Last week, I penned an article about the subpar MJF promo, where he used obscene mannerisms and made reference to a fictitious car accident when he was in high school before he claimed he switched seats with the passenger to make it look like she was responsible for the car crash. Besides the fact that the whole scenario was too unrealistic even for the stretched limitations of pro wrestling, it was a promo about a car accident just a few weeks after Jay Briscoe passed away in a real-life car wreck.
I explained that this all seemed more like a desperate attempt to try to “shock” the audience rather than build heat organically. It wasn’t “Piper in Portland,” it was Friedman trying to say something that some might think is “going too far” on the mic. Despite the MJF fans that ran to his defense via e mail and tweets in response to the article, I think the argument stands, especially after this week’s episode of Dynamite that the main event tenure of Maxwell Jacob Friedman continues to be more about a reach to attempt to be controversial than the ability to organically generate heat through mannerisms and the presentation. Tully Blanchard was a smug jerk that didn’t need to clamor for the low hanging fruit of implications of suicide or CTE, but Friedman has begun to cling to such topics because, despite the ability he has, can’t garner the heat to sell a pay-per-view with just his persona. Tully Blanchard had the longevity he did because he was an arrogant jerk and the audience could believe that he was a jerk regardless of if he won or lost a match. The fans were willing to pay to see Tully bleed at the hands of Dusty Rhodes or Magnum TA because the member of the Four Horseman was so smug that everyone wanted to see him get punched in the mouth.
When you consider that premise for what a successful heel is, it becomes obvious just how far off the mark MJF continues to be with his stint as a main event heel.
First of all, Friedman made reference to wanting to take a “handful of pills” because all he has left is the AEW world championship. That doesn’t generate heat, it makes MJF a sympathetic figure, especially with the work that is rightfully being done to reduce the stigmata around mental health in society. If someone was going to take a handful of pills, the vast majority of the audience would view that as someone that needs help, not pummeled on pay-per-view. Keep in mind, beyond the obvious TV rights fees and ad revenue, the purpose of pro wrestling television, at least in the more modern era, is to sell pay-per-views. Theoretically, every segment that involves the world champion, particularly ahead of a scheduled pay-per-view bout, should be designed to prompt fans to be willing to invest $50 to order the PPV. So, you have to ask yourself, did the MJF promo on Dynamite do anything to further the angle with Bryan Danielson for their pay-per-view main event next weekend?
Did MJF claiming that he wanted to take a handful of pills give fans a reason to want to watch an iron man match? Obviously, that was a way to imply suicide, and I just don’t think there’s truly any circumstance where suicide should be used as a discussion point for an angle, and it makes less sense when they person involved is a heel. Furthermore, as the promo progressed, Friedman made reference to CTE, and that’s another topic that just doesn’t have any place in a pro wrestling angle. There are way too many tragedies in pro wrestling, the NFL, and other sports for CTE being used in a promo for it not to sound low brow.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not “offended” by a pro wrestling promo. Considering some of the horrendous stuff that has become common place among the cesspool of politics in the United States, someone trying too hard to be a controversial bad guy isn’t anything compared to some jobber like Marjorie Taylor Greene’s nonsense.
Still, the problem with the content of the promo is two-fold. Despite WWE’s disregard for the audience for almost the past two decades, pro wrestling is supposed to be entertainment for the fans. How you get there and the characters involved are a part of the art of booking, but the bottom line is, the audience is paying for entertainment. When there’s an emotional investment in the result is the true key to drawing major money, but that’s a different discussion for a different time. The point being, the audience invests time and money into a product for the entertainment value. How is MJF’s use of suicide or CTE entertaining? If anything, it makes you want to change the channel because it has such a “yuck” presentation to it, as far as, “this is what they have to do for a reaction now?” When you take into account the perspective of a more casual wrestling fan or someone that doesn’t regularly follow the All Elite product, it’s almost embarrassing to have to explain why such low brow tactics are being used to sell a pay-per-view.
On the other hand, those subjects are taboo to the corporate suits, and if the wrong executive tunes in at the wrong time to hear the wrestlers talking about suicide, AEW’s new TV contract might be considered less of a priority for the network or at the very least seen not as valuable of a television commodity.
Finally, MJF has only been the AEW champion for a few months. He already used car wrecks, suicide, CTE, and WWE references to try to get heat. At this point, the list of things he can say to try to “shock” the audience is dwindling. That’s why it’s so important to have the organic and natural heat that was discussed earlier with a performer like Tully because there’s longevity if a performer can get heat just for their presentation.
Right now Maxwell Jacob Friedman is a one-dimensional heel, and the disappointing aspect of that is that he has the talent to be a more much well-rounded performer, but promos about suicide and CTE are desperate attempts to shock the audience, not selling pay-per-views.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
E mail [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram & Facebook @jimlamotta89
