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Post by Lance Uppercut on Oct 10, 2022 16:17:29 GMT -5
www.postwrestling.com/2022/10/10/pollocks-news-update-mjf-speaks-on-double-or-nothing-weekend/WRESTLING NEWS **MJF was interviewed by Sam Roberts and discussed Double or Nothing weekend in Las Vegas. For the first time, MJF spoke in-depth about what happened noting that AEW lost $10,000 that day when he skipped a scheduled meet-and-greet appearance. He stated that he skipped the event because his boss “was being a f—king mark” and if he wasn’t going to be paid what he is worth, then he wasn’t showing up. He also stated that AEW made a wellness check at the hotel room he was staying at and that AEW security tried to break his door down, but he had already left. He believes it was everyone’s fear that it was MJF’s “Brian Pillman moment” but said it was about him getting paid what he is worth. He said he is happy now and got paid.
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Mozenrath
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Post by Mozenrath on Oct 10, 2022 16:37:07 GMT -5
I was going to write "kayfabe" in pig latin before realizing that's already more or less what it is, out of "fake".
I am not saying this is entirely bullshit, like I do imagine pay was part of the issue, but if I am being frank, if it was just about money, I don't think he disappears and comes back in better shape, etc. I frankly think he needed time off to address things and just isn't going to get into that, which, depending the nature of what was up, may be pretty personal.
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Post by kingoftheindies on Oct 10, 2022 16:47:48 GMT -5
I was going to write "kayfabe" in pig latin before realizing that's already more or less what it is, out of "fake". I am not saying this is entirely bullshit, like I do imagine pay was part of the issue, but if I am being frank, if it was just about money, I don't think he disappears and comes back in better shape, etc. I frankly think he needed time off to address things and just isn't going to get into that, which, depending the nature of what was up, may be pretty personal. reading between the lines of every interview MJF has done, and also what little Tony said in his interview with Ariel Halwani, I think pay was an issue, but I also agree that MJF just needed a mental break. As great as he is, ya cannot always be in character. Likely effects ya mentally. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2022 17:04:02 GMT -5
I was going to write "kayfabe" in pig latin before realizing that's already more or less what it is, out of "fake". I am not saying this is entirely bullshit, like I do imagine pay was part of the issue, but if I am being frank, if it was just about money, I don't think he disappears and comes back in better shape, etc. I frankly think he needed time off to address things and just isn't going to get into that, which, depending the nature of what was up, may be pretty personal. reading between the lines of every interview MJF has done, and also what little Tony said in his interview with Ariel Halwani, I think pay was an issue, but I also agree that MJF just needed a mental break. As great as he is, ya cannot always be in character. Likely effects ya mentally. MJF has one interview that I know of where he breaks kayfabe, and he pretty much admits he has some pretty bad anxiety. We probably won't ever know the full details, but reading the tea leaves, I'd say that he was wanting both a fatter sack of cash but also had some bad anxiety about how he was going to keep going after losing to Wardlow after already having lost the feud to Punk. I'm not saying he was right to ghost that meet and greet, but dude might have worked himself up over nothing simply because he was worried he wouldn't be able to get MJF heat if he kept getting beaten like a drum. Tony Khan may be a lax guy, but I don't think he's letting MJF actually call him a "f***ing mark" unless a previous agreement and arrangement was made. |
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Post by "Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik on Oct 10, 2022 18:17:27 GMT -5
For what it's worth, Meltzer and Sean Ross Sapp have both said the wellness check was not a work and actually happened.
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Post by Final Countdown Jones on Oct 10, 2022 18:23:26 GMT -5
Something clearly happened that was a lot more serious than all of this, and now it's being worked into a storyline for heat because it was too big for them to feel they could ignore. In the midst of all that. To talk about what really happened requires Max to show emotional vulnerability he's sure as shit not going to show in a Sam Roberts interview. Not when he's so protective of his character and keeps kayfabe in interviews. I expect it'll be a long time before we find out what actually happened and what they talked about, if ever. But I definitely agree that there's no way Tony's letting this whole character run be "MJF actually is a dick and got his way and he gets to call me a mark everywhere ha ha it's funsies and then he can go to WWE next year" because that's unbelievably stupid. But for the sake of leaning into how his character is already set up, it's a convenient way to keep the lie going. THe money conflict is what we know, so leaning in to it protects everything else around it.
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Kalmia
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Post by Kalmia on Oct 10, 2022 19:10:14 GMT -5
For what it's worth, Meltzer and Sean Ross Sapp have both said the wellness check was not a work and actually happened. I would imagine it was. If a talent no shows a scheduled event without warning and they can't be contacted, it's the responsible thing to do. |
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Post by El Cokehead del Knife Fight on Oct 10, 2022 20:06:45 GMT -5
I was going to write "kayfabe" in pig latin before realizing that's already more or less what it is, out of "fake". I am not saying this is entirely bullshit, like I do imagine pay was part of the issue, but if I am being frank, if it was just about money, I don't think he disappears and comes back in better shape, etc. I frankly think he needed time off to address things and just isn't going to get into that, which, depending the nature of what was up, may be pretty personal. reading between the lines of every interview MJF has done, and also what little Tony said in his interview with Ariel Halwani, I think pay was an issue, but I also agree that MJF just needed a mental break. As great as he is, ya cannot always be in character. Likely effects ya mentally. Playing the absolutely dirt worst person 24/7 has to be so mentally shattering that I don't blame him for going dark for a few months. |
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Post by "Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik on Oct 10, 2022 22:54:06 GMT -5
I am in the camp right now that MJF actually did sign an extension after all this and it's going to be kept between himself and TK. Hence why it's being used as a plot device. Tony knows he's going to win the bidding war so he's setting himself up to hit a home run.
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The Ichi
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Post by The Ichi on Oct 11, 2022 2:32:50 GMT -5
reading between the lines of every interview MJF has done, and also what little Tony said in his interview with Ariel Halwani, I think pay was an issue, but I also agree that MJF just needed a mental break. As great as he is, ya cannot always be in character. Likely effects ya mentally. Playing the absolutely dirt worst person 24/7 has to be so mentally shattering that I don't blame him for going dark for a few months. My thoughts on that though is that he doesn't need to be doing it. Like I appreciate the commitment, but if it's taking a toll on him mentality, why do it? Walter White isn't any less of an iconic character even knowing that Bryan Cranston doesn't actually run a meth lab. More wrestlers need to say upfront that it's all fake honestly. |
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Post by Mid-Carder on Oct 11, 2022 3:13:56 GMT -5
Money may have been part of it but he looked terrible at Double or Nothing. Unwell, unhappy, whatever. All wrestlers should get mental breaks when they need them.
I also agree with whoever said MJF probably did sign an extension, hence why Tony is happy for him to keep publicly talking about it. I wouldn't put my company eggs in the basket of a guy who may not be around after a year.
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Post by Final Countdown Jones on Oct 11, 2022 6:12:50 GMT -5
Is there any proof MJF actually like "24/7" stays in character, though? I'd always understood it as that he stays in character for media and con appearances, not that he's hardcore method acting and a toxic nightmare shithead to everybody around him.
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Post by lavelleuk22 on Oct 11, 2022 9:32:17 GMT -5
If he suffers from anxiety then being in chsrecter probably feels like it helps. They don't dislike him, they dislike the characters, he can't be boring if he's being in character etc.
Maybe he's hiding behind it to help the anxiety...or maybe he just e joys it, who knows lol
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Post by Vice honcho room temperature on Oct 11, 2022 11:30:29 GMT -5
I mean an actual wellness check at the hotel room is a telling sign they were worried about him.
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Post by Ronny Rayguns Is All Elite on Oct 11, 2022 11:36:12 GMT -5
Is there any proof MJF actually like "24/7" stays in character, though? I'd always understood it as that he stays in character for media and con appearances, not that he's hardcore method acting and a toxic nightmare shithead to everybody around him. Yea.. If he went around in real life talking reckless and cutting promos on people outside of wrestling circle who don't know or give a f about who he is, it seems like we would have heard about him getting into physical altercations and saw videos online of him showing his ass in public |
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Post by Mozenrath on Oct 11, 2022 17:28:56 GMT -5
I don't think I've really heard about him staying in-character around other wrestlers all that much. He's also occasionally breaks it to varying degrees, like I remember him speaking more frankly to a Jewish publication about his background, as well as both him and Allie Katch calling someone out once on twitter for rumor-mongering about their past relationship and playing their breakup to be something more serious than it was.
Still, he's more committed than most, certainly.
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Blade
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Post by Blade on Oct 11, 2022 18:32:44 GMT -5
Playing the absolutely dirt worst person 24/7 has to be so mentally shattering that I don't blame him for going dark for a few months. My thoughts on that though is that he doesn't need to be doing it. Like I appreciate the commitment, but if it's taking a toll on him mentality, why do it? Walter White isn't any less of an iconic character even knowing that Bryan Cranston doesn't actually run a meth lab. More wrestlers need to say upfront that it's all fake honestly. Wrestling and acting are related but not the same thing. One difference is that for the most part, actors promote the product they are part of, and wrestlers are promoting themselves. This is obviously not a hard and fast rule, exceptions exist, but it is imo a pretty clear trend. So the ways they promote will also differ. We're exposed to far more of the "real" wrestler due to the nature of the business and fandom. Sure, there's some people who watch the shows and never follow backstage stuff - the much ballyhooed "casual fan", but nearly all the engaged wrestling online fandom is aware of stuff like tertiary interviews, which isn't true of Breaking Bad fandom. So that's another reason to keep a consistent image in the public mind. But hardly the only one. There is another more fundamental difference between wrestling and acting. In acting, landing the role is generally the big deal, in wrestling, getting to play your character is not the big deal. Every active wrestler is playing some sort of character, after all, even if it's "me". In wrestling, you reach the top by being what the promoter thinks is top guy material getting the audience to be invested in you, to pay attention to you, to react to you, to buy your merch. It is an ongoing struggle. And that means there's a strong incentive to use every avenue to further promote your character, to get people invested in your character. Every chance to have people paying attention to you is a chance to sell yourself. I am pretty certain Hangman Page could, if he wanted to, have a twitter where he acts normally and uses capital letters. But instead, he uses his twitter to project a laconic, sometimes confused persona that shows off his in-ring character. And many people like this! Thus providing him with the all-important hustle to get people into his character, increase his fandom and sell more merch. Keeping kayfabe in non-wrestling contexts is working, in both senses of the word. It also lets the wrestler explore and reveal things about their character that they can't on tv, and provides a venue for practicing and exploring that character (this is especially the case because most wrestlers are NOT trained actors and need all the practice they can get to keep their character consistent and natural). |
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Post by sportatorium on Oct 12, 2022 13:46:32 GMT -5
I hate to be the "it's all been a work" person, but I believe it has been. Didn't he have a voice over commitment that he was doing? Also, he could have been healing up some minor injuries.
I think MJF is someone who is trying to play up as much kayfabe as he can in today's world, so sharing that he always stays in character or purposely going awol & getting the wellness check are ways that he can continue to work everyone, and TK seems like the kind of guy who would be there for it 100%.
He's obviously a student of Piper & Pillman. One thing that those two, especially Piper couldn't ever do is keep the audience from getting behind them. The audience desperately wants to cheer MJF and get behind him. The theoretical work here is trying to keep him as a heel. If he gets a Flair-esque run with the AEW belt and can make babyfaces who want to chase him, he can get that real heel heat back. All of this seems like it has been leading up to making him champion.
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Post by Mochi Lone Wolf on Oct 12, 2022 15:20:03 GMT -5
Max has really awful anxiety and ADHD. Both those things can lead to really bad burnout. I say that from personal experience. Especially when you’re in a position where you’re required to always be “on.” Not to mention he’s now performing in front of massive TV and live audiences. He’s not in MLW anymore. He’s a weekly TV mega star.
That on top of pay issues probably led to this. I think it’s another case of AEW taking a legit issue and pivoting it into a work.
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