MJF appeared on the What the Heck podcast and discussed numerous topics, including which WWE match got him hooked on pro wrestling. MJF recalled how he came across this match while looking through a Hollywood video store.
The AEW star recalled picking up the DVD of the 1998 King of the Ring pay-per-view which featured the Hell in a Cell match between The Undertaker and Mankind. MJF recalled how his curiosity was piqued by the 'dude that looked like a zombie'.
"I stopped and saw this dude that looked like a zombie on the front of a cover, and I was like, ‘Who is this?’ I brought it home and popped it in my TV, and I skipped all the way to the match on the back of the DVD that said Hell in a Cell. The first match I fully ever watched was Mankind vs. The Undertaker in the Hell in a Cell Match. That was the first match I ever watched. Instantly, I was hooked." H/t 411 Mania
New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE
MJF decided he wanted to become a wrestler after the first-ever Elimination Chamber
MJF also revealed which match he watched that made him decide to get into wrestling professionally. He recalled this match as the first ever match he watched live, which happened to be the first Elimination Chamber match. Shawn Michaels won the match, and MJF strongly remembered the emotion at the finish.
"That was the first match I ever watched. Instantly, I was hooked. The first match I ever went to where I was like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna do this,’ was the first-ever Elimination Chamber in Madison Square Garden. I remember Shawn Michaels won the match, and he was a bloody mess with his weird haircut. He hit the pose, and I just looked to my left and looked to my right and everybody was standing and screaming and yelling and crying. I just remember tugging my dad on the arm and saying, ‘Yeah I can do that.’ So, that’s where we’re at now, and I was right." H/t 411 Mania
MJF has definitely chosen some classics to be inspired by. He has clearly taken the charisma from all three of the legends mentioned earlier, namely Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker and Mankind and implemented them into his character.