Notsam Podcast
Episode 219: MJF, Mean Gene RIP, State of Wrestling
Release Date: January 3d, 2019
Recap By: James Hayes
DIRECT LINK TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD
Sam Roberts welcomes you to the podcast!
From the top, Sam wants to recognize the passing of Mean Gene Okerlund.
Sam says, “One of the things that I like to do working with WWE, is every time I get a WWE microphone in my hand, I just look down at my hand, and as corny as it sounds, I look at my hand holding the mic, with the WWE mic flag on it, and I think of everything that that microphone always represented. Even back when it had a WWF logo, as a kid, the reason that microphone represented as much as it did, is because of Mean Gene Okerlund. For a lot of us of that are of the same generation, Mean Gene was the voice that put all the pictures together.”
“He had a presence and a voice and ability that made him a household name. His goal was always to get over whoever he was interviewing. He did what every good announcer should do, and that is to get the talent over that they are talking to. And he did it every single time.”
Mean Gene interviews Macho Man
MJF Interview
He had the opening match for ALL IN against Joey Janela. They were made men after that. Sam has been watching this guy for quite a while and he says MJF has always “gotten it”. He could have a big year and he’s starting it off with The Notsam Podcast. This year is all about future potential and we got the man who could truly break out in 2019.
It’s Maxwell Jacob Friedman aka MJF (Some call him Pee Pee Sucker).
Sam: For the first time on Notsam Wrestling, in the studio, I am blessed…
MJF: Accurate.
Sam: Ladies and gentlemen someone who had one of the best 2018 of anyone in pro wrestling here he is Maxwell Jacob Friedman.
MJF: Bit of an understatement there, but I’ll take it.
Sam: Well, let’s go over your 2018. You were in ALL IN. That’s probably number one.
MJF: Sure.
Sam: Stonecold Podcast. That’s huge.
MJF: I don’t want to talk about Steve. That schmuck.
Sam: You don’t want to put over other wrestlers.
MJF: He doesn’t deserve it. Continue. I’m enjoying this list. It’s a fun list.
Sam: Watching you in MLW, CZW, Beyond… I mean everywhere.
MJF: Literally coast to coast, across the border, and across the pond. I’m not gonna lie to you, Sam…
Sam: Please don’t.
MJF: When I was told that I was gonna have to do this interview I wasn’t too happy about it.
Sam: Who told you you’d have to?
MJF: Don’t act like you weren’t the one that talked to my publicist. We are both fully aware of what happened here. She came to me, she said look, ‘I need you to do this podcast. He is offering us a decent chunk of change for you to make an appearance.
Sam: People don’t know… A lot of wrestlers don’t know that I pay for the interviews. I wish you wouldn’t blow me up like that.
MJF: Um… Sorry. Let’s face facts it’s not like it’s a lot of money. I’m doing you a huge solid right now.
Sam: I appreciate it.
MJF: She confirmed to me, ‘I really need you to do this podcast.” I said, ‘I’ve heard this bozo before. He walks up to people saying, ‘What’s the haps?’ Not a real phrase. That’s completely idiotic. And he kind of looks like a life-size Troll doll. But then she goes, ‘Maybe it’s not a good idea because I heard a rumor.’ I go, ‘Oh. Now I’m intrigued.’ She goes, ‘Well. I heard this man was asked by Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder to lend some money for a toy drive.’ And I said, ‘Please tell me he did not give money to snot-nosed brats. That would disgust me.’ She said, ‘The issue is he didn’t .’ I said, ‘I’ll absolutely do this podcast because who wants to give handouts like that to poor children?’ They don’t deserve it and work for your money, Sam. Work for it!
Sam: First of all, that’s true, and second for the record, Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder said on their podcast, ‘Hey, we’re doing a charity thing.’ And then after it was over they were like, ‘Hey, we asked Sam and he didn’t give us anything.’ I got nothing to do with you guys.
MJF: Look, The Major Brothers… Is that what it’s called?
Sam: The Major Brothers, yeah.
MJF: It’s a decent little product, but at the end of the day to ask somebody to take money out of their pockets, and give it to somebody you don’t even know because they don’t have toys for Christmas… Who cares?
Sam: Good point.
MJF: Is it your problem?
Sam: It’s certainly not my problem.
MJF: That’s why I was excited to come here because you and I are one and the same.
Sam: That’s good, but I’ll probably have to ask you to start doing my talking for me. You made that sound better than I could have.
MJF: I’m always here to defend, but once again, that also comes with a fee. If you’d like to talk to my publicist after this is all said and done…
Sam: I kind of blew the whole 2019 Notsam budget on this interview.
MJF: I figured. I figured.
Sam: Are you the type that goes back and is like, ‘Yeah, that was the highlight’ or ‘That’s what I reflect upon.’ Or do you constantly move forward?
MJF: It’s hard to take a step back when you have a rocket strapped onto you. Just being able to look back with all the intensity it’s a struggle. When I have the time, and I don’t have much time, as you know I’m very busy. When I do have the time, I think to myself, ‘Okay, MJF, you are quite possibly… Scratch that I am being modest. ‘You are the youngest and fastest rising star in professional wrestling today. Going into this year 2019 is very reminiscent to when I got out of high school and was playing football, not that it was that long ago. I’m 22 in case you didn’t know.
Sam: Wow! That’s younger than Leo Rush.
MJF: The bottom line was I had a lot of offers and a lot of scholarships. I could have gone anywhere I wanted to go. I had broken every tackling record not just in my school but all of Long Island. Everybody on social media is asking, ‘MJF, what is he going to do next? All these promotions are offering him contracts.’ Newsflash: It’s none of your business! You are just going to see me pop up somewhere. I am a man who walks around like a Ninja. Silently. Until a deal is done.
Sam: Are you on WWE’s radar?
MJF: I have no idea.
Sam: Who is your favorite opponent that you have had the pleasure of sharing the squared circle with? Or the displeasure?
MJF: I never really enjoyed wrestling any of these wrestlers. There are some guys that made me look human. You get it. I assume the listener gets it. Or maybe they don’t. It might go over their head. I’m assuming most people that listen to this are not all that bright.
Sam: Not your problem.
MJF: Not my problem. I’m not paying for their education.
Sam: You’ve made it as clear as you can.
MJF: I would have to name guys like Joey Janela, a guy by the name of VSK, Alex Reynolds, Rickey Shane Page, Ethan Page, Jimmy Havok, Sammy Callahan. It really is a struggle for me to try and pick out names in the very small category of people that almost look equal to me. But those are the names that pop up in the front of my head.
And then there are also names of people that I watch that I think are talented. Stokely Hathaway, I don’t know if you are aware of…
Sam: Of course I know Stokely Hathaway.
MJF: I never wrestled him, I never will, we are BFFs.
Sam: Really?
MJF: Are you kidding me? Absolutely.
MJF senses silent judgment from Sam.
MJF: I’m sorry, do you feel I shouldn’t have Stokely Hathaway as my friend?
Sam: No. I don’t know Stokely that well.
MJF: Okay. Most people don’t, but you know who does?
MJF points to himself.
MJF: This guy.
Sam: You have a match upcoming with Nick Gage. I have to ask is this something that weighs on you? To me, I’m not a physically imposing man it’s not my forte, but of all people I’d want to wrestle, Nick Gage would be at the bottom of the list.
MJF: Nick Gage is an ex-con, a jailbird, and a scumbag.
Sam: By the way, I was afraid because he was in Jersey All Pro, I was afraid of Nick Gage before he went to jail.
MJF: There is no reason to be afraid of anyone who has as many teeth as he does brain cells. When I walk into the Inspire wrestling event, I already have a game plan. If he tries to hit me with a chair I’m going to move out of the way. If he sets up a table and puts me on top of it I’m going to get off the table. If he sets up a pane of glass I’m gonna stomp on it.
Sam: What type of offense or we thinking? There is the defense.
MJF: Sam, a good offense is a great defense. Ever heard that before?
Sam: Yeah, they say that in sports. When you break enough panes of glass with your foot…
MJF: Because he can’t professionally wrestle. He’s just a Death Match guy.
Sam: I see.
MJF: Are you really gonna look at me and tell me Nick Gage is as proficient a professional wrestler as Maxwell Jacob Friedman?
Sam: I’m not gonna get involved in all that. (Sam wants none of that smoke.)
MJF: I’m sorry.
Sam: I don’t wanna… I’m not a professional wrestler. I’m not trained.
MJF: Nick is not here. Allow me to clarify.
Sam: This is broadcast everywhere. I don’t need to be involved in all of that.
Silence.
Sam: This is between you and Nick Gage. I’m happy as long as the people are happy.
MJF: To put it lightly I look forward to bringing the American judocial system to Nick Gage once more.
Sam: Judicial system.
MJF: Is that not what I said?
Sam: You said judocial system.
MJF: However I want to pronounce something is the right way to pronounce it.
Sam: I shouldn’t have corrected you. That was rude. I apologize.
MJF: Watch yourself. Watch yourself.
If you want to hear more from this awesome interview, including MJF’s time with CZW, working with Cody Rhodes, and several more below the belt insults directed at our host, hit the link at the top.
Below is a highly entertaining and at times downright silly matchup with MJF vs Jonathan Gresham.
Here is MJF vs Joey Janela in an Outer Limits Title Match.
State of Wrestling
5. Wrestle Kingdom 13
Sam breaks down New Japan’s premier show at the Tokyodome.
4. Royal Rumble Buildup
Sam discusses the likely matches and possible winners of the male and female Royal Rumble.
3. AJ/Vince Triple H/Seth Rollins
Sam juxtaposes the different ways the Authority has decided to motivate its babyfaces. Is it storyline or is a work?
Maybe they are working towards a Seth vs AJ match in the future to see who really is “The Man”.
Speaking of The Man
2. John Cena Returns
Cena returns and is attached to Becky Lynch. Sam saw this as a great opportunity to further push Becky into WWE’s top star.
He also puts over Zelna Vega as a rising star.
1. All Elite Wrestling
It’s official. Some PPV or event called Double Or Nothing has also been announced. Sam is thrilled with the prospect of a new promotion. One of the owners, Tony Khan, co-owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Dave Meltzer says that they even have some interest from TV networks. It’s a huge deal with The Young Bucks acting as bookers, and Cody taking more of a producing role.
Sam also says, “It will be interesting to see exactly how this thing is laid out.” and that, “You have three of the hottest free agents in the world and they’ve all decided to bet on themselves.”
Rating: 8.5/10
Overall Observations:
I was not originally going to recap this episode because sometimes it makes me sleepy, but I enjoyed this interview so much I stayed awoke and banged it out.
The interview is a great introduction to this MJF kid. He reminds me of EC3 with a touch of Ted Diabese Jr. And he’s quite good in the ring.
The State of Wrestling is good as always, but the standout here is the interview. MJF had legit charisma and I predict he will become a huge star if he is handled and booked correctly.
I also loved the classy words Sam spoke about Mean Gene. When I started watching wrestling Gene was the first personality that really caught my attention. Based on his name I was expecting some 300-pound bruiser instead I saw a short balding guy in his forties.
He was as classy as it gets and his voice was second to none. Rest well, Gene.
See ya next week!
About James:
Based out of New York, James Hayes is an independent filmmaker and podcaster, currently working on a true crime series focused on African American crime. When he needs a break from the seriousness of true-crime he turns to pro wrestling. James has 27 years of following the sport. Here is a link to his film credits https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2026980/, as well as His Twitter @JamesHa34395813.
Be the first to comment