"Just a horrible human being" – AEW star MJF details his real-life interaction with former WWE Champion

AEW star MJF detailed his real-life interaction with former WWE Champion CM Punk from back when he was a kid.

While speaking to Ariel Helwani in a recent interview, Maxwell Jacob Friedman spoke about his meet & greet experience with CM Punk and how the former WWE star cut a promo on his cousin.

During the conversation, MJF took multiple shots at Punk, who, at one point, was the former's idol. The Salt of the Earth added that Punk cut a promo on his cousin Sammy, with whom he did not see eye-to-eye at the time:

"I remember what he said to me, which makes me realize he's all the more fake, just a horrible human being. At that moment he was pretending he's a good person. I waited in line with my cousin, who, at the time, we were not fans of each other. His name's Sammy and now we get along great but, you know, you're kids, you have little rivalries going on, and he had a Kane shirt on and he was in front of me and we waited for hours. We finally get to the front and he looks at me and goes, 'He's going to love me,' and Sammy walks up to CM Punk and he goes, 'You're my favorite,' and Punk looks at him and goes, 'So why are you wearing a Kane shirt?' Which was the coolest moment ever because he got to cut a promo on my shi**y cousin." (from 16:05 onwards)

Watch MJF's interview with Ariel Helwani below:

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MJF went on to describe his own experience with CM Punk at the meet & greet

In the same interview, MJF revealed the question he asked CM Punk as an 11-year-old. Friedman also revealed the answer he received from the former WWE Champion.

MJF further claimed Punk only wanted to act like Mr. Nice Guy at the time:

"I was next and I looked at him because, at this point, I had watched all of his IWA Mid-South...IWA stuff and his Ring of Honor stuff. I flat out asked him, 'Coming from where you came from on the Independent Circuit,' and I'm 11 at this point, I'm a f***ing genius. I go, 'How does it feel to know you have a whole line of people that are waiting hours just to meet you when you used to wrestle in these dingy gymnasiums,' and he stopped and he looked at me and said, 'That's the most intelligent question anyone asked me all day.' I remember, at the time, how much that meant to me. Now I realize he was just saying that 'cause he wanted to be Mr. Nice Guy when in reality he's the sc*m of the Earth. I'm Salt of the Earth." (from 16:47 onwards)

The three-time Dynamite Diamond Ring winner recently lost to CM Punk at AEW Revolution 2022. MJF and CM Punk faced off in a Dog Collar Match, which the former WWE Champion won after an assist from Wardlow.