MJF making last indie date “for an extraordinarily long time”
Maxwell J. Friedman wrestles Bobby Orlando this Friday at Beyond Wrestling’s “Break The Walls Down” show
The Week in Wrestling is published every week and provides beneath the surface coverage of professional wrestling.
Contents for The Week in Wrestling:
Maxwell J. Friedman: “I need to focus on AEW”
An inside look at the past week in wrestling
Roman Reigns is built to be the bad guy
Tweet of the Week
MJF: “I need to focus on AEW”
Maxwell J. Friedman returns to the indies on Friday, wrestling Bobby Orlando at Beyond Wrestling’s “Break The Walls Down” show. He will bring a caliber of star power rarely present on the independent circuit–and as the reigning AEW champion, he will also carry the world title.
The moment will be savored by those in attendance at Rhodes On The Pawtuxet in Cranston, Rhode Island, as well as those watching the live stream on IWTV. It is a must-see moment, especially considering MJF will not be returning to the indies for the foreseeable future.
“I’m going to announce that this is probably the last American independent match I’m going to have for an extraordinarily long time,” said Friedman. “I need to focus on AEW. I took my eyes off the ball for a millisecond, and a dude who is like 145-fucking-pounds soaking wet beat me. That can’t happen. I don’t care that he hit me in the nuts and spammed his finisher on me four times, and Aubrey Edwards, who is a complete liar, made a fast count. But glass half full, I’m now a three-time champion at the age of 30.”
Friedman was referring to the loss he suffered in April against Darby Allin, whose upset victory ignited his first-ever run with the world title. It all served as the latest chapter in a compelling feud between the two, with Friedman getting the last laugh when he defeated Allin a week-and-a-half ago to regain the belt.
Later tonight on Dynamite, Friedman defends his newly won AEW title against Rush. The two wrestled in June of 2024, a 14-minute affair that was built around physicality.
“Some people feel he is the most lethal man in wrestling,” said Friedman. “I’ve been in the squared circle with him before. Did I win? Yes. Did it take a year or two off my career? Also, yes. This dude is fucking terrifying.”
Then Friedman, two days after the match against Rush, will return to Beyond Wrestling. Drew Cordeiro, who is the Beyond founder, is particularly excited to showcase this bout. Cordeiro noted that MJF is a remarkable talent and unrelenting in his pursuit of greatness, as well as added that he is beyond honored that his promotion is forever tied to MJF.
“There’s a lot behind this match,” said Cordeiro. “The fact that Max and Bobby trained together and never crossed paths is earth-shattering to me. Bobby just needs that one match, that one moment to get the right eyes on him. He has a lot of unique qualities that separate him from everyone else. The most unique attribute of all this is Bobby Orlando is the most popular wrestler when we do our shows in Rhode Island every Monday, and now he’s going up against the ultimate bad guy.”
Despite presenting himself as a heel, Friedman is the consummate babyface when it comes to his commitment to professional wrestling. He has remained loyal to his roots in the indie wrestling world, which is why he is coming back to Beyond–with the belt, presuming he finds a way to defeat Rush on Dynamite–for the bout against Orlando.
“Beyond was one of the first independent circuits that really took a chance on me,” said Friedman. “That’s where I could talk on the microphone before my matches, and it’s where I wrestled big matches with top names at the time on the independent circuit.
“Now I want to come in and see what Bobby Orlando is all about. I’m excited to test this kid, I’m excited to get more eyeballs on him and on Beyond, and that’s naturally what is going to happen because I am the biggest fucking draw in this business. I’m looking forward to it, and hopefully he gets a contract out of it.”
Friedman and Orlando are both products of Create A Pro, a top-of-the-line wrestling school based out of Long Island. The Beyond card is full of Create A Pro alums, including Gabby Forza and AEW’s Megan Bayne–who will wrestle each other–and Max Caster.
“There is no better professional wrestling school than Create A Pro,” said Friedman. “There just isn’t. I believe that wholeheartedly. And I see that they pump a lot of money into the [WWE] Performance Center, and there are a lot of different options for schools other than CAP, but in my opinion, between Pat Buck and Brian Myers, you’re just not getting better training. Pat’s showing you the old school shit and building you from the ground up, perfecting your basics. Hawkins [Myers] is a guy who has worked in every major company, and he’s also a guy who’s done PWG and your local indie. He just has the brain for it, and so does Pat.”
Friedman wrestled Buck this past Sunday at WrestlePro’s “Better Than You” show, which served as a chance for the student to square off against his teacher. Now he meets a fellow alum in Orlando.
“I’ll take a quote from Matt Cardona, who says to be ready and always stay ready,” said Orlando, 29. “It’s the first time me and Max will ever step in the ring, an opportunity I’ve wanted for a long time. It is going to be a test, but I’m ready. Humbly speaking, I believe I’m doing the best work of my career–and I’m ready for the challenge.”
While Friedman is quick to hurl insults, he sees a lot of value in the match. He has kept a watchful eye on Orlando, a nine-year pro who has developed into one of the more complete talents across the indies.
“I look at a guy like Bobby Orlando, who is an oddball and a weirdo, but this cat is driven,” said Friedman. “That’s the one thing we share in common. When I was on the indies, I used to get in my car and name a state, because I drove to it. Name an amount of money I didn’t make wrestling on those shows, and I didn’t make it. Name a number of fans who were barely in that crowd, I wrestled in front of them. I wrestled every Wednesday at Dojo Wars in front of like eight people on a good day in Blackwood, New Jersey, then on a Thursday I’d get in my car and drive to this place called Sanctuary in Pennsylvania or this promotion called XWA. If I wasn’t doing Dojo Wars, I’d drive all the way out to Dayton, Ohio to wrestle at Rockstar Pro. Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, whether it was AIW, AAW, Beyond, Limitless–and the list goes on–I was booked.
“I see what Bobby’s doing. I see how hard he’s working, I see how driven he is. I saw the promo he cut on me online. I can’t help but fucking respect that. What I respect more than anything in this business is grind. I wasn’t supposed to make it. I’m not well over six-feet tall, I’m not a juiced-up bodybuilder. I didn’t come from the NFL or the NBA. I’m just a great professional wrestler. If you look through the annals of our sport, that used to not even get you a look. I’m watching what they’re doing over there in NXT, and they’re kind of going back to that formula with the former athletes–but they keep finding better luck utilizing guys that actually love this business and guys who are actually wrestlers first. And I look at a guy like Bobby Orlando–and I’m constantly hearing his name, whether I want to or not–because he’s been killing it on the indies.”
Beyond Wrestling announced three months ago that Friedman would wrestle for the promotion in June. At the time, the two most likely options for opponents were Orlando and “Fancy” Ryan Clancy. But a torn ACL led to a complete reconstruction of Clancy’s left knee, eliminating him from consideration.
“It’s a shame about Clancy,” said Friedman. “I hope the kid gets better. I see a lot of potential in him. When you talk about the fundamentals, his footwork is tremendous, and so is the way he carries himself in the ring. He can talk–now he can’t talk like me, but come on, no one can–but he can talk, and there’s something there with that kid.”
Every single indie appearance from Friedman has been noteworthy. This past January, he created a massive buzz when wrestling Alec Price in a Limitless ring in Maine. Price lost the match, but he was victorious afterward when MJF offered him an AEW contract. That scenario is certainly a possibility heading into this bout.
For Orlando, this match was earned through the toil, tears, and sweat poured into his work. He also has a track record of making the most of opportunities, which is what he intends to do on Friday.
“Good things come to those who work hard,” said Orlando. “That’s the grind of the indies. You have to keep your mind in the right place at all times. But I love this business. And ninety-nine percent of professional wrestlers will tell you their end goal is getting signed. I’d be lying if I said that isn’t something I’m working towards. But that’s not what this match is about. Max just became a three-time AEW champion. I’m testing myself against the best. And I’m doing it in Cranston, which has become a home away from home with everything I’ve experienced at Wrestling Open Rhode Island.
“This match isn’t just for me. It’s for all the people who’ve been proud to root for this underdog. I’m fighting for everyone who believes in me.”
Friedman will be in all his glory on Friday night. Surrounded by plenty of peers from Create A Pro, who often populate the Beyond shows since there are so many talented wrestlers who started there, the reigning AEW champ will place a bright spotlight on the lifeblood of professional wrestling at its grassroots level.
“I think very highly of the tag team of Bryce Donovan and VSK–the fact that those two guys haven’t been signed yet is just fucking silly,” said Friedman. “They’ll be on the show. My boy ‘Smart’ Mark Sterling is going to be on the show, and so is Max Caster–who is a numbskull, but I love him. It’s going to be a really great night of professional wrestling at Beyond.”
This past week…
The Chad Gable-Ludwig Kaiser mask vs. mask bout to determine the real El Grande Americano was spectacular. But where do both men go from here?
Finn Balor is moving to SmackDown. It is a positive change, as Balor adds depth to the SD roster where a feud with Trick Williams would help give legitimacy to his reign as United States Champion. Balor can also be a credible opponent for Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship–or, for that matter, Gunther, if he wins the title later this month–and he’d have excellent matches with both men. Yet, despite all of Balor’s talent, it is highly unlikely his move to SmackDown leads to a world title reign.
After winning tag team gold together for the first time in 25 years, Edge and Christian went back in time last week on Dynamite with their five-second pose.
Kevin Knight turned on “Speedball” Mike Bailey on Dynamite, marking a complete shift to a heel character.
Although he will forever be remembered for his groundbreaking work in The Shield, it is interesting to note that Jon Moxley has now had a longer run in AEW than he did in WWE.
Roman Reigns is built to be the bad guy
If Clash in Italy taught us anything, it is that Roman Reigns is a much better heel than he is babyface.
At the end of the show, as Reigns was exiting following his Tribal Combat victory against Jacob Fatu, he made it clear that he is WWE’s top player–not Cody Rhodes. It felt like it came out of the blue. Clearly it was by design, as it was followed up by a backstage interaction as well as Rhodes addressing it on the post-show.
An argument can be made that Reigns transcends the face/heel dynamic, but Rhodes’ comments were a clear example of how he is a babyface. Reigns is one of the all-time WWE greats, but time has proven that he is much more effective as a heel. Reuniting him with The Usos, which provides strength in numbers, and making people acknowledge him is not the sign of a babyface.
All that is missing is a return from Paul Heyman, which cannot be considered out of the realm of possibility. That would be the final piece in his return to being a heel, even if it would be cheered by an overwhelming amount of people.
Reigns had his babyface moment during WrestleMania when he overcame CM Punk. But for him to sustain this title reign, he can do it much effectively as a villain.
Tweet of the Week
