Arn Anderson has detailed the first time he ever encountered outspoken AEW star Maxwell Jacob Friedman and the impression he left on the Four Horseman.
Taking questions on his ARN podcast alongside co-host Conrad Thompson, Anderson was asked about MJF and his first impression of him.
Anderson recalled:
“I’d never seen him before. He started taking questions and I saw him easing up to the edge, and easing up to the edge. I’ll never forget it. I couldn’t believe he was given carte blanche. Listen, I’ve said some iffy things to some people over the years but when the kid rolled up there to the podium in the wheelchair and he said to MJF: ‘How you doing?’ And he looked at him and went ‘better than you’, I swallowed my teeth.”
“That’s a kid in a wheelchair! Whew, I think that says everything that you need to say. Now he’s been given carte blanche to a degree right now. And the kid [MJF] is a tremendous worker. Part of him is a throwback to the late-80s talent, that he works. Then you spring forward to 2021, he’s that guy. It’s like Richard Pryor, in the day, but he’s Richard Pryor today in 2021 when some stuff’s not acceptable and a lot of stuff’s not acceptable.”
Anderson continued:
“You can’t just say some things and I think we go overboard with a lot of those politically correct ‘no-nos’. He doesn’t have any ‘no-nos’, you never know what’s gonna come out of that guy’s mouth. [Conrad: he’s like a modern [Rowdy Roddy] Piper a little bit]. A little bit, a little bit. And he pushes the envelope every single time. I commend him for that. I also hope he’s smart enough to know: pull up a little short of going into bad taste you know what I mean and just being too much.”
Arn Anderson appears on AEW as head coach of Cody Rhodes’ Nightmare Family. Anderson was part of the feud between Rhodes and MJF in 2020. Anderson discussed many things on his podcast including commenting on John Cena’s STF submission hold and who gave the move to Cena.