It's been 721 days since Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) lost his Triple B AEW World Championship. Now, the man who has showcased the many shades of a villain is on his way to Worlds End to end the worlds of "Seabiscuit" Adam Page, Swerve "Diddy" Strickland (his nicknames for them, not ours), and the AEW World Champion Samoa Joe's chances of ringing in the new year as champion. After stepping away following his loss to Mark Briscoe at All Out this past September, the fear of becoming a caricature of his former self loomed over him. But now, the confidence MJF exudes out of his righteous pores is on a different playing field than before, and Bully Ray saw it immediately this past Wednesday, following "The Devil's" return.
"I think Max has hit his first stage of f**k you in the wrestling business," the Hall of Famer told Dave LaGreca on "Busted Open." "Max has spent some time in AEW now. He's experienced some of the highs. He has experienced some of the lows. He knows the politics of the entire locker room. Max probably has gone through the phases of 'I know I'm really good at what I do on the mic, but my job is not to bury everybody, so I've got to keep people close.' And in doing so, he might have...not sacrificed himself, but has toned himself down, or dumbed himself down...But I think Max sees what he's capable of, and Max understands that this is a selfish business."
Pursuing the goal of righting the wrongs of how he lost his championship two years ago at Worlds End, Ray has no doubt that MJF's promo alone solidified his potential to walk out of the NOW Arena in Chicago as the new and two-time World Champion. The idea that MJF is no longer afraid of Joe or of his other opponents, for that matter, on December 27 could help him achieve his goal of setting a new record in his second reign, possibly carrying the title past the 407-day/historical mark he set in his first run.
"The 'anymore' is the key word. 'Anymore' says, 'I used to be afraid of you, but not anymore. F-you,'" Ray noted.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
