On a recent edition of the “Insight” podcast, wrestler-turned-Hollywood actor John Cena recalled meeting former AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) at the premiere of The Iron Claw this past December.
Cena talked to MJF about possibly working for WWE during their brief interaction.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On meeting MJF: “The whole totality of the thing is, I knew he was going to be there. I don’t think the old me would have associated with him just because of how WWE I was. I still am WWE, but there is room for competition, and competition is great. Just because I wear the company brand, doesn’t mean you’re a bad performer. Sports entertainment is a finicky business, and there is a lot of chances to make moments. This is one of their top performers from AEW and I don’t know if I’m going to be the target of a moment, I’m just going to support a friend in a movie. He couldn’t have been nicer or more cordial. We meet each other, I got pulled away to take some pictures, and then we got pulled away to do everything else before I even got to him. I said, ‘Hold on, give me two minutes.’ I shook his hand, I said, ‘Man, I’m so sorry. Excuse my ignorance, I didn’t know what to expect from you today. You are a class act. I can’t believe you’re as professional as you are, that’s just my ignorance, I’m sorry I had that judgment. I want to thank you for being so special. Thanks for making my night.’”
On telling MJF about playing for “the right team one day”: “Then, we got back, and I was able to talk to him more. ‘Maybe we can get you to play for the right team one day,’ and all that. There is no denying the fact that he’s doing good work. I don’t think I should ignore that. Honestly, I was floored by his professionalism. It would have been an easy target, at a wrestling movie premiere, to have yourself a moment. We did have a moment, and it was one the internet paid attention to, and it was one where I was hoping that this person I met, I could once bet on. ‘If we just get you over here, that’d be awesome,’ but it was great. It was great to meet a professional, classy, driven young man.’”
MJF is on a hiatus following his loss to Samoa Joe at AEW Worlds End 2023.
