Early Life
Maxwell Friedman was born on March 15, 1996, in Plainview, New York. When he was five years old, Friedman appeared on an episode of The Rosie O’Donnell Show and sang “You Are My Sunshine” after his parents submitted a tape of him singing the song. During his interview with Rosie O’Donnell, young Maxwell stated he wanted to be an opera singer and a pro wrestler when he grew up.
Maxwell played football in high school and briefly attended Hartwick College. Shortly after he began his college studies, Friedman decided to drop out of school and pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a professional wrestler.
Independent Wrestling Career
Maxwell trained in Hicksville, New York at Create A Pro Wrestling Academy. He wrestled across the northeast in the next few years, appearing in promotions like CZW and MLW.
In 2015, Maxwell submitted an entry for WWE’s Tough Enough, though he was ultimately not picked up or signed by the company.
MJF In AEW
On January 7, 2019, news broke that Friedman had signed with the brand-new wrestling promotion, All Elite Wrestling. He made his debut for the company at the inaugural Double or Nothing PPV as a heel, but was later adopted by Cody Rhodes as a protege.
MJF’s partnership with Cody lasted until Full Gear 2019, when MJF threw in the towel during Cody’s match with Chris Jericho and subsequently turned heel again. MJF then brought in Wardlow to serve as his bodyguard and mercenary.
Over the next several months, MJF cemented himself as one of the top heel in AEW. He feuded with stars like Jungle Boy and Jon Moxley. He briefly allied himself with Chris Jericho and the Inner Circle before they had a disastrous falling out.
MJF Reaches The Pinnacle
Following MJF’s departure from the Inner Circle, MJF introduced his own faction dubbed The Pinnacle. The group consisted of MJF, Wardlow, FTR, Shawn Spears, and Tully Blanchard. Though the team was ultimately shortlived, its existence showed AEW’s readiness to treat MJF as a top star and leader over veteran talent.
MJF then entered an emotionally-packed feud with his childhood idol, CM Punk. Their story culminated at Revolution 2022 in a bloody dog collar match that Punk won with the aid of Wardlow.
MJF feuded with Wardlow following the latter’s babyface turn. This feud led to a convoluted storyline that blended MJF’s real life contract disputes with AEW with the fiction on TV. MJF demanded that Tony Khan fire him before being pulled from AEW’s roster page and the next several months of television.
AEW World Champion
MJF made his return to AEW at All Out 2022. He was intent to challenge the current AEW World Champion, CM Punk, however Punk’s suspension a few days later forced a change of plans.
Instead, MJF faced Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship at Full Gear 2022 and came away victorious with some help from William Regal.
Since becoming AEW World Champion, MJF has shown fans a more kindhearted side of his personality. He has become close friends with his former rival, Adam Cole; at All In 2023, Cole and MJF defeated Aussie Open to become the ROH World Tag Team Champions.
