MJF believes he will work with John Cena, namedrops CM Punk and Cody Rhodes

AEW World Champion MJF has great aspirations in both professional wrestling and Hollywood. The 27-year-old recently met John Cena and had some high praise for the WWE legend.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman has a minor role and an executive producer credit in A24's new Hollywood drama, The Iron Claw, which tells the story of the legendary Von Erich wrestling family. On the red carpet for the film's premiere, The Salt of the Earth generated buzz when he was seen speaking to John Cena.

In an exclusive interview with ComicBook.com, MJF expressed how anxious he was to meet the 16-time world champion, revealing that he was a big fan of Cena growing up:

"This dude was a fathead on my wall in my bedroom. I was kind of s***ting my pants frankly," MJF said of Cena. "The professional answer is I was very excited to meet with a peer, but the realistic answer is this was a guy I grew up watching. It's a guy that I bought merchandise for. I bought tickets for. The fact that John posted the Burberry plaid on his Instagram after he met me was both cheeky and funny and really cool."

The AEW World Champion further described the surreal feeling of becoming a pro wrestler and defeating his childhood idols, including CM Punk:

"I think that's the coolest thing about being a professional wrestler is you get to swim in circles and work with people that you literally grew up watching and idolizing... The fact that I've gotten to work with and beat guys like Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, when in reality, these guys have, everyone I just named has been in wrestling for over a decade."

Friedman is well known for his ambition, so it's no surprise that he capped off the subject, believing he'll work with John Cena someday.

"I look forward to working with him at some point down the road," MJF said. "I most certainly feel I will. I can't wait."

While it's highly probable the two will meet again down the road, whether it happens in the ring or on the big screen remains to be seen.

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MJF is looking to follow John Cena, Batista, and The Rock into Hollywood

Maxwell Jacob Friedman has been performing onstage and on the small screen since he was a child, but it seems the 27-year-old has much bigger aspirations in mind for his future.

In the same interview, MJF revealed that he would like to be a regular presence in Hollywood five years from now:

"I genuinely think in five years from now, I'm going to be a guy that people see regularly on their TV screen outside of the professional wrestling landscape," MJF said. "Trust me, I love wrestling too much to not still be involved in it. I will most likely still be full-time, but I want to be acting full-time as well by then. I would also like to put out an album by then. I would like to be a well-distinguished actor that is recognized as being a great actor that transitioned from wrestling like these greats that did it before me. Like Dwayne, like Batista. Like Cena."

The Salt of the Earth has gotten his first taste of Hollywood with The Iron Claw. If his current trajectory is anything to go by, fans can expect the young star to make a successful transition to movie screens in the future.

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Would you like to see John Cena vs. MJF? How about the two working together in a movie? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!