MJF addresses his scenes being cut from The Iron Claw

AEW World Champion MJF recently stepped beyond the bounds of the wrestling world when he landed both a production and acting role in A24's dramatic new biopic, The Iron Claw. However, The Salt of the Earth plays only a minor role in the film, as one of his primary scenes was cut in the editing process.

The Iron Claw is centered around the legendary Von Erich wrestling family in the dying days of the territory system. MJF was given a producer credit on the film and plays the role of Lance Von Erich.

In real life, Lance was not actually related to the family, but was brought into the WCCW territory in late 1985 to replace Mike Von Erich, who was suffering from toxic shock syndrome. Because the film focuses primarily on Zac Efron's portrayal of Kevin Von Erich and the tragedy surrounding his family, MJF's appearance in the final release is limited to a brief tag team match.

In an exclusive interview with ComicBook, the AEW World Champion addressed one of his major scenes that was cut from the film:

"There most certainly is [an extended scene]. I don't know where it's going to live," MJF said. "There was a scene where me and him were talking, but me and Sean both completely understood that 'Listen, I want this film to succeed, and the film needed to be about the brothers.' As fun as I had shooting that scene, realistically, it didn't add to the overarching story and the importance of the story between the brothers and what they were going through in dealing with the pressures that their father put on them. It didn't fit in the pieces of the puzzle."

Friedman further praised the film as a masterpiece before speculating on a potential director's cut, which would include some of the cut scenes:

"There were a lot of other things that were cut in regards to their history. If there is a director's cut, I think people will have a lot of fun with it, but again, if there's not, the theatrical cut is good," MJF said. "I'm not just saying that because I'm an EP. The story kicks you in the f***ing b***s, man. That's what you want. That's what you want in a drama."

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MJF explains how he became an Executive Producer for The Iron Claw

AEW fans were already anticipating Maxwell Jacob Friedman's performance in The Iron Claw, but many were surprised to see his name attached to the film as an executive producer.

In the same interview with ComicBook, MJF jokingly claimed that the film's writer and director, Sean Durkin, needed something to inspire Zac Efron's workout routine:

"Literally what happened is [director] Sean Durkin had hit me up. 'Hey man, can you send me some photos of yourself shirtless? I need to give Efron some inspiration.' From what I was told, he was doing crunches in front of a photo of me for a couple months."

As production progressed, Maxwell's input as a real-life professional wrestler, along with the insight of WWE legend Chavo Guerrero, allowed the filmmakers to inject more reality into the film, which earned The Salt of the Earth his executive producer title:

"I think it developed based on how much I contributed behind the scenes and the relationship that I got with Sean Durkin," MJF noted. "He's an incredible director and he created an incredible movie, along with Efron and [Holt] McCallany. Getting to work with those guys was incredible. Chavo Guerrero did an incredible job training these guys."

The Iron Claw hit theaters on December 22 and took in $6.8 million over the holiday weekend, putting it at #6 in the box office.

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Are you excited to see The Iron Claw? Do you think MJF has a future in Hollywood? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!