Insight with Chris Van Vliet - MJF's Most Honest Interview Ever: CM Punk Feud, WWE Rumors, Dream Matches, AEW Champ, Getting Married

Episode Date: February 12, 2026

MJF (@The_MJF) is a professional wrestler signed to AEW and the reigning World Champion. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Las Vegas, NV to discuss winning the AEW World Title for a second time and how this reign is different from his first, how he defied the odds to make it in professional wrestling, how much interest there really was from WWE, his rivalry with CM Punk, starring in Happy Gilmore 2 with Adam Sandler and beating up Eminem in the movie, why his scene from The Iron Claw was cut, his ultimate dream match, and more! Please support our sponsors: HELIX SLEEP: Flash sale! Go to https://helixsleep.com/cvv for 27% off sitewide! BEAM: Go to https://shopbeam.com/INSIGHT and use code INSIGHT for up to 40% off Beam’s Dream Powder DELETEME: Use the code INSIGHT to get 20% off your DeleteMe plan at https://joindeleteme.com/INSIGHT PURE PLANK: The future of core fitness! Use the code CVV to save 10% on Pure Plank designed by Adam Copeland & Christian: https://gopureplank.com/cvv SEAT GEEK: Use my code for 10% off your next SeatGeek order*: https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/CVV Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount NORDVPN: Exclusive deal! https://nordvpn.com/cvv Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! PRIZEPICKS: Download the PrizePicks app today and use code INSIGHT to get $50 bonus credit in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup! For more information about Chris and INSIGHT go to: https://chrisvanvliet.com If you have ever enjoyed any of these episodes, could I ask you to please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcast or Spotify? It takes less than a minute and makes a huge difference in helping to spread the word about the show and also to convince some hard-to-get guests. Follow CVV on social media: Instagram: instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Twitter: twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet YouTube: youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet TikTok: tiktok.com/@Chris.VanVliet Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chris. Well, great to see you again, Max. I got to tell you, kid, this is very official. How long you've been doing this? A little while. A little while? Very cool. This is full circle, right?

Because our first interview together was seven years ago here in Las Vegas, and here we are back in Vegas. Come again? The double or nothing, the first show we did? I've never met you before. This is definitely the first time I've done this. I mean, it's cute. I'm not, it's like, it's a little rinky dink, you know?

You got these like $25 Amazon, stage lights, but I, you know, you got, you got different camera angles. It's, you know, you might have something here, but I, yeah, there, there's no way. I mean, you're saying we've met before. Do I, do I look different maybe? I feel like, yeah, I just, I don't, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, Chris. Chris. M.J.F. Great to me. You sure already knew that. CVV. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, no, no, no. It's only one guy in this interview has three letters. That's it. No. It's MJF and you're Chris. Chris.

Chris. Well, we have done this before. I just haven't seen you in a while. I don't remember that. You've been really busy. Yeah. Movie star, world champion. Greatest wrestler on God's Green Earth.

I'm busy boy. I will say that you are a man of your word. Yeah. Because you said that we would do another interview when you were the AEW champion and here you are. I don't remember any of that. But it sounds like me. You know, when I set a goal about 100,

And 10% of the time I achieve it. For example, when I was five years old, I was on the Rosie O'Donnell show, and I said I was going to be a professional wrestler. And here we are. You said opera singer? Yeah. Or professional wrestler. I'd say one out of two ain't bad, but to be fair, to be fair, I was told to say opera

singers for the cameras. That was not something I had any interest in whatsoever. What do you remember from that day with Rosie O'Donnell? She was a big woman, and she smelled. Outside of that, I was given Shrekier. WWF restaurant tickets. The restaurant shut down before I could go, which was typical Rosie Old Donald.

I want something. I want money, something. And I was given a lot of strawberry Dunkin' Donuts, which that was my mom must have told her those were my faves because they were at the time. It's so interesting that at five years old, you're saying, I want to be a wrestler. Yeah.

Was that when the goal started? It's all I've ever wanted to be, that and an actor, truly since I was a young, young, young boy. And I don't know, man, there's always just been something about me when you tell me I can't do something. I imagine nine out of ten people, maybe 9.999 out of 10 people would be like, all right. and I just, ever since I was little, that's just not something I can relate to. I was born with a chip on my shoulder, like the size of Antarctica.

Like, it's just, it's ingrained in my DNA. Why, I don't know. It just is. So if you tell me I can't, I do. So you're the type of person, if I tell you, you can't do it, you look for a way to make it happen. Yes, I look for a way to make it happen.

I live on spite and hate. It drives me, truly. I'd love to sit here and pretend like I'm just saying that for the cameras like no it's a very real thing and I don't know if it has to do with my upbringing or what but

I think I've been driven to go down as legitimately one of the all-time greats simply because people wanted to deny a dream at what point in your life do you feel like people were trying to deny this oh my got in my entire childhood

up into up until the time I was 18, you know, pro wrestling right now is pretty, pretty hot. It's white hot, you know, between us and WWE and Impact, and there's a lot of great independence now. Like, it's, when I was a kid, it was a cold, a bit of a cold period. Like, Sina, Sina was, didn't get the ball exactly yet. You saw a lot of tarp and drape. You know what I mean?

So, like, people in my friend's circle and I would bring it up, it was something to be made fun of for. Having, being severely neurodivergent and having probably the world's worst attention deficit disorder, which I still have to this day. But I've learned, I've learned how to use it. Didn't help. That caused a lot of bullying in school. Being Jewish certainly caused a ton of anti-Semitic bullying in school. coaches because I was on the smaller side, especially when I was younger,

didn't expect me to be able to excel in sports. Teachers didn't expect me to be much of anything in the classroom. So I pretty much just had doors slammed in my face from the time I was born all the way until the time I jumped into this. And then when I jumped into this, it got even worse because I busted my ass to do. become a like a legitimate premier athlete in high school that had multiple division one scholarship offers what sport football i was a middle linebacker i broke the record in tackling in my high school

i was an all-state middle linebacker at at the time five nine which was unheard of but again that's because people looked at me and they said oh you're jewish and you're short this isn't going to happen i was like okay i'll fucking bite i will bite people if that means i'm tackling them to the ground because you just said that, right? If you have the ball, I'm going to hurt you. And then when I entered wrestling, I'm a loud dude. I'm unapologetic about how great I know I am.

And people don't care for that. People like Humble. I think Humble boards me. Humble doesn't feel right to me. Humble to me has always been worse than being cocky. I'm honest about what I think about myself. Every time somebody goes, I'll watch,

interviews with famous athletes and they're like, oh, it's the team. And they're the ones that threw up 50 points in the game. Is it the team, bro? Like, you're annoying me. Just be honest. You're carrying them to the promised land. No different than how I'm carrying AEW, the promised land. Since I've won that championship, ticket sales, up, ratings, up, intrigue, up.

The level of competition in the world title scene, up. we're hot right now, man. People are talking about all-el-leet wrestling in a very positive way. And there was a period of time there where everybody was talking, restore the feeling, restore the feeling. I am the feeling.

I'm the feeling. I'm the face. I'm the main character. I'm MJF. When people think of AEW, they think of me. And the reason I have a chip on my shoulder when I say that, and the reason I'm not going to be humble about it is because people constantly want to deny me. of what I've accomplished in this sport.

And you can't do that because I'm a proven draw. I'm a proven top act. I'm a movie star. I'm a top guy. I've had some of the greatest matches, moments, promos, rivalries in the modern era,

hell, probably in the history of the sport. And I do all of that because I think some people chase the hug. That's not why I do it. I think what I'm chasing is vindication and validation for the child that was told, who do you think you are? Probably.

For a lot of people, it's just having a wrestling match. It's just getting signed somewhere. That's not enough for me. If I don't have... One will it ever be enough? Oh, I don't know. I swear, you know, I actually...

I've had this conversation before, whether it be a therapist, my wife, good, close personal friends, I think in order to be a top guy in this industry, you have to have an insatiable need of success. Like, when I'm at home, there's no turning it off. When I'm at home, if I'm watching a movie or a TV show and inspiration hits, it is what it is.

I'm grabbing my notes app and I'm writing out, you know, ideas for ways I can verbally or physically fillet someone. So what's your notes app look like? It's, it's terrifying. It is, it is, there is probably the best promo or insults you've ever heard about your favorite wrestler in there.

Like, name the wrestler, it's in there. Regardless of what promotion they're in. But I know I'm not alone. I know that all the tippy top guys in the industry think like me because I've talked to them about it. And when you talk to other guys that have not been gotten to the level

that I've gotten to in this sport, they think I'm crazy. And maybe I am. But I think you have to be crazy like a fox to be in the position that I've gotten myself in before I even hit 30. What's this version of you look like compared to the version of you who first won that AEW championship in 2022? I was a child. I was, I was immature. I wasn't ready. I was ready to talk the talk. And at moments I walked the walk. But I slipped and I fell. And I had a long cry over it as opposed to picking myself up, dusting myself off, and going,

no, no, I'm still the best. Nobody's better than me in the ring. Nobody's better than me. Blow for blow on the mic. Nobody's better than me outside of the square. Like, that's me. That's not just MJF. That's Max Friedman talking.

Like, I, I've been doing this for over a decade now. I've been doing it since I was 18 years old. I got signed to my first contract at 19 with MLW. Then I got signed. I had an opportunity to either go to WWE or AEW when I was 22. I went to All-Leet wrestling. And during this entire time span, I've proven over and over again that I'm the most complete professional wrestler in the world.

There was three months that, thankfully now, when I look back on them, I could laugh. I could not laugh when I was. Adam Cole broke his ankle. I could not laugh when my friend betrayed me. I could not laugh when my left hip and my left shoulder were essentially jello pudding. I could not laugh when people went from talking about me as being the guy to talking about me as being the problem. And it took a lot of hard work, a lot of effort, and a lot of shining a mirror up to wrestling fans' faces. and going, oh shit.

No, he is everything he said he was. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that those three months didn't suck a bag in donkey dicks. They did, Chris. But I feel what I've done now has more than made up for it. What I've done for the whole span of my career has more than made up for it. And I'm noticing now people are talking about me in the same reverence that they did before those three months. You already mentioned it. You're not even 30 yet. No.

You turn 30 next month in March. Yes. How would you encapsulate your 20s? How would you describe your 20s? I can't sit here and pretend I wasn't the fastest and youngest rising star, probably in the history of the business. If I did, I'd be full of shit. What I would... My 20s put me on the map and made me a genuine household name, which...

A lot of the time, if you want to be a household name in pro wrestling, people don't think of those three letters. They think of WWE. I've proven that's not the case. By being in the most streamed movie of all time. By having Violent Night 2 where I have a huge role in that's coming out in December of this year, by doing stranglehold, by being an executive producer and Iron Claw. I get stopped wherever I go.

you know who else does whether I like it or not Heyman Adam Page Swerve Strickland Kenny Omega John Moxley Samoa Joe and now if I'm now if we're just naming the guys that haven't ever worked for WWE that I've become household names

just based off of those three letters you have me Darby Will Osprey Hangman again we're changing the narrative now am I the biggest star out of all the homegrown stars yeah it's not even close I mean, people talk about me in the same reverence as top acts across the board in this sport, right?

I have Hollywood is, I'm getting auditions left and right, and there's a lot of interest there. And there's interest there because of what I've done on this platform, because our platform matters. And our platform is an incredible alternative. And it's not taking anything away from WWE. So what I would say to a WWE fan who, you don't even have to necessarily be disdemeable. enfranchised by your company that you call your home base being WWE. If you've not watched us yet, I truly don't understand what you're waiting for. I feel that we make gourmet food and we work very hard.

I think our pay-per-views are the best. It's not even close. I think our matches are the best. And we have the best promo guy in the business who's sitting right here. So if you've not watched our product before and you're watching, watching this interview. We're on at Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on TBS and HBO Max. We're on Saturdays on TNT and HBO Max at 8 p.m. Both Eastern Standard Time. Give us a watch. And if you don't want to give us a watch because you somehow feel indebted to one company, A, that's that's really

you're weird. And B, I feel bad for you because you're missing out on me. And that is, that is the biggest crime of them all. Do you think you're the best wrestler to never wrestle on WWE? Yeah, it's not even close. It's not even close. Before me, the answer would have been Sting. And then he wrestled there.

Sure. The point is now... Kenny Omega? No, stop it. I love Kenny to death. If you put our names into a search engine, I can assure you more people

are looking my name up than his. Now, is he going to go down as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time? Yes. But that's not the question. you just asked me. The question you just asked me is outside of the wrestling bubble. Kenny Omega's done some awesome voiceover work. He's been involved in some massive video games,

but he's not MJF. And by the way, that's no shade. I'm sure people are going to try to clip this and make it seem like I'm talking shit about Kenny Omega. Kenny Omega's great. I've talked about Kenny Omega's great miss when we wrestled on collision a couple years ago. I can't say enough nice things about Kenny Omega. But he's no MJF. Who is? In 2014, when the bidding war was happening, when your contract with AEW was coming to an end,

how much interest was there from WWA? You know the answer. There was a lot. You know, I had some nice calls with some nice folks who are high up on the chain and they were interested in me. They're still very much so interested in me. And I understand why.

But I am, for all my fault, one thing I am not is unprofessional. If you put a contract in front of me with the right amount of money, I'm going to do this. I'm going to broadcast how important those three letters are. Those three letters are just as important as these. Because you're paying me to say that. Now, do I believe it's true?

You'll never know. And that's the beauty of it. No matter what promotion I'm working for, I'm going to shamelessly shill what's going on. That's the beauty. Now, can I look in the camera and say, I really do believe everything I've said prior to this? Yes, I can.

But they'll never know. And that's the thing about you. That's the beauty of it. We never know. You'll never know. Can I pay you a compliment? I love compliments. I think you are so good on the mic

to the level that I think your wrestling is underrated as a result of it. Yeah. I think that people overlook your wrestling because you're so great on the mic. Yeah, I think, especially in my 20s, I was very tactical about when I'd wrestle.

I was very, very, very, um, assured that if I was able to kind of make my opponents chase me, by the time we got in that ring, they'd be tired out. And it worked. I mean, I was the longest-raining AEW world champion of all time, the youngest AEW world champion of all time, the most successful title defenses of all time.

But now as I sit here at 29, I'm feeling fine. And I'm at this point where I really want to prove I am genuinely, I'm the best in the ring, bell to bell. People already know I'm the best on the mic. That point's moot. I'm the best in the ring. Nobody's better than me in the ring. Not Kenny Omega, not John Moxley, not hangman, not swerve,

not Will Osprey whenever he gets his stupid, fucked up neck fixed. Andrade. Nobody. And I'm having fun proven that. I proved that when I came back and I defeated Samoa Joe swerve and hangman

all in one fell swoop. I proved that when I beat Bandito. And I'm going to prove that when I defeat Brody King. I'm here now to prove nobody can touch me inside that squared circle

or on this microphone. Noah's Flander butts. You know, it's hard to believe that it's already been over a month since John Cena's final match. And I'm grateful to say that I was able to be there in person in D.C. with some amazing tickets from Seatgeek. And I want to give a huge shout out to Seat Geek for sponsoring this episode. With over 35 million downloads, Seatgeek is the number one rated ticketing app. There are more than 70,000 events listed on Seatgeek, including concerts,

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The United States Soccer Federation present the U.S. Soccer Podcast. My name is David Goss, and I'm joined by my co-host, Megan Clemenberg. And now we're giving people an inside look at the World Cup. Times ticking. I think you can feel the intensity. All the guys are wanting to really take their claimant. And they want to be on that World Cup roster. There's no doubt. about it. Hosting the World Cup on the home soil comes with its pressures, but we're just really excited just as the people are. The U.S.

Soccer podcast, presented by Hencoe. Follow and listen on your favorite platform. Give me your top five MJF matches. Of all time? Yeah. Brian Danielson, Iron Man match, CM Punk Dog Collar match. Um,

I'm going to throw MJF versus Hangman at Revolution. I believe that was last year. Darby versus me, full gear, we were the opening match and this is where it gets hard. Yeah. And I will throw in the mystical match as well. And then

we can do this all day. I can do a top 50 because I've had but I think those are the ones that when people think about my career that'll come up, the match against Kenny Omega on collision also like you know, like these things can be swapped and switched. The match against Somo Joe at Grand Slam was insanity. My match with Adam Cole in front of 82,000 people,

we pretty much broke the sound barrier that night. It was absurd. It was like the loudest I've ever. My ears hurt. Both of my matches with Will Osprey. But the difference between me and somebody who you asked this question to, I get frustrated naming these matches because I didn't win all of them. Sure, they were great and they were entertaining,

but I didn't win all of them, and that pisses me off. I want a good amount of them that I said, but not all of them. Do you have like an overarching way that you think about wrestling now that you're in it, 10 years in? Yeah. What is it? I think the worst thing you can do is watch what everyone else around you is doing. I think a lot of people, especially in my generation,

are all talking and wrestling, the exact same way. And it bores me. I'm bored. Grow up. Watch something. What's old as new. Watch the territories.

Watch Memphis. Watch Mid-South. Watch Crockett. Watch world class. Watch Portland. Just, Jesus. It feels like, to be honest, the reason why I love my company so much

is I feel like there's so many different flavors of ice cream. But when I watch wrestling across the board, I can almost guess what's going to happen, which is not good. I don't like that. I don't care for that. How do you think the wrestling now compares the wrestling when you grew up? Listen, I think you're always going to look at things with rose-colored glasses. Yeah, nostalgia is a hell of a drug. Yes.

Like, for example, I loved Sampunk growing up, and now if he was dying in front of me, I'd do nothing but laugh. So, like, the things that you loved as a child are not going to be things that you love now. I think the style of professional wrestling has changed immensely. But that happens after every decade. At one point in time, they thought Harley Race was like a clown. They were like, this guy wrestles like a buffoon. Why is he doing all of these things? This is dumb.

If somebody wrestled like Harley Race today, people would be like, like, this is tame. What's going on? Why is this plotting and slow? Whereas I love Harley Race matches. Don't get me wrong. I like CM Punk matches, too. I just think he's a piece of shit.

So, like, the sport evolves, much like how football, the way they run plays now, and the way a defense has to check audibles and the way a free safety is now is now utilized as opposed to the way they were in the 80s and the 90s,

it's an entirely different game. Basketball's played differently. It's a three-point game now. When I was growing up, people were going hard in the paint. Like, you look at a guy like Shaq, for example. That was before my time. But you look at a guy like Shaq, for example,

like the magic dominated. I think if you put that exact team with him and Penny, like, now, I don't know how they do. Because it's a three-point game. The game's changed. the way the game works has changed. Now, I'm a raging traditionalist. I approach my opponents

in a very old school manner to get the W. I'm not looking to be flashy. If something flashy happens, it's because I see an opening to take my opponent out in a unique way. But outside of that, I'll pull your hair, I'll bite your face,

I'll scratch your eyes, I'll do whatever I have to do to win. And I think that's been lost a little bit. bit on my generation. How old were you in that now famous photo when you're a kid meeting CM Punk? I believe it was the year after my bar mitzvah. So I would have either been, yeah, I would have been, I think I was just turning 14. I think I was just turning 14.

So he was your guy growing up. Entirely my guy, yeah. So fast forward, 10 plus years later. Yeah. You're in the ring, toe to toe. Yeah. cutting promos with him. Yeah, it's verbally undressed him.

But it's like you had met your match. Match. No, no. I mean, watch the tape. Watch the tape. You tell me who got the better of who verbally during that entire rivalry. I go online also and like,

I'm really, I hope he's able to enjoy what he's accomplishing over there. I have no idea because the things that he said in my company do go against the things that he's saying now. Some people might say that's hypocritical. That's not my place. All I know is,

since I've jumped into pro wrestling, I've been saying the same thing since the jump. My tune has not changed. I'm Maxwell Jacob Friedman, and I'm better than you and you know it. I also won't sit here and lie to you and tell you that I didn't learn so much through my hatred of that man. I learned, I learned the difference between good and great.

That's what I learned. Now, do I like them? Again, I'll reiterate. No, I wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire to put that fire out. But I'm not going to sit here and pretend I didn't learn from him. So what's the difference between good and great? The difference between good and great is this. Good means you can get away with slipping.

up means fans won't freak out if you do something that's even lower than perfect. Great means if you mess up in any capacity, if you stumble, if you backpedal, you're horrible. That's what that's the curse of being great. I learned that from him. I learned that from Cody. And it's something that I've gotten to take with me. and it's made me a better professional wrestler. I don't get to do what everybody else does.

That's mediocre. Where if a mediocre guy has a good night, it's, did you see that mediocre guy this week? That was crazy. When MJF has a good night, it's, yeah, whatever. That's normal. Do you still keep in touch with Cody? Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah. Look, I'm not sitting here without Cody Rhodes. Cody Rhodes booked me for All In, which got me in front of Tony Con, which got me signed to a contract. Like Punk, I hope whatever he's doing, he's happy right now. And it, I mean, you would think he would be.

You would think he would be. So when you say you were close to, it was either signing with AEW or signing with WW. I wouldn't say, are we referencing when I was an MLW and it was time to make a choice? Yes. I wouldn't say I was close.

So I'm a, The version of pro wrestling that I love doesn't exist. Now it does, but it didn't exist. The only option I had was WWE. Until I got older and I heard about Ring of Honor and I heard about PWG and evolve and so on and so forth, right? When I talked to Tony Kahn for the first time, we were on the phone together for two hours,

two hours with a kid who was 22 turning 23. and all we did was discuss the territories and our love of territory professional wrestling. It was a no-brainer for me. I know I would have been successful if I went over there. I know I'd be successful if I go over there now. That's why they're still interested in me. I respect what they're doing.

I respect their product. I know that they respect our product because they've about a million times tried to counter-program us, slash us any way they can, hurt us anyway they can. which by the way, I've said it before and I'll say it again. That's smart business. Try to kill me. Try to kill me before I kill you.

It's fucking smart. I'm not going to take that away from them. But like, I knew I would have a better opportunity and I would be given more of a leash. Now there's no leash at all because I'm just stupidly over and I just do whatever the hell I want. But I know I'd be given more of a leash based on the way my now boss was talking about

what his vision is for professional wrestling. You feel like, and I hear this all the time, if MJF went over there, I'm already annoyed at Twitter because somebody's going to make it seem like I was shitting on Cody or punk or WWE when I've literally sat here and whatever.

It is what it is. You're right. That's the fun of the app. And I'll just go on there and I'll just probably make it even worse. You see this all the time of like, oh, if MJF went over to WWE, he wouldn't be MJF.

It just wouldn't be the same. It's funny. So I see both. I see both. All I know is when I go online now, thank God in 2026, it's been a really like, people are talking about me in the same reverence that, as I said, as they did prior to the chicanery, right? I also still see WWE fans, the same fans that in 2023 that were like, you.

like he's gonna jump and it's gonna be huge and I can't wait. And when I stayed here, those same fans are going, well, we didn't, we didn't want them anyway. I don't even fucking like MJ, yeah. You know what I mean? And it's like, it's cute, I get it.

It's like you asked the hottest girl out to prom and she denied you and now you're hot about it. Like, that's okay, it's fine. Like, I'm 29. I don't know what's gonna happen. Do I think I'm gonna stay here? If I'm being really honest with you, Chris, I do. I think this is my company.

I'm proud to be a part of AEW. I'm proud to put this company on my back. My job right now, ticket sales, ratings, renewal. That's my job. With how busy you are, you've been in so many movies recently, you're the AEW champion. Do you think about how much longer you want to wrestle? No, because I'm young.

The idea hasn't even entered my head. Like, when I was watching that John Cena retirement or the AJ Stiles retirement, like I was Like Cina's got 20 years on you Yes that's the thing So does Cody So to see him punk So does L.A. Knight

So does Jay Huso So does essentially every top guy Roman All these dudes are 40s to 50 Right And I'm 29 So like Yeah I do think it's silly

To even go there To oh when am I going to hang them up I'm a baby You know what I mean? Now, I'm a top act and it's very rare for somebody my age, if ever, to be in the situation that I'm in. But I'm also very cognizant of the fact that, like, I'm just getting started. Like, I'm, I don't know what my prime is going to be. I don't think I'm going to have a prime.

I think I'm just going to be great for at least the next 20 to 20 to 30 years. I mean, and it's crazy to say that. that out loud because when you hear 20, 30 years, you're like, oh, that's a lot of time. 30s, 40s, 50s. Yeah. It's all ahead of me. It's all ahead of the viewers. And I personally feel that year over year, I've only evolved and gotten better.

And I'm very curious to see what I look like as a wrestler when I'm 35, when I'm 45, or when I'm 50. Well, congrats on everything. Also, congrats in your personal life. You're a married man now. You don't have a wedding ring? So here's the deal. Okay. When she's not around, I don't like to wear it.

And you are in Las Vegas. There you go. She's great, though. Like, I'll, let me put her over. I never put her over. She's really hot. I think she looks like a sexier, younger, like, you know Cindy Crawford?

Of course. I think they look very similar. She has a giant ass. and she's funny and she's smart and she's one of the only people I've ever met that gets me and also gets that the second I walk through the door

I have to be on and that's a lot for people you know what I'm saying? Sure. And it's, it is not easy being married to me but she, she manages. Was that first interview you guys did

at that indie show in Toronto? Was that the first time you met? That was the very first time I met her. What'd you call her again? I called her, what was it? Yeah, what was it? Was it a pirate hooker? It was something along the...

Tits McGee? Tits McGee from Hoare Island. That's what it was. And that's the first time I met my soon-to-be wife. We always stayed in touch. I always thought she was cool. But I never went there. I would be dating somebody and she would be single.

And I would sometimes feel like she was flirting at me. She claimed she wasn't. She was. And then I would be single and she would be dating somebody and she would claim I was flirting with her. And I would say, no, I wasn't. And it just got to the point where I was like, we're both single, shit.

And I just DM'd her. And I remember when I DM'd her, I was like, hey, if you're ever in the New York area, let me know. And I didn't get a response. So now I'm like, fuck. Does she think I was just trying to smash? which is a fair assumption. I'm me.

But I was actually genuinely interested in like taking her out and getting to know her at a more intimate level, shockingly. And so I did what you're not supposed to do, which is double message. I doubled down.

And I wrote, hey, I'm not just trying to sleep with you. I genuinely like to take you out on a date. And she responded right away and said, oh, okay, I thought you were just being a creep. Yeah, no, that works.

And then, yeah. And then we had our first date. So, you hear the very nice words that Adam Sandler said about you? I did. That's my dad. That's your dad. I interviewed him for Happy Go More 2. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course, I had to bring you up.

Of course, yeah. How did Happy Go More 2 come together? Happy Go More 2? I had an audition. I auditioned to be actually the evil golfer that would have been beside Becky's character. Oh, yeah. Becky rules, by the way. If you don't like Becky Lynch, go fuck yourself.

Anyway. So I audition for that. role and Sandler saw it. I didn't find this out until later. And he was like, this kid is funny. And he kind of looks like me. Can we try him out to be one of those sons?

So he specifically, out of God knows how many people that auditioned, were like him. And then when I got to work with him, it was so apparent to me how, obviously you already know how talented it is, but how much of a good down-to-earth human being he is. like whatever happens to my career now is because no different than Cody and Tony taking a chance on me is in my career in LA is because Adam Sandler took a chance on me

and that's something I'm never going to forget and when I make it big which I will it's something I'm never going to let him forget. Do you remember the first time you met Adam Sandler? I remember the first phone call. I was in the back of a car. It was a Wednesday. I was on the way to work

and I get a phone call from a number, I don't know. I don't pick it up. And then I get it again. And it doesn't say spam risk. And I'm like, hello? Hey, Maxie, it's Adam. And I'm like, there's no how, why.

You're going to be in my movie. It's going to be good. You know what I'm saying? It's like great Adam Sandler too. I was around him a lot. And like, yeah, he was just talking about how he was excited he was to meet me and how funny my audition tape was.

And it was that being on that set was like summer camp. Now, granted, it was daunting because I was going back and forth between set and at the time, I believe beating the shit out of, would it have been Adam Cole at that point? I really don't know.

Are you worried at any point you're going to get a black eye, break a bone, and have to go back to set? No, I'm too fast. Nobody can catch me. Nobody can touch my face. No, to be a funny story.

So, for Violent Night 2, in the middle of filming, I had to wrestle the white trash, delinquent known as Mark Briscoe in a tables and tax match. And I'm thinking of myself, how am I, I have to literally get on a jet back to set after the match is over, the same night, and then in the morning, I'm filming, right? How am I going to get away with this? Are they going to get upset?

Of course, they gave me clearance to do it, right? and I show up and the producer who's the best, she runs up to me, she goes, let me see your back. And I'm thinking, I'm in trouble.

So I pull my shirt up, she's my back. She goes, that's so fucking cool. I was like, oh my God. That was scary for a second. And yeah,

and then I killed it because that's what I do, man. I showed up. I nailed it. And I had a great day and they put makeup on my scars. And that's why I don't feel

I'm ever going to have to, pick one or the other because I'm a professional. And I understand what I can and can't do at certain times. And I know these makeup artists in Hollywood, man, if I get a little boo-boo, they can cover it up. I think one of the biggest things that's not talked about and Happy Gomore 2 is you beat up Eminem. I did beat the shit out of Eminem, yeah, to Marshall Mathers.

He rolls deep. He showed up on that movie set with a big crew of security. Like how money you're talking about? Probably 10, 15. dudes and they were all like easily as big as luchosaurus. It's like massive human beings. And I get it because his, he's seen some shit. You know what I'm saying?

Sure. But it was just, it was so like, I'd imagine it's no different than when a wrestling fan might see me out and about. Like being next to who is arguably the greatest rapper of all time, was one of the only times in my life where I was starstruck was that moment. At what point are you interacting with Eminem, and at what point does the stunt double come in?

I'm interacting with him the whole time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, there wasn't a stunt double. When you threw him into the pond. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's me. That's me. That's you, but that's not him. What do you mean?

I don't know what you're talking about. Okay, yeah. I ran into you at the Iron Claw premiere in L.A. I don't remember that. There was this other wrestler who was also there. Yeah. Named John Sina. Yes.

Yeah, big match, John. Talk to me about this interaction you have with John Sina on the red carpet. He's a god amongst men. I've now gotten to, on two red carpets, I've gotten to chat him up and pick his brain. And like, I will never forget. I am standing there. I see him into the room and I walked up to him,

I shook his hand and I said, I just want you to know you were a big inspiration for me, which is a fact. He was a fat head. For those of you who don't know what a fat head is. He was a fat head on my wall.

A fat head is like a sticker that you pretty much plaster on your wall that's like life size, right? I was young, relax. I was like, I think I was eight. And, yeah, I just had to tell him that. And then, maybe a couple minutes go by

and I see John making a beeline towards my direction and I'm thinking like I'm like looking you know what I'm saying for somebody behind me and he's like moving people

out of the way and he shakes my hand and he goes I just want you to know I really respect your professionalism I'm a big fan of your work and then we just started

shooting the shit we took a photo on the carpet next time I saw him as that Happy Gilmore 2 premiere we hung out again shop the shit again like that guy is everything that I want to be when it comes to work ethic.

Like, now, MJF and John Sino are drastically different, professional wrestlers. But as far as work ethic, wanting to be the guy, wanting to carry a company, wanting to bring the three letters of your company outside of the wrestling bubble, getting people to jump in. That's what John did, and that's what I want to do for all elite wrestling. So John told me he wasn't sure what your intentions were when you walked up him on the right car. I mean, if you watch me on television, I would imagine me walking up to you in any capacity is terrifying. Well, because he's like, is this going to be a bit?

Is he going to try to use me for some sort of segment or something? And then I think when he realized it was genuinely just Max meeting John, I think that it ended up being this great interaction. Yeah, yeah. And like, that's a guy I look up to and that's a guy I would love to work with. especially in L.A. and, you know, I have a strong feeling. I'm the king of manifestation. There will be an MJF John Cena two-hander one day.

I'm certain of it. You can clip this. It's going to happen. It's going to fucking happen. And it's going to be hilarious. What do the goals look like? Or maybe you have a vision board when you think about Hollywood rules?

My goal essentially is to become, the same way I become a household, name in the professional wrestling sphere. I want to become a household name in the acting sphere. I am not a snob when it comes to any category. I'm not afraid to get egg on my face. But yeah, that's my goal. My goal is to be in a big budget movie every year.

And so far, I've done that since I've started this endeavor. What was your scene or scenes in Iron Claw supposed to be? I had a five-minute talking scene with Zach Ephron, who I became really tight with on set, and I would hang out with him in the trailer. he was the nicest guy. When I brought my belt onto the set, he was like, let's take a photo, which was hilarious.

And then, um, and like his work ethic was insane. He got rabdo on set because he was working out so hard and hitting the rope so hard and wrestling so frequently. He got, he got rabdo. Oh, he looked insane in that. Oh, he was gigantic.

It was awesome. And, uh, yes, there was also a scene of us tagging together, which you guys got to see briefly. So at what point are you, you told, I'm so sorry your scenes on the movie. As an EP, I wasn't even upset,

and I know no one's going to believe me, but this is the honest of God's truth. I just wanted the movie to be true to the Von Erick story because I'm a huge world-class fan. And when I got the call from the director, who's a mensch, by the way, he was like, Max, I'm so sorry. I'm like, what are you?

Dude, this movie is too long. And this scene, while incredibly entertaining, does not help the length. and also is like a sub-story. It's not part of the A story. So I wasn't upset at all, and I would like to think the movie came out pretty damn well, and I was really proud to have my name on it.

How do you approach an acting scene when you've got a script or whatever the goal of the scene is going to be versus a promo? They're similar in that there are performance, but different in a lot of ways. Well, one's real and one's fake. There's my answer. Wait, which...

Wrestling is really. real and acting is fake. Acting's fake? Yeah, absolutely. So when you watch a movie, it's not real. When you watch professional wrestling, it's very real. And that is the difference. You didn't know this.

Oh, yeah. Really? Oh, yeah. Since when? Forever? Pretty much forever. I didn't know that. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah. So when you're talking to someone in a wrestling ring? It's 100% real. On my end, I can't speak for the other fucking shing a egg. But everything that's coming out of my... mouth, I mean. What is the approach you have to promos? Have you been thinking about this for weeks, months? Like I was saying earlier, like, I'll just think of something that'll pop me about a certain guy on my roster and I'll just type it in. And then when it's go time, if I, if I feel the need to

pull out the dagger, I'll pull out the dagger. And if I'm having a nice day and I'm not too hot at the guy, maybe I'll take it a little easy on them. 99% of the time I don't, which is fun. Do you feel like you've ever crossed the line? I feel like I cross the line every time. I think that's what makes me must see. Like what are some of the moments you think, I'm really walking up to the line? Every time, every time.

I mean, I'm very offensive and rude and mean. I'm a mean-spirited human being when it comes to somebody trying to get in my way. I will cut you down physically and verbally any means necessary. So as I'm speaking, do I know what I'm saying is despicable? Absolutely.

Do I know it's also the reason why people tune in more see me than anybody else. Absolutely. What would be on the top of the list of like, I can't believe I said that on TV. The line to Jeff Jared was a pretty good one. That was hilarious. I'm going to say when I called my boss fucking Mark and then we had to

cut to a commercial break in the middle of me talking and they cut my microphone. So I'd say that's the only time my microphone's ever been cut. So I think that's probably the right answer for the time I crossed the line. Yeah. That's a pretty good one. Yeah. That's probably Numerow. So how do you not let, if you're heated about something, if you're upset about something, how do you not let that bleed into a segment? It does. You can tell if I don't like somebody. It's very easy to tell if I don't like somebody because if they're not me, chances are I don't like them. So, and the thing is,

is you'll see guys stand across from me. And when I'm peppering them with this stuff, they're like, there are deer in the headlights, as they should be. Nobody can touch me on the mic. Has anybody, do you think anybody's close to your level on the mic? No. Honestly, no. Sorry. No.

No. Is there a match of yours you wish more people we talk about? Huh. Like, I feel like there's the obvious ones, right? Hangman, swerve. Yeah. Kenny. Yeah.

Osprey. Yeah. But is there a match that you're like, man, I don't feel like that either match or that story got enough love. Let me think. Sorry, I know this is dead air. You can chop around it.

You know what I'm going to say? I had a match with Ethan Page on collision. It was in his hometown. And I thought that match was exceptional in its simplicity. And I was really, really, really proud of that one. Yeah. That was a star-making moment for him.

It was. I have no problem saying it. I also, another NXT star that was made by me is Ricky. I mean, that promo segment, to this day when people talk about Ricky, it's on the TL, the one when I had just won the belt. I don't recall what town we were in. But that's what I do. I make the people I'm in the ring with have to step up to the plate. It's up to them if they're going to, you know, swing and miss or hit a home run.

It's not on me. I don't give a shit. You don't have to name names here, but have you had times when you can tell you're looking at someone's eye in the ring? And they're terrified? Yes. I'm going to say in...

Or they're stumbling. I'm going to say most of the time. Being in there with me is not fun. Like I would like to make this very clear. And here's my favorite thing. MJF, he's not doing his job right. He should be taking it easy on them. He should be trying to make the other guy look good.

Fuck that and fuck you. Why on earth would I do that? I want this forever. I want to be here forever. Step up to the plate or fuck off. It's that simple. You want to be a top guy? Learn how to talk.

You want to be a top guy? Learn how to wrestle. You want to be a top guy? Get in shape. Don't look like a schlub. I don't, we live in this era now. We live in this generation where everybody wants to be coddled and everybody wants things to be fair.

Life ain't fair, chief. was born better, get over it. That's my take on that. You have dialed in your workouts. You've dialed in your nutrition. Yeah, I'm freaking jacked right now. You are. Yeah. What was the shift there? Um, I realized right before the first rain that if I wanted to be taken seriously as a top guy, I had to look the part. I could do it in the ring and I can do it here, but I need to look like a top level elite professional wrestler. And if I wanted to hold this belt and if I wanted to be the standard bearer for my company and be the face of my company, I can't be skinny. I need to be jacked. I need to have an eight-pack. I need to have bulging deltoids and massive biceps and big beefy thighs. So, you know, I don't feel

bad for people. And by the way, I reach out to talent when I feel they're out of shape. And I tell them, I don't give a shit how they feel about it. And I go, what are you doing? What are you doing? This is an aesthetic sport. It is. I don't want to look at some out of shape dweeb. I'm not interested. I don't care how good you are at wrestling. I don't want to see it. And I will say, if you look at the rung of top guys, we're all sturdy looking SOBs in AEW. We're all in very good shape. You were in good shape, but you went from being in good shape to being in phenomenal shape. There's a difference between being good and being great.

So what would, what specifically did you dial in at that point? I dialed in my diet hardcore. I eat my own body weight in protein plus 10 in grams every day. I eat my own body weight plus 100 in carbs every day. And the rest of the macros I leave to fats. So are you the guy showing up with a suitcase? Scale. suitcase with food.

If I don't have my food, the only thing that you'll catch me eating and catering is chicken and rice and broccoli. The desserts and catering are very good. Peptides have been a big game changer for me. Which ones? I only take BPC-157 and TB 500.

And the reason it's a game changer is I've been wrestling since I was 18 years old. I was in pain a lot, like constantly. And a lot of people don't realize this. They don't understand that when I was on the independent circuit. I was wrestling four times a week. Um, if you go to my, like, if you go to like Google or whatever, I would imagine I've, I've been wrestling for 10 years. I, I think one of those years I

I had like close to 200 matches, like something, something insane like that. Do you know how many matches you've had in total? I really don't. No. Should we find out? Sure. Go nuts. We have all the world's information in our pocket here. Um, if I had to guess, mid-five hundred to high 500s, if I had to guess. Now, granted, since I've been signed, it's definitely the matches have slowed down because to watch me is an attraction. Yeah, I feel like that's an intentional thing.

Yeah, absolutely. Let's, okay, let's see. My internet here is maybe a little slow. Okay. Maybe so slow that I can't actually load this up. Fair. Okay, hold on. Google it yourself.

Now we're going to find this out. Okay, we're going to go to the very last one. Come on cagematch.com. Oh, God. Cage match. We'll have all of your matches here. You have, what was your guess? Mid-500s is my case.

537. Wow. There you go. Mystic Max. Jeez. Not checks, but it would be, if I was keeping up with the schedule that I was doing on the Indies by now,

I'd be at 1,000, I think, to be honest. I mean, it's pretty incredible. You had 13 matches last year. Yeah. I was filming a lot of shit. But yes, yeah, yeah, that sounds about right. When you hear wrestlers talking about a bump card, you're taking a lot of bumps.

I think some people are dumb as shit. The people that feel the need to wrestle every single week to prove a point are dumb as shit. Like I said, this run, if somebody earns the title, I'm not going to run from it. I will wrestle you because I enjoy proving that I'm better. Sure. But I'm also not going to wrestle just for, you know,

shits and giggles. Do you feel like you wrestle differently now than you did, say, five years ago? I think I'm more aggressive than I was five years ago. and I think I am definitely less fearful of getting in close and hanging and banging a little bit more than I did when I was younger. When I was younger, I was more of a defensive wrestler and it was more about me strategically, technically,

trying to figure out ways where I wouldn't have to get in the pit to win a match. But now I don't mind getting my hands dirty a little bit more. It's fun to me. I kind of like proving to people that I'm a lot tougher than I look. Give me your dream match. If we could make any match possible,

it doesn't matter what company they work for. Or is this alive? Give me one that's alive if Piper's going to be your answer. Piper's always going to be the answer. He's not with us anymore. Alive? I think this answer is going to shock people. Because also, I will say I can't pick people that are retired.

John would have been my answer, but he's retired. So I'm going to say Kevin Steen. Not Kevin Owens. No. I want Kevin Steen, the one that I watched in Ring of Honor. Not saying Kevin Owens isn't spectacular. Kevin Owens is one of the best wrestlers in the world, and it sucks that he's hurt right now.

It kills me. But Kevin Owens can't exactly say some of the things that Kevin Steen was able to say back in the day. So I want Kevin Steen. That's a dream match for me. Because you can say whatever you want to say. Exactly. I think that that would probably go down as one of the greatest matches of all time

and one of the greatest promos of all time. I think I also have to say Seth Rollins for sure. That'd be a fantastic match. And then, yeah, which you have to say people from outside the company because it's just a dog should answer if I say somebody inside my company.

Because I don't know if I've done it. Yeah, I don't know if there's anybody who haven't worked in AEW. Well, there's some names that I think would be interesting, right? This is my first singles match in AEW with Brody King. That's tonight.

My first singles match with Bandito was a couple weeks ago, which I was looking forward to beating the shit out of him. I've yet to have a singles match against Swerve Strickland in AEW. I've yet to have a singles match against Andrade in AEW.

How about Tomaso? That would be very interesting. Yeah. That would be very interesting. I would like that very much. Yeah. It would be a great match. It would be.

It would be. Give me your Mount Rushmore. Just you. Me. You can put yourself on it. All four times. No? Is that not what you're asking?

You can. I would say that. But if you would, if you step back, just you, the fan of this wonderful thing called professional wrestling. Yeah. Who's on your Mount Rushmore?

See, I hate this question. I'll tell you why. The correct answer from a drawing standpoint is probably dusty, flare, stone cold, and then you're either putting the rock there, but it's tough to put the rock, not because he wasn't such a massive name and still is,

but because his time in professional wrestling was so short. Yeah. So the correct answer is Sina. So that would probably be the correct answer as far as drawing. Did I say Hulk Hogan? No. Okay.

So maybe that's the thing, right? These are the names. Rick Flair, Hulk Hogan, Dusty Roads, John Sina, Bruno Sam Martino, Stone Cold Steve Austin. These were the biggest stars that drew money in the history of the business. So if you're asking me from that standpoint,

those are the names that below on my Rushmore. If you're asking me my personal favorites growing up, sure. It's way too hard. But if I, it's hard, man. This question is really hard. Steve Austin's on there, easily. Orden was such a huge influence on me, so I'm going to throw Randy Orden on there.

Piper. And then like, this is where it gets hard. Sure. This is where it gets borderline impossible. It's always tough to narrow down at the last one. Gun to my head, one day I would say CM Punk. The next day I would say Sean Michaels. the next day I would say, Triple H,

the next day I would say Chris Candido. And then the next day I would say, God, you know what, this one will probably shock people because when you think of this guy, you won't think of me ever in any capacity. But I love Don Morocco. Oh, I love Don Morocco.

He is so underrated. But yeah, it's impossibly hard question. Paul Heyman, who I know isn't a wrestler, but holy shit. Um, yeah, very hard question. Maybe Paul Hammond could hang with you on the mic. I think that'd be, I think that'd be interesting for people to find out. Uh, I don't know if they ever will, but I, I think people would be very, uh, very surprised.

I think people would be surprised to put me in there in any, pretty much any situation or scenario with somebody that they think is on my level. Do you have a name for this move where you, Paul's a goat, so, what were you saying? I'm sorry. Do you have a name for this move where you, uh, you hit the guy in the face with your, uh, I call it the bris. I think it's funny. With your nuts?

Yeah, yeah. I call it the press. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Google it if you don't know. It's a Jewish term. Oh, I know. Oh, there you go.

How'd you come up with this? Had I come up with it? I just thought I couldn't think of anything more demeaning than that. It's funny to me. I'm just going to shove my penis in your face and you're going to cry about it and I'm going to laugh. There you go. That's it. How about your finisher?

How'd you come up with that? we talk in Salt of the Earth Armour or are we talking the heat seeker? Full transparency, I stole that from Adam Cole and when Adam Cole came into the company I told him point blank, hey, sorry, I stole your move.

And then he said, hey, don't worry about it. I stole it from this random guy in CZW and he stole it from Teddy Hart. So it is both wild and messed up that I am in any way associated with Teddy Hart. But I guess the way we got to the move was this delineation from him originally

to some random guy in CZW to Adam Cole to me. So there you go. Is there anything you haven't done? I think it's so fitting that you're going to turn 30 at AEW Revolution. Yeah. Los Angeles. Yeah, March 15th.

And what a decade this has been for you. Yeah. Is there anything you haven't done in AEW? Yes. there are, as I was discussing, there are a lot of matchups that I'm really looking forward to. There are a lot of rematches

that I'm really looking forward to. There's a lot of people I'm looking forward to getting on the mic one v1 with that I've not gotten to do yet. I can sit here all day long when I look at every year there are new,

there are new toys for me to play with. And that's exciting. And a lot of these toys are young and virile. So yeah, there's still, and there's still a lot for me to prove here. I think it, I think it's very easy for somebody to watch what I've done here and be like, well, Max, Max has proven. It's like, to me, my first reign was about being the longest reigning world champion. This rain is going to be about being the best world champion that this

company's ever had since its inception. I want to drive up business. And that's something I take a great deal of pride in. And I'm not saying it's not going to be a roller coaster. We're going to go up some weeks, we're going to go down some weeks, but I think we're going to see a steady increase in 2026. So what is the metric by which you measure is this going up? Ticket sales, ratings, quarter hours, minute by minute, which, you know, this is really the only way that we can do it metrically. Like, are you diving deep into these? Yeah, yeah, I'm a psycho. Yeah, I'm reading into this on a, on a weekly basis. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I just feel like TV ratings are such a, People don't watch TV the way they used to watch TV.

No. I understand there are a thing that wrestling fans like to talk about a lot. Probably more than they should. Sure. I think the most important. And I get that ad buys are measured on that. They are. They are.

Yeah. But when the numbers come out and it says 900,000 people watch the show. That doesn't necessarily mean 900,000 people. No, it doesn't. With a beating heart, we're sitting there in front of the TV. No. They could have just been eating a bowl of cereal in the other room or something. I will say.

it's, these are the only barometers that we have. That merchandising, right? What about, what about views on Instagram, TikTok? Sure, that's huge too. And we do seven figure views on Instagram and on TikTok. That's a big metric. I don't think that wrestling fans want to talk about. No, they, look, people are going to talk about the metric that helps their narrative.

So like if you returning gets, just making up a number here. Yes. 15 million views on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram. Yes. People are just going to look at the. number that it got on the rating. Yeah, it did a great one, by the way. But yes, you were correct.

You are correct. I think people will look at the thing they want to for their narrative. All I know is year over year in every single market. We're up in ticket sales. And that's a proven barometer for that has been since the dawn of time for professional wrestling that is televised. If you are selling more tickets, that means more people are watching your show. That's just how it goes, right?

So, WWE had that big boom. period. I feel right now, we're slowly but surely coming into a new boom period and a new era, and we have young, hungry dudes on top of this card that want it. And really, we're living in an era in AEW where anything can happen and anybody can come from me for this. And it's exciting. Isn't it pretty incredible that this dream that you had when you were a five-year-old kid, you made it come true and now you lived the life that you live because of pro wrestling? It is incredible, but I am not satiated. I'll be sated when everybody with a full chest admits that I'm the best in the industry.

Now, I'm not going to sit here and pretend that there aren't people already doing that because there are a lot of people already doing that. But I won't be content until everybody does it. Now, is that impossible? Probably. I don't think that's ever happened to anybody in the history of the sport. But I got to try, you know? What was the first big purchase you made with the money you got with your AWK?

contract. My house, my forever home. Congratulations. Thank you very much. Yeah. How close are you living? You live in Long Island. I live on Long Island. Most magical place in the world was. Great pizza there. Great pizza. Best pizza in the world. I went with former UFC champion Matt Sarah to summon. Matt Sarah. I trained at Matt Sarah's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for like a year, year and a half. Amazing. What a dude. Really nice guy. He has a Matt Sarah slice. It was so good. Yeah, yeah. How close do you live to your parents? Because they're on Long Island. God, I probably live about 25, 30 minutes for them. It's incredible.

Which is great because once I, you know, pop some kids. You're going to make some people? Yeah, oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, I have two of them now. Yeah, yeah. Do you? Yeah.

Congratulations. Thank you. Congratulations. But you'd like to have children one day? Yeah, probably. Yeah. Because when you talk about being laser focused on a career like John Cena. Yeah.

Well, they're not allowed to get in the way. That's the thing. And I'll explain that to them at a young age. If you get in the way or you annoy me, you're out of the house. Simple rules. Do you have a guest house they can sleep in? Oh, yeah. That'd be fine.

thing. If I get annoyed, I just ship them off to the nanny on, you know, the maids quarters. It's wonderful. We're fine. Thank you for making time to do this. Yeah, it was okay. You're a busy man. Yeah, I am. This is all true. I will end this with the question that I ask everybody at the end.

Yeah. It's gratitude such a huge thing for me. Yeah. So, Max, what are three things in your life you're grateful for right now? My wife, my house, my jobs. How money? acting in wrestling. Yeah.

Incredible. Yep. Thank you again. Yeah. This, you know, I mean, I hope you get a couple views. I mean, I know you're starting this new thing. We'll see what happens. We'll see.

And I hope it, I hope you figure it out someday. Could you ask people to subscribe maybe? No. Yeah, that'll cost you. That'll cost you. I could, 20 bucks, 30? Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Maxwell, Jacob Friedman, and I'm better than you. And you know it.

Jim Rome takes on sports. Why? Because I have a job to do. With rapid fire takes. So I don't want to hear from you lava pigs on this notion today. No idea what you're talking about. You're complaining more than you like to breathe air. It's like you get up in the morning only to complain and cry and moan on social media about things that you don't even understand. He's the spitfire of sports smack.

Take advantage of it, but get up in here. The Jim Rome Show podcast. What's your beef? Follow and listen on your favorite platform. You've been warned.