Jim Ross Says MJF Is An Athletic & Younger Paul Heyman

MJF is certainly one of the best heels in the pro wrestling world right now and his character has only continued to develop during his time in AEW. He quickly cemented himself as a top star and has been mainstay of AEW television since the debut of AEW Dynamite back in 2019.

The Salt of the Earth takes his heel persona very seriously and never breaks it, no matter where he is. This has led to several fans and pro wrestlers applauding him for his dedication.

On the other hand, Paul Heyman is one of the most well-known and established names in the pro wrestling world. He is touted as one of the greatest minds to have ever been seen in the business.

Paul Heyman is certainly one of the best talkers on the microphone and has helped elevate many Superstars he has worked with over the years and that includes Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar and others.

While speaking on his Grilling JR podcast, WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross talked about MJF’s current in AEW. Ross compared MJF to a young and more athletic Paul Heyman.

“I think Tony Khan is booking MJF perfectly because he’s not overexposing him. He’s keeping him fresh. Of course, Max is really great at keeping himself fresh because Max loves Max. I don’t blame him. If he doesn’t have his own back, who does? He’s very smart. Let me tell you this, statement of the night may be that MJF is a younger, actually athletic version of Paul Heyman. I was around Paul Heyman when he was in his 20s a lot and I helped Paul a great deal back when nobody wanted to work with him because he was so obstinate in their view.

Well, I saw talent. Was he a pain in the ass? Absolutely. But he was our pain in the ass and he was my pain in the ass partner who made both of us better. So we did some good work in WCW before he ever got to WWE, I always thought. I enjoyed it, I can tell you that. So Max is a young Paul Heyman, only with muscles and athletic ability. So that just tells you where he ranks in my lexicon of some of the smartest guys I’ve ever been around in pro wrestling. The thing about it, he’s in his mid-20s. So hopefully he won’t ever self-destruct… He and I have had some really good talks over our tenure there at AEW. I always talk to him at every TV and we chat about different things. He asks questions that are intelligent questions, so you know that he’s thinking about things that are spot on because of the questions that he asks or the subjects that he wants to discuss.”

MJF also stated that Tony Khan thanks him for being one of the biggest draws in professional wrestling. It remains to be seen whether MJF will ever make his way to WWE in the future or not.

h/t to Fightful for the quotes

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