Maxwell Tyler Friedman (born March 15, 1996), better known by the ring name Maxwell Jacob Friedman or simply the initials MJF, is an American professional wrestler and actor. As a wrestler, he has been signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) since January 2019.
Friedman began his professional wrestling career on the independent circuit in 2015, and soon joined Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), where he became a one-time CZW World Heavyweight Champion and a one-time CZW Wired Champion. He joined Major League Wrestling (MLW) in 2017, becoming the inaugural MLW World Middleweight Champion and won the MLW World Tag Team Championship once. Friedman signed with AEW in 2019 and has since become a three-time AEW World Champion, with his first reign being the longest reign for the title at 406 days, a one-time AEW International Champion, and a record six-time AEW Dynamite Diamond Ring winner. He also won the Casino Ladder Match and Casino Gauntlet match once each. With AEW's relationships with Ring of Honor (ROH) and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), Friedman won the ROH World Tag Team Championship and CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship once each.
Outside of wrestling, Friedman appeared in the comedies Happy Gilmore 2 and Violent Night 2.
Maxwell Tyler Friedman was born into an Ashkenazi Jewish family in Plainview, New York, on March 15, 1996. At the age of five, he appeared on an episode of The Rosie O'Donnell Show that aired in 2001, singing "You Are My Sunshine" after his parents submitted a tape of him singing it in an operatic style while eating a pear. After a video of his performance resurfaced in 2019, it was referenced as part of a wrestling storyline. During his interview with Rosie O'Donnell, Friedman said he aspired to be an opera singer and a professional wrestler, and that Goldberg and The Rock were his favorite wrestlers.
Friedman grew up as a religious Jew, having had his Bar mitzvah in 2009. Friedman graduated in 2014 from Plainview – Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School where he was a member of the football team. He briefly attended Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York.
Friedman was trained by Brian Myers and Pat Buck, and made his in-ring debut in their Create A Pro Wrestling Academy in Hicksville, New York, on February 15, 2015, at age 18. He also wrestled for Combat Zone Wrestling and Five Borough Wrestling during his debut year and went on to appear in numerous promotions across the northeastern independent wrestling circuit. In April 2015, WWE uploaded his entry for WWE Tough Enough to their YouTube channel. He also appeared as an onscreen security guard during Samoa Joe's entrance at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II in August 2016 during which he was pushed by Joe.
Combat Zone Wrestling (2015–2018)
Friedman worked under the new ring name Pete Lightning in several CZW Dojo Wars events since 2015, usually in tag team matches with Hous Blazer and Penelope Ford. On the September 7, 2016 edition of CZW Dojo Wars, he returned to his previous ring name, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, and entered the Dramatic Destination Series tournament. On May 13, 2017, at CZW Sacrifices, Friedman defeated Johnny Yuma to win the CZW Wired Championship. He won his first title defense at CZW EVILution, defeating Trevor Lee. He successfully retained the title in further singles matches against Mike Del, John Silver, and Ace Romero. On October 14 at CZW The Wolf of Wrestling, Friedman lost the CZW Wired title to Joey Janela. Two months later at CZW Cage of Death 19, Friedman won the title back after defeating Janela in a rematch.
Friedman returned on February 10, 2018, at CZW Nineteen, where he won the 27-Man Battle Royal to become the new number one contender for the CZW World Heavyweight Championship. He also successfully defended the CZW Wired Championship against Alex Colon on that date. There he defeated Rickey Shane Page to win the CZW World Heavyweight Championship for the first time, and surrendered the CZW Wired Championship on the same night. He would forfeit the title in November 2018 and make his final appearance on CZW.
Major League Wrestling (2017–2020, 2025)
World Middleweight Champion (2017–2018)
On September 5, 2017, it was reported that Friedman signed a contract with the reinstated Major League Wrestling (MLW) to appear at its reunion event One Shot to compete in a match against Jimmy Yuta, which Friedman won. Friedman then became a member of the MLW roster as he continued his winning streak against Joey Ryan at Never Say Never. MJF suffered his first loss in MLW against Brody King at Zero Hour on January 11, 2018. He then participated in a tournament for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship at Road To The World Championship, losing to the British wrestler Jimmy Havoc in the opening round. Friedman went on to defeat Lance Anoa'i at Spring Break. He made his Fusion debut on the May 11 episode by defeating Fred Yehi. He continued his success with an upset win over Montel Vontavious Porter at Intimidation Games.
On July 29, MJF defeated Joey Ryan to become the first-ever World Middleweight Champion at the Battle Riot special. Later that night, MJF participated in the namesake match as the No. 38 entrant and was eliminated by the eventual winner Tom Lawlor. On the August 10 episode of Fusion, MJF made his first title defense against Joey Janela in a falls count anywhere match, which he retained after Janela's on-screen girlfriend Aria Blake turned on Janela by hitting him in the head with a bottle. This led to Blake becoming MJF's valet. On the September 21 episode of Fusion, MJF and Blake defeated Joey Ryan and Taya Valkyrie in a mixed tag team match. MJF made his second title defense of the World Middleweight Championship on the November 9 episode of Fusion, where he successfully defended the title against Jason Cade and Jimmy Yuta in a three-way elimination match. On November 25, Friedman revealed that he had suffered a fractured elbow with a recovery time of 4 to 6 weeks. MLW later announced that the Middleweight title had been stripped from Friedman due to him not being cleared in time for his scheduled title defense at MLW's live Fusion December 14 episode.
MJF returned from his injury on the February 16, 2019 episode of Fusion, where he unsuccessfully challenged the new champion Teddy Hart for the World Middleweight Championship. After the match, Richard Holliday joined MJF in attacking Hart. As a result, the duo formed a team called The Dynasty and began feuding with the Hart Foundation. They were shortly after joined by the newcomer Alexander Hammerstone. He later won the MLW World Tag Team Championship with Richard Holliday as part of the Dynasty.
He left the promotion in January 2020, but would wrestle Mance Warner in a loser leaves town, empty arena match in April 2020.
On June 26, 2025, at Summer of the Beasts, MJF returned to MLW after five years, where he attacked Místico, who he had been feuding with in AEW and CMLL.
All Elite Wrestling (2019–present)
On January 7, 2019, it was announced that Friedman was signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) for a five-year deal. The year before, he had wrestled the opening maincard match of All In, an event seen as a precursor to the formation of the company, defeating Matt Cross. He debuted as a heel at Double or Nothing on May 25 as a part of the pre-show Casino Battle Royale for an AEW World Championship opportunity. He lasted until the final two, before being eliminated by Adam Page. Friedman went on to compete in a four-way match against Page, Jimmy Havoc and Jungle Boy at Fyter Fest on June 29, which Page also won. The following month at Fight for the Fallen on July 13, he teamed with Shawn Spears and Sammy Guevara to defeat Havoc, Darby Allin, and Joey Janela in a six-man tag team match.