Any undergraduate with a creative arts requirement will tell you that March Ides is a scary thing—a moment that symbolizes a dramatic shift in society. This Sunday, the transition is twofold: It’s the date of AEW’s Revolution event and the 30th birthday of its world champion, Maxwell Jacob Friedman. He has been loved, he has been hated, but he has left no stone unturned and done his best to make himself one of the best professional wrestlers working today. But as he defends his world title for the second time, he’s also making it clear: MJF wants his name to be mentioned alongside the greatest world champions of all time, and he’s committed to proving why every time.
First titles are appropriately romanticized, especially for young champions. The Giant’s undeniable size and athleticism in WCW, The Rock’s otherworldly charisma in WWE, the tenacity and focused violence of Samoa Joe in Ring of Honor. But a talent’s second title reign is rarely considered groundbreaking, or even particularly noteworthy, because, obviously, he or she has done what fans might be calling for. Apart from reigning longer than the previous reign, little new attention is paid to what has been accomplished.
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MJF won his first AEW World Championship in November 2022, defeating Jon Moxley at that year’s Full Gear event. He ultimately held the title for 406 days, an AEW record that still stands today. But MJF, an admitted braggart and braggart, was critical of his initial run in which retaining the title was more important than making it something desirable. “I became the longest reigning AEW World Champion. [the] youngest [champion] Most successful title defense ever,” he told Uncrowned ahead of his AEW Revolution Championship match against “Hangman” Adam Page. “But when you think about 10 title defenses in 406 days, is that really that impressive? If avoiding competition means I can hold on to the belt longer, I have no problem with that. “
The second title run was purposeful and began at the Armageddon pay-per-view in December, when MJF was involved in a four-way match between challengers Swerve Strickland, Adam Page and then-champion Samoa Joe. Friedman eventually pinned the title on Joe and became a more active champion from then on. He has defended the title twice on AEW TV, defeating Brody King at the Australian Slam in February and Kevin Knight on the March 4 episode of “AEW Dynamite.” But Friedman also emphasized the “world” aspect of the world title, choosing to defend the title in other promotions. A few weeks after Worlds End, he headed to Limitless Wrestling and staked his belt against Alec Price, and the following month he tested his mettle again at the No Turning Back show at House of Glory against Zilla Fatu. In less than three months, he would defend the AEW World Championship half as many times as he had in a year and change his first reign.
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As a student of the game, MJF came to understand that greatness is about more than just numbers on a graph. To become one of the greats, you must do what the greats before you did.
“Gentlemen like Buddy Rogers and Harley Race… Jack Brisco, Dory Funk would travel around the world, not just their local territories, but around the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia, and they would wrestle whoever was considered the best in their local territory or region,” he said. “The other thing is, we’ve lost the history and tradition of the sport because for so long, pro wrestling has been a monopoly. That’s the way it is with WWE. It’s sacrilegious for Vince McMahon to see – and I’m just going to use one example – John Cena working for your local independent. But for Tony Khan, who both understands and respects the idea of a touring champion, it’s not ridiculous.”
MJF has been busy since regaining the AEW World Championship last December. (Li Nan, AEW)
Like those champions before him, MJF looks to reestablish the urgency of the World Championship. He is a champion in a world that has some of the most talented wrestlers of all time, both in terms of creativity and stamina. But he’s not looking for ratings — he’s looking for decisive wins to establish his dominance. “The other thing I try to normalize is substance over style,” he said. “My job is not to go out there and put on a five-star match. My job is to go out there and try to win. When you watch me compete, what I’m going to do will make more sense and make more sense than anyone else in pro wrestling. I’m not trying to impress you. I just want to win. If I see something wrong with a part of my body, I’m going to attack it like an animal.”
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We saw this exact scenario in his title defense against Knight, where a kitchen sink knee early in the match knocked out Knight’s UFO top rope splash. “I’m not trying to get you excited,” MJF continued. “Now, does that happen even if I don’t want to do it? Yeah, 10 times out of 10. I’m the greatest professional wrestler in the world today. But again, I’m not a circus monkey like other people in this business. I’m a traditionalist. The way I wrestle is the same. [the former world champions] I mentioned it before. “
The travel aspect of it all seemed to inspire Friedman in the rarest of ways. He wants to be everywhere, he wants to do everything, and when those opportunities arise, he takes them. As a classically trained actor, he earned some great opportunities but found a balance between his obligations. Friedman spent much of 2024 filming Happy Gilmore 2 , Netflix’s most-streamed movie of all time, in which he plays the flannel-clad, sleeveless Gordy Gilmore, the title character’s eldest son. He won the CMLL Light Heavyweight Championship in August 2025, filmed Violent Night 2 (the sequel to 2022’s unexpected dark comedy hit) in the fall of 2025, and then immediately jumped back into AEW’s world title picture. Again, he wants to be everywhere, he wants to do everything – and he wants to show everyone what they can’t do any As much as he can.
“Take a private jet, fly to Mexico, wrestle [against Mistico] It was one of the greatest matches of all time, certainly the greatest match that ever happened in that arena…and then to fly all the way from Mexico to Toronto, Canada, to have another all-time classic wrestling match with Mark Briscoe at Tables ‘N’ Tacks in 24 hours, actually wrestling twice in one day,” he said. “Unlike Hulk Hogan, I actually did that.
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“A lot of people look at that schedule and piss their pants. But that’s not how I do it. I love it, I’d even say, I almost get aroused when you challenge me. Because a challenge just puts more pressure on my shoulders, and that pressure on my shoulders makes me who I am today. Every time I’m judged, the pressure grows. Every time my talent is questioned, the pressure grows. The pressure continues to grow, but it never breaks me, it just makes me stronger.”
One of the metrics that can define not just titles but careers is how you compare to those who have walked the same path and experienced the same level of success. In MJF’s mind, he was the AEW champion, and there wasn’t a stronger challenger on the roster at the time. “This is the most competitive in our seven-year promotion history,” he said.
“You have me, ‘The Executioner’, Sverf [Strickland]Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega, Samoa Joe, Andrade El Idolo. Now you have Brody King, who just showed up there and whether I want to admit it or not, he fits like a glove. You have the Kyle Fletchers of the world who are gritting their teeth, and yours [Konosuke] Takeshita was gnashing his teeth. I mean, the list goes on and on – that’s the scary part. “
MJF (left) and “Hangman” Page have long been two of AEW’s homegrown stars. (Li Nan, AEW)
From the same group of talents, “Hangman” Page is the Uncrowned 2025 Male Wrestler of the Year, and his World Championship victory over Jon Moxley at All In Texas was the harrowing, bloody highlight of his campaign. While Page has always shied away from being the “main guy” in AEW, MJF has embraced it without hesitation, and no matter how you rank or position his opponents on Sunday, both of them represent the passion needed to stand out from their peers. “I get frustrated because I hate admitting that we are similar in any way, shape, or form,” MJF said. “[But] We are two of the most driven guys in all of Elite Wrestling by a wide margin.
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“Now, this is not to take away from the talent of the other guys I mentioned before. But as far as two guys willing to do whatever it takes to be the best, he’s the only one that I feel is in my category. But the only reason he won the award last year and I didn’t is because I was busy filming the most-streamed comedy of all time. Next question.”
This weekend, “The Executioner” will once again test MJF’s mettle, this time in Page’s signature “Texas Death Match” – an all-is-possible, all-is-in game where the winner is the one who can survive when the opponent’s worst ideas come true. But one thing MJF carries with him is that while this may be Page’s signature match, Revolution is the championship event. “When you think of revolution, you think of dog collar racing. You think of triathlons,” he said. “I think after this match, you think about this particular Texas Death Match because everyone thinks it’s the Hangman’s Match. People think I’m scared. I’m not scared.
“Would I rather this be a normal pro wrestling match because this is supposed to be a pro wrestling company? Yeah, of course. But people often seem to forget about me… If you put me in a situation with my back against the wall, I’m going to do anything that’s going to get me a win. Anything.
“For me, nothing is impossible. Morality is only for stupid people. Not if you want to be the greatest of all time. I think the statement that’s going to be made [Sunday] Here’s the thing: MJF will dominate the pro wrestling world for the next 20 to 30 years. “
