AEW superstar MJF was recently interviewed by Fightful to talk all things pro-wrestling, including how he was influenced by promotions like AWA and World Class Wrestling, as well as commenting on the uniqueness of his matchups. Highlights are below.
His influences:
Well, I’ve said Roddy Piper a billion times. Ric Flair. Tully Blanchard. It’s unfortunate that me and him had to have a spat back in the day, but I think if me and him talked it out, it’d be fine. I mean, the list honestly goes on and on. Nick Bockwinkle. I grow exhausted with the examples simply because I watch so much professional wrestling. I watch Mid-South Wrestling. I watch Global. I watch Smokey Mountain. I watch AWA. I watch World Class. I watch anything I can get my hands on from, pretty much, from ’92 downward simply because so many people in my generation don’t concern themselves with that time frame because they feel they can get nothing from it. I find that laughable.
How all of his matchups for feel unique:
There’s a reason why every single time I’m in the ring it seems I’m unique. I feel like a throwback of sorts. I feel different. Whereas every else is kinda going out there and they’re trying to do sequences as fast as they possible can, and they’re trying to hurt their opponent by doing flips and dives. It was never my M.O. I believe Chris Jericho is somebody that was able to mix both the old school and the new school, and that’s something I pride myself on as well.