Maxwell Jacob Friedman Is the Pro-Wrestling World’s Most Lovable Douche

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( pro wrestling [How to Build the World’s Most Lovable Douche]( MJF is the most exciting heel wrestling has seen in a long time, and he might just be its next big hero. Photo: All Elite Wrestling In the world of professional wrestling, shoot is a term for a performer going off script — usually in a very bad way. When CM Punk, star of three-year-old wrestling promotion AEW, decided to start hurling insults at AEW management during a press conference in September and followed it up with a [very real locker-room altercation](, it was a shoot — one that would get Punk [indefinitely suspended]( and his AEW World Championship title vacated. This kicked off a tournament to crown a new face of the promotion, during which one of the company’s biggest villains, Maxwell Jacob Friedman (a.k.a. MJF), has emerged as its biggest hero. Friedman’s persona in the ring is, to put it bluntly, that of an asshole. He wears a Burberry scarf all the time. His tagline is “I’m better than you, and you know it.” He calls people “poors.” He constantly refers to himself as a “generational talent” and “the devil” (his fans are “devil worshippers”). And perhaps worst of all, he’s [proudly from Long Island](. Parents [bring their children]( to gleefully [be insulted by him](, fans [wait in line]( for him to scowl in photos and call them names, and people [deliberately troll him]( and [bring him homemade gifts to ruin](. (In [one video](, after he drops a fan’s autograph sheet and storms off, the fan yells out, “That’s better than an autograph, bro. You’re the man!”) [Read More]( Devour pop culture with us. [Subscribe now](for unlimited access to Vulture and everything New York. The Latest TV Recaps • The Crown: [Full Circle]( • The Sex Lives of College Girls: [Baby, It’s Cold Outside (Ep. 1)](, [XXL (Ep. 2)](, • Dead to Me: [It’s Hard to Die (Ep. 3)](, [Dashboard Confessional (Ep. 4)](, [Always on My Mind (Ep. 5)]( • Mythic Quest: [The Year of Brittlesbee]( • 1899: [Not the Foggiest Idea (Ep. 3)](, [Going Overboard (Ep. 4)]( • The Great British Baking Show: [Flavor Savior]( • Dead to Me: [Mama Said There’d Be Days Like This]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like [In & Juliet, Verona Goes Pop! Power pop as empowerment, Renaissance Division.]( [Mckenna Grace on Finding Hope at the End of A Friend of the Family “Look at the pain and heartache the Brobergs went through. They still came together as a family afterwards.”]( By Sean T. Collins [The Prosecution Rests in Harvey Weinstein’s L.A. Rape Trial The trial will resume after Thanksgiving.]( [Why Is It Hard to Say Wakanda Forever Isn’t Good? Sam Sanders tries to make peace with the fact that he found the Black Panther sequel disappointing.]( [Look What Taylor Swift Fans Made Ticketmaster Do … cancel the general sale for the Eras Tour.]( [Start Making Your Reservations for The White Lotus Season 3 White Lotus: Great Wolf Lodge.]( By Rebecca Alter [Greendale Alum Luis Guzmán Is Ready to Go Back to School He would “love to” return as himself in the Community movie.]( By Alejandra Gularte [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Today’s Crossword]( 6-Down, Three Letters: Like Andrés on Los Espookys. Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos by JMEnternational/Redferns, Rick Kern/WireImage and Taylor Hill/FilmMagic Vulture Recommends We consume it all so you don’t have to. Photo: Searchlight Pictures Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy star in Mark Mylod’s The Menu, a culinary culture satire as funny as it is dark. “There’s no tastier meal than the rich,” writes Alison Willmore, “though what makes The Menu more satiating than other [recent, glitzier skewerings of ultracapitalism]( is that its satire isn’t so glib that it leaves you feeling comfortably outside of the proceedings.” [Read more from Vulture]( It’s the Last Weekend to Join This Year’s Movies Fantasy League Illustration: Vulture This year’s game invites readers to compete against one another — and the Vulture staff — in a test of box-office foreknowledge and awards-season prognostication. [Read up on the how the game works](, and when you’re ready, [select your team]( before the draft window closes on November 21! [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe](param=vulture-daily) | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2022, All rights reserved