Shawn Lealos: Hello.
MJF: All right, please tell me you don’t have a French accent like the last one because I could barely understand a word the last interviewer was saying.
Shawn: Well, mine is almost as bad. I’m from Oklahoma. So, it’s an Oklahoma accent.
MJF: Thank God, I’ll be able to make out the entire interview. Thank you for setting this up. So, what are you thinking? What do you want to do today? What’s the goal?
Shawn: I guess we’d like to talk about Blood & Guts, talk about The Pinnacle, and talk about how things have been going with you lately in AEW now that you’ve got your own faction to lead.
MJF: Talking about myself really hard. I’m a super humble guy. But if you’re gonna pull my leg about it, I’ll try my best.
Shawn: So, you’ve got you’ve got Blood & Guts coming up. This was supposed to have taken place last year with The Elite and The Inner Circle, where The Elite was the establishment in AEW and The Inner Circle is trying to break in. Now it’s reversed. The Inner Circle has dominated for the last couple of years, and you guys are the ones trying to break in. How does that make this match different than the original plans?
MJF: Well, the difference is that all the players in this are much more interesting. You got MJF in it, and that’s all you really need. But outside of that, what I would say is me and Chris Jericho, we’ve been connected to the hip eye to eye, whether as Friend or Foe now for eight months. That is a long time. This thing has been brewing for a very, very long time. And that’s something I’m proud of because I’m a very calculated man. And it took a lot of took a lot of time and effort for me to infest and become a cancer and rot The Inner Circle from within. That’s something that most people wouldn’t be proud of. But I am I’m proud of the fact that I use the fact that my grandfather passed away in order to become friends with Santana and Ortiz, I’m proud of the fact that I put on a performance of a lifetime at dinner debonair to earn Chris Jericho’s trust, and become the only wrestler in the history of this great sport to ever be in the New York Times as best performer. I’m proud of it all. And to top it all off, that’s why it made it so sweet. When they thought they had their ace in the hole. They had me cornered in the ring, and they all looked at each other and they said we’re gonna beat this guy’s butt now. And then the lights go out, they turn back on. Nope, newsflash, nobody outsmarts MJF. That’s what’s different about this. What’s different about this is every single player is a key player. You got to witness last night that Shawn Spears has been a star for 19 years. He’s just never gotten the proper spotlight. You already know FTR – Cash Money and Dax the Axe – are the best tag team in the world. You already know that Wardlow is the best insurance policy money can buy. And you already know that Tully Blanchard’s been inside Blood & Guts. He knows this game inside and out. And he’s been writing some seriously great plays for us leading into May 5. And, God I don’t need to talk about myself we already know about all my accomplishments. And then on the other side, you have an incredible group within its own and I will give them their credit.
Santana and Ortiz incredible tag team Jake Hager incredible big man. Sammy Guevara, very stupid. I mean, we already know that he’s wildly dumb. He gave up the advantage out of sheer stupidity. We all kind of saw that coming. He’s from Texas, but you know, he’s good at flipping and shit. And then you got Chris Jericho, the greatest of all time, the GOAT. And the overarching thing here is it’s a tale as old as time. It’s student versus teacher. He’s the lion at the top of the hill. And I am the young cub, and I want his spot. And I’m going to take it. So there’s a whole lot more going on here as opposed to you know, the feud that was going on – God, I don’t even know how long ago. That was like a year ago. It’s much different. It’s much deeper. It’s much more intense. And there’s a lot more at stake here.
Shawn: You know, I was talking to Tony Khan after your match with Jungle Boy…
MJF: That’s my best friend. Did you know that?
Shawn: Tony Khan? Yes, Yes, I did.
MJF: Yeah, my boy TK, but go on. I’m sure he put me over. Everybody does.
Shawn: Yeah, I was I was talking with that matchup with Jungle Boy at Double or Nothing. I compared it to the Ric Flair-Ricky Steamboat matches and Tony compared it to the Randy Savage-Ricky Steamboat matches where you were the perfect heel and Jungle Boy was the perfect babyface trying to fight from behind. That is pretty high compliment when Tony threw out Randy Savage’s name. You seem to be someone who doesn’t play a villain. You seem to be someone who lives that role. Where does that come from when it comes to your knowledge of the history of wrestling and how you created your wrestling persona, which I assume is also a part of your actual real persona in real life anyway,
MJF: You know, I wish I could call it a persona but this is me 24-seven bud, and the thing is, I remember growing up, I would watch you know, the Rey Mysterio’s or the Hulk Hogan’s, or the Shawn Michaels. I mean, the list goes on and on of these incredible quote-unquote, heroes of professional wrestling. And I just remember thinking to myself, Oh, my God, these guys are disingenuous. There’s no way they care that much about these people. It’s BS, and to top it off, they all had to play by the rules, which made it even harder to win the match, which made it even harder to get the winner’s purse. I mean, what are we doing here? So then what I did was I watched old-school wrestling, I watched Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert, I watched Tully Blanchard, which is why it’s so incredible that he’s now in my corner. I watched Ted DiBiase. I watched Ric Flair, I watched Arn Anderson. Look, I can go on and on. And I mean, I really can go on and on, because I’m a student of the game. And what I realized was, these guys were cutting corners, and everybody hated him for it. And I couldn’t comprehend why because they were winning. I don’t know about you, but I love a winner. And I can’t think of anybody who’s a bigger winner than me. I’m undefeated. So that’s why I’m me. That’s why I’m the way I am. Genetically. I’ve always been this way. I’m always going to be this way. It’s never gonna change. And I’m fine with it. I’m fine with the fact that people have threatened to kill me on Twitter and Instagram, DMs, I’m fine with the fact that somebody dressed up as a pilot and snuck into one of the arenas when we were still traveling on the road to try to abduct me, I’m fine with the fact that when I was in Mexico, people threw a car battery at me. And luckily, it missed. And I’m fine with the fact that somebody threw piss at me. I’m fine with it all because that happened to guys like Roddy Piper. That happened to guys like the Tully Blanchard’s the Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert’s, the Arn Anderson’s, the Ric Flair’s. That’s why I’m fine with it. Because what I’m doing right now, people will be talking about forever, I’m gonna go down as the greatest quote-unquote, heel as much as I hate that word, because it’s BS, in the history of professional wrestling.
Shawn: You know, I completely agree with the comparisons to Tully Blanchard too, because when you think of the heels in the 90s, you see bad guys the fans cheer for because they’re cool. They’re cheering for, you know, the Kevin Nash’s and Scott Hall’s because they’re cool. But no one cheered for Tully Blanchard. People wanted to see him get killed in that I Quit match with Magnum T.A.,
MJF: Bingo.
Shawn: When you’re working with Tully Blanchard, someone who was a master of making people hate him as a heel, what has he brought to you, now that you’re working closely with him hand in hand?
MJF: I got the devil on my shoulder, baby. And I’m damn proud of it. Here’s the deal. What people don’t seem to understand is this man’s wrestling IQ and acumen is so far above – head and shoulders above – anybody else in the industry right now. What you have noticed if you’ve seen me inside of a ring at this point, or even in interviews at this point, there’s no more time for Haha. Tully sat me down. He explained to me said Max, I get why you’re arrogant. I was just as arrogant as you when I was your age. Why wouldn’t you be? You’re incredible. But when that bell rings, you need to be a killer. You cannot think about what the fans think of you. You don’t have to worry about them looking at you. Of course, they’re looking at you. You’re the star, the only thing you need to worry about is punishing your opponent. So I think if there’s one thing that Tully’s taught me is there’s no more Mr. Nice Guy, and I’m sure that shocks me when they hear it but a part of me a part of me was being a little bit nice when I was in the ring previous to me sitting down with Tully Blanchard. Now, now, I do not care one ounce for an inkling about my opponents’ health or well-being. I do not care about showboating. The only thing I care about is doing whatever it takes to get the W and every single person in The Pinnacle feels the exact same way. I can assure you they do. And that’s why on May 5, these guys are screwed. Sammy Guevara. He loves to do like weird dance moves to pop the crowd. Santana and Ortiz, they make these weird faces. Jake Hager I don’t even know if he knows where he is half the time, the guys a complete dunce. And then Chris Jericho. Like I said yesterday, man, the dude’s exhausted. He’s had a very long reign, we’re talking 30 years, how couldn’t he be exhausted? It’s time for somebody new. It’s time for something fresh. It’s time for me to take that spot to take his crown, if you will. And I’m very much looking forward to it. And none of that would be possible without the great Tully Blanchard.
Shawn: When you guys finish Blood & Guts next week, and you guys take care of The Inner Circle, there’s a pay-per-view coming up just a few weeks after that. What do you see? I mean, I’m sure you’re not looking past The Inner Circle, but you surely have a goal coming up of where you want to see MJF going once you get this monkey off your shoulder
MJF: Once the monkey is good and dead. And trust me, I am looking forward to that. I think it’s time for a Pinnacles conquest of gold. And when I say that, I mean I’m talking about FTR retaining the belts they should have never lost in the first place. The Bucks cheated. Everybody knows that. I’m talking about Shawn Spears proving to the world that for these past 19 years, he’s been overlooked for literally no reason and becoming a TNT Champion or an FTW champion even, and I’m looking forward to me becoming the AEW World Champion, and when I am done having a Bruno Sammartino-esque long reign, I am completely fine with giving that title to Wardog. Completely fine with it.
Shawn: So, can you see The Pinnacle lining up against The Elite here in the near future?
MJF: If they’re in our way, if anyone’s in our way, they’re in trouble.
Shawn: They are holding the belts right now.
MJF: Yeah, they are. And if, by the time I’m done killing this disgusting grotesque line of monkeys, if they still have those championship titles, they’re in for a world of trouble. Just like anybody else who would hold that title. I don’t care if Kenny Omega is holding the title. I don’t care if Jon Moxley is holding the title. I don’t care if the ghost of Aubrey Hepburn is holding it. I don’t care. none of it matters. We’re gonna take the championships. We’re gonna take all of them because we’re The Pinnacle. And we’re gonna prove it.
Shawn: I assume here probably within the next half year or so, you’re going to be getting back on the road again. How important is it for someone like you to play off the heat of a packed house crowd who just hates you compared to working with the crowd at a distance right now? How excited are you to get back on the road to have those fans just booing you throughout your matches?
MJF: Dude, you’re like the fifth person who asked me this. What people don’t realize is everybody has been calling this thing a pandemic. I’ve been calling it a vacation. I don’t have to look at these disgusting grotesque monsters in the crowd anymore. I’m in my safe space at Daly’s Place. I’m elated. I’m happy. Once we get going on the road. I’m going to be miserable again, cuz I’m gonna have to look at all these disgusting pores. You think I want to look at all these disgusting pores. No, but whatever. It is what it is, we got a vaccine now everybody’s taking it, you know, and I’m stuck. Now, I got to deal with these people. And it is what it is. I’m not happy about it.
Shawn: So you’re 25. You’ve got 25 years ahead of you. AEW is bringing in a lot of veterans are bringing in Sting, they’re bringing in Christian. How does someone who’s 25 years old and has gotten your spot feel when you see these veterans coming in and threatening to take your spot.
MJF: I know you can’t see it, but I’m making a masturbatory gesture right now cuz I could give less of a shit. Here’s the deal, Shawn. I’m not worried about these guys, because at the inception of AEW, I walked down a ramp when the quote-unquote best there is best there was best there ever will be was holding a microphone and holding up our brand spanking new AEW world title. And I merked him on the microphone. I merked Hangman Page on the microphone. And then I beat Hangman Page for the Dynamite Diamond Dozen ring. And then I beat Cody Rhodes and then I beat Chris Jericho and I would have beaten Dictator Jon if he didn’t cheat and use an illegal maneuver. I am the most must see man in professional wrestling right now. And that’s a fact man. And I don’t care if Sting comes in, or Christian comes in. It all is meaningless. Okay, great for them. They get to come out there. They get their little cute pop, they get to feel like young again. They get to feel like me, they’re gonna feel vibrant. But here’s the thing, they’re not me. And I think Sting knows it. And Christian knows it. And any other person that is leaving that other promotion knows that to come into mine, you’re not taking my spot. You can gladly take second, and you can settle for second. Second is good, Okay. There’s been a lot of people who’ve made a lot of money off of being in second place in the history of professional sports, but just understand, I don’t care who you are. You’re not taking my spot, man. Absolutely not. And the spot I’m about to take is under the umbrella of somebody who has been called the greatest of all time and on May 5 when I defeat him and his cohorts. I mean, come on. It’s gonna be absolutely undisputable that I’m the guy. Done.
Shawn: Excellent. Well, thanks very much for taking the time to talk to us. I’m really looking forward to seeing Blood & Guts. I wanted to see this for a year and I’m more excited with you, with FTR, with all you guys in it too because this is fresh.
MJF: I know what you’re trying to say we’re a much sexier and much more attractive looking group than The Elite. And it makes for much better TV for the female demo. I get it. Shawn, I appreciate you for this interview. Please do yourself a favor and seek out a dentist. It’s brutal. I’ll talk to you later.
Shawn: Thanks.
MJF: Thank you guys. That was a lot of fun.