell to bell, what I'm worried about is getting the 'W'."
MJF adapts his style form the old school era of professional wrestling. He knows he doesn't need to do high flying maneuvers t captivate the crowd.
"When I was growing up, I was a huge fan of the characters," MJF stated. "I was always drawn to the characters, the people who could grab me buy the balls with a mic in their hand. To me, Piper is the greatest of all time. Ever since I was a kid, I always knew this is what I wanted to do. I was always a freak athlete and had the gift of gab.
"I love old school wrestling. I watch Smokey Mountain, old school WCW tapes, Mid-South, AWA, Global, I watch all of it. Because to me, that is when everyone got it, that is when everyone understood how we are supposed to do what we do. But, it makes my life easier, everyone is out there breaking their necks, getting CTE and I'm making a chunk of cash by just being me."
Being one of if not the fastest rising star in professional wrestling has given MJF many opportunities. This includes his first trip to Mexico, where the vibrant young talent learned about getting heat on a much different level.
"It was interesting," MJF mused. "When I was done being amazing, finish the promo, the match, five-stars duh, I'm sure Melzer is somewhere touching himself, whatever, I exit the ring and a fan decides to start jaw jacking with me. I get into his face and out of nowhere, some beer gets thrown on me. But, the beer was warm and it smells, that is when I realize it is not beer, it was urine."
Despite having bodily fluid thrown on him, MJF does not plan to change. In fact, it seems to make him more driven to anger fans and generate greater heat.
"I just really like pissing people off, it is funny to me" MJF admitted. "Because I do know I'm better than all of these people. You paid a ticket to see me, you wanna talk trash, it is cute because the only reason you are sitting in that stupid seat, with your fold upon fold of fat is that you paid for a ticket to see MJF in action. So please get upset, at the end of the day I'm getting paid whether you want to jump the guard rail, spit on me, throw stuff at me, your getting sued. Because guess what, I have connections and I'm just going to get more cash as if I need it."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Talk Is Jericho with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.