MJF even nails the nuances in his gimmick

[HMARK Center]

Ok, a thread praising MJF for playing his character well might seem unnecessary given how clear it is that this guy's got his persona down cold, but something clicked for me last night during the Griff Garrison match: MJF isn't just a spoiled rich kid/bully character, he nails basically every aspect of being that type of character.

The obvious crux of the match last night was MJF getting angry at Griff pointing out that he has a blemish on his record. By later in the match, MJF is screaming in Griff's face, shoving a microphone at him to say "you're undefeated". This wouldn't be all that strange, a heel getting mad that someone won't play into their delusions of grandeur isn't anything new, but there's clearly such a narcissistic, sociopathic streak to MJF that his response really went up another level.

Because ultimately, what MJF's reaction showed is who he really is (in kayfabe, duh): while he's absolutely a legitimate in-ring talent and someone who can believably win matches and championships based on his talent, he's also an incredibly, intensely damaged, little man...and I don't mean "little" in terms of height. He could be proud of his record, hang his hat on being ranked #1 and thus in line for a title shot soon, but instead he's obsessive about having everyone recognize him in the way he wants to be recognized, as undefeated, even though he technically isn't what he says. He's constructing a persona and a reality for himself, and anyone who steps forward and dares to pierce the bubble he's made and point out the lie is responded to with frothing, violent rage, to the point of nearly incoherent screaming as he tries to maim them.

In other words, he's charismatic, but he isn't "cool". He's a smarmy jerk, but largely because he's emotionally weak and unstable. He's a legitimate talent, but he's actually super insecure and has to do all these awful things to compensate for that. And if you call him out on any of it? You're threatening his entire worldview and mental image of himself, and if he loses faith in the lies he's built then that entire world will come crashing down around him. A scary thought, indeed, but rather than muster up the courage to confront that and try to grow and improve himself, he instead lashes out, whether it's with insults or with weapons; as long as he can put his head on his pillow at night convincing himself that he fully believes he's "better than you", then any means justify that end.

Basically, this is taking the "rich bully" character and actually making it feel real and lived; it's not just "go out there and draw some heat", it's "I (read: people like this) exist, and that sheer existence is a heat magnet". Not for nothing, but in an age of massive wealth gaps around the world that's a potent gimmick with a lot of potential to be relevant for a very, very long time.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

I keep bringing Eddie Kingston up because AEW's brought him in so it's their fault lol, but just imagine for a few seconds what a f***ing MJF/Eddie Kingston feud would look and sound like

MJF is a character that was made for a character like Eddie Kingston. I saw Eddie feud with smarmy jerks before like Tim Donst, and it was brilliant then and it'd be brilliant now. MJF can be a snivly little punk and Eddie hitting him would be so cathartic to see.

There are too many Eddie Kingston dream feuds I've been thinking of since he showed up, please have him officially signed so they aren't what if's and could actually happen AEW, lmfao.