MJF

[Prime Time]

Overheard that Cornette is very high on MJF, and thought I'd share this little nugget as it's a direct quote.

'MJF is the best promo in the business today.'

Anyway, one of the people I've seen getting praise from pretty much all sides in recent weeks so I thought he might warrant a thread. Sounds like one to watch. Discuss.

[mizfan]

Absolutely love the guy. Reminds me of the Miz in all the best ways, but is distinct as his own character and really owns his performances, physically as well as on the mic. Great understanding of the heel role, super witty but also very willing to "show ass" or play the fool when appropriate. The sky could very well be the limit with this guy.

[Degenerate]

I first heard of MJF on Stone Cold's podcast, and he came off great there. That promo skirmish at the end of that episode was just gold. His skits on Being The Elite have been really fun as well, especially the segments with Brandi Rhodes.

I still haven't seen much of him wrestling but for someone like him that would just be a secondary skill to cultivate. Considering the dude just turned 23 years old, there's just insane potential for him to get better in all aspects.

[mizfan]

One cool thing about MJF is he brings so much of his character into the match that he really doesn't have to be the kind of hyper-athlete that many other guys are these days. Here's one of my favorite matches from MJF I've seen so far, from last year against another great young talent in Fred Yehi:

[Prime Time]

I keep seeing this guy's name mentioned, it's like he's picking up huge momentum without ever really being in a high profile spot.

[mizfan]

So far he's gotten over big in AEW with top notch character and promo work. It's not clear if he's going to be position in a top slot right away but he's already the next closest thing and I think he's only going to continue to climb.

[Prime Time]

The only criticism I hear about this guy is that he isn't on TV enough. They could probably do with keeping some of their matches a bit shorter to allow people like this a time to get on screen and establish themselves a little more.

[Powder]

MJF is arguably the best promo on TV right now. He is that f'n good.

No idea if he can go in the ring, but he is captivating on the mic.

[mizfan]

In the ring he's more like Cody than Omega, he's not a workrate or hyper-athletic guy but he's good at working his character into his actions and telling a story in the ring, which is what I'm looking for most in a wrestling right now. I think he should be a weekly feature on Dynamite.

[Powder]

I just love this kid, MJF. He gets the business better than some who have been veterans for 15+ years. Now I have not seen him wrestle, except for a few times on AEW, and he will get better in the ring, but he just understands the business side. The performance side, the character side.

This was his reply on twitter after AEW announced that MJF will take on Jungle Boy this Wednesday.

“Two ‘Cody guys’. Except one of them was smart enough to realize Cody is fake. You know what isn’t fake, Jack? That after I out wrestle you, out class you and physically harm you on @AEWrestling… Cody won’t be there for you. He doesn’t like broken toys,” he tweeted.

Just brilliant. This kid has such a huge upside.

[mizfan]

At this point I'd happily take a character driven MJF match over any number of super workrate classics. Really interested to see what he can do with Jungle Boy.

[PEN15v2]

Agreed. Wrestling has gone so GD workrate focused, that people forget how to be a character. MJF is very good, and better than my next statement will give him credit for. But it's easy for him to stand out when he's one of the few who has that charisma and character ideas. It's why it's a perfect fit with Cody's angle, as both work the story and character more than the match.

[mizfan]

For me they could work a match of nothing but punches, kicks, and stalling, and as long as it felt hot and told a good story I would be perfectly happy.

[Oliver]

That would be outstanding as a match, I feel. MJF already has enough heat that him stalling will get a strong reaction. Cody going after him full throttle and just making it into a fist fight as opposed to a 'wrestling' match fits with the angle.

Yeah, I'd like that. You probably end it with MJF walking out and taking a count out loss or with Cody getting too hot headed and MJF getting the DQ win so that the feud continues for a bit longer.

[PEN15v2]

"how to deliver classic old school booking to workrate fans" by Oliver.

I'd read it.