5 AEW stars you probably didn't know are friends in real life

AEW is slowly getting loaded with some of the top names in the wrestling industry. While many well-known wrestlers have joined the company, AEW has kept a balance by signing new names too.

This has allowed the employees to form special bonds and become good friends. Many fans are already aware of Kenny Omega and Adam Cole’s friendship, while Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels are known to be the best of friends.

However, there are some lesser-known friendships in AEW grown over the past few years. With that being said, check out the five lesser-known friendships in AEW today.

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#5. Former AEW World Champion Chris Jericho and Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF)

AEW fans have been treated to some great rivalries over the past few years. One of the biggest AEW rivalries came between Chris Jericho and MJF.

MJF defeated Jericho to join The Inner Circle. He later turned on Y2J and started one of the best rivalries in AEW history. The two men traded a lot of insults to build their rivalry. What many fans may not know is that they are good friends in real life.

In a recent interview, Maxwell Jacob Friedman was asked about his real-life friendship with The Demo God. The interviewer wanted to know how it all began. MJF responded with the following:

"Honestly, the first time I realized that I kind of like this guy, it was right after I kicked Cody in the nuts, and I came out the next week to announce to the world why I did it. And Christopher just happened to be in the ring, and we ended up having a bit of a conversation in front of a live audience. And in that moment, I realized this guy’s alright. There’s something to him. He’s got something, and I’m sure he realized the same thing as we were looking eye to eye. Post that, I wanted to win that world title. I still do want to win that world title. It’s all I care about. It’s my one and only goal."

"[...] That’s why I wanted to get to know Chris Jericho and see if Inner Circle was a good fit for me as I’m sure Christopher was trying to realize whether or not Inner Circle, me being his group was a good fit for him. And I think week after week, it’s become more and more apparent we have so much chemistry. We’re clearly fast friends, and I’m really excited to get to know more and more about my good friend Chris."

Despite their bitter rivalry on screen, the two AEW stars are surprisingly close friends behind the camera.

#4. Former AEW TNT Champion Cody Rhodes and Frankie Kazarian

Frankie Karazian is currently fighting some of the biggest battles of his career in AEW. The Elite Hunter is looking to take down the greatest faction on AEW with his friends.

Kazarian is known to be great friends with several former IMPACT Wrestling stars. He competed on the promotion for many years and teamed up with the biggest names in the industry.

However, some fans may not know that Kazarian is also good friends with Cody Rhodes. The American Nightmare did not compete for IMPACT Wrestling for too long, but the two men became friends on other wrestling promotions.

In an interview, Kazarian revealed that he was in talks with WWE when the idea of joining AEW was presented to him. He decided to go ahead and join AEW because of his close bond with Cody and other wrestlers in the company:

"The minute the concept of AEW itself was pitched, I was on board. We still have a real tight bond, SCU and The Bucks, and Cody and [Hangman] Page. We were all together all the time, and we were kind of on the ground floor of this. It was just one of those things that comes along, and you can’t turn down."

Cody and Frankie are two of the most successful wrestling minds in the industry outside WWE. It’ll be interesting to see how far Karazian goes in AEW before deciding to hang up his boots.

#3. AEW stars Cody Rhodes and Shawn Spears

Cody Rhodes and Shawn Spears had a good rivalry in AEW that saw The American Nightmare come out on top. The two men worked together in WWE too but never got to have a full-fledged rivalry in the promotion.

Many would think Cody and Spears got closer to each other during their time in AEW. What some fans may not know is that Spears and Cody worked together at Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) early in their careers.

During his appearance on Busted Open Radio, Shawn Spears discussed meeting Cody Rhodes in OVW and where their relationship currently stands. Here’s what he had to say:

"When we were put together early in OVW, [it was] for one reason essentially. Cody was a brand new, young, up-and-coming baby that lacked experience but was adored by the fan base. I had about 4 or 4 1/2 years of experience under my belt, so I had the experience but was unknown, and no one cared. So it was a perfect pairing because I helped with the experience side of things and, by association, people liked me because I was Cody’s friend."

The Chairman went on to state how Dusty Rhodes explained to Spears that Cody was destined to be a singles star. Dusty’s words turned out to be true, and Cody turned out to be one of the biggest names in the industry.

As for Shawn, his friendship with Cody helped him move to AEW after a rather ordinary run in WWE.

#2. Kenny Omega and former AEW Women’s Champion Riho

Kenny Omega is currently playing one of the best heel characters in AEW. The former AEW World Champion has his friends around him to give him the boost he needs.

Riho, on the other hand, has been a top star in AEW's women’s division. She is the inaugural AEW Women’s World Champion and could go on to win the title again.

Backstage, the two wrestlers are good friends who have worked together in the past. They worked as a tag team long ago, and Omega was the one who called Riho to join AEW:

"I don't know if you can call it a bond. We tagged together maybe five, maybe eight years ago. I think when he saw me compete, he was fascinated with regards to my potential."

"From what I've heard since then, he's watched my matches and stayed updated with regard to my progress. He was the one who called me down. Yeah, for him to be interested in my career after so many years is special."

It’s impressive how the two have shared a bond over the years and have done well in their respective positions. It’d be great to see them team up in AEW someday for a mixed tag team match.

#1. Chris Jericho and former AEW TNT Champion Sammy Guevara

At 51 years of age, Chris Jericho is one of the oldest active stars in AEW. Meanwhile, Sammy Guevara is one of the youngest stars making waves in AEW.

Jericho and Sammy have worked together in AEW for several months. What many fans may not know is that the two are great friends in real life. While being in a team doesn’t automatically make a star someone’s friend, Jericho and Sammy quickly formed a bond after working together.

During an appearance on the “Busted Open Radio” podcast, Guevara commented on his friendship with Jericho, among other things:

"I didn’t know him prior to AEW. He ended up watching NWA 70, which I was wrestling at, and for whatever reason he saw my match and he took a liking to me. That’s one of the reasons I was brought into AEW and into the Inner Circle. But it was more as TV weeks just progressed and we were doing stuff on TV, Le Sex Gods, and we were texting back and forth just with ideas."

"A real friendship just kind of grew naturally, it wasn’t a forced thing. I really can’t describe one moment, but it was pretty much just the weeks of TV. We just became better and better friends as time has gone on, through the good times and the bad times. He’s been there for me when I’ve needed it most. I love that guy and I’ll do anything for him."

Jericho has made countless friends along his wrestling journey. It's great to know that he continues to form bonds with newer stars looking to make it big in the industry. His experience and guidance will surely help Sammy become a better wrestler.