Court Bauer Claims WWE Had Interest In MJF In 2018
Were apparently floored by his age...
MJF in WWE? A few years ago, that was a bit of a possibility, according to MLW CEO Court Bauer.
When Major League Wrestling resumed operations in 2018, current top AEW star Maxwell Jacob Friedman was on board with the company. In his recent appearance on Talk is Jericho, Bauer claims that at one point, his Florida-based company was in talks to share talent with WWE at the indy level (perhaps similar to WWE's working arrangements with EVOLVE and PROGRESS). That's when WWE inquired about the young star.
"At one point, we were doing some business with WWE in 2018 - we were going to," Bauer reveals. "We were fairly friendly I guess you could say, and there was talk about MJF possibly doing a crossover thing with them. We were taping, primarily at the time, out of Orlando, and they were-- NXT, of course, is down the road. So they start asking questions about him, and one of the things they asked was, 'So he's what, 26, 28, 29?' I'm like, 'No dude, he's 21.' They're like, 'What?' I'm like, 'Does he look that way, or just the experience? What is it,' and I remember telling MJF that.
"He's like, 'I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult.' I'm like, 'I don't know either.' He has certain qualities you just don't see in a lot of wrestling. A lot of wrestling, I think, as JR would say, 'Do you have the sizzle there or what?' And he kind of blends a lot of those qualities. Very much a throwback, but he doesn't think he's a throwback. He just takes those positive attributes and incorporates it into a modern character that works."
(Credit to Wrestling Inc for transcription)
Written by Justin Henry
In addition to writing lists and commentaries for Cultaholic, Justin is also a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine, and is co-author of the WWE-related book Titan Screwed: Lost Smiles, Stunners, and Screwjobs.