Is AEW Top Heel Maxwell Jacob Friedman Spreading Himself Too Thin?

Friedman got married on Friday, September 5, to his longtime girlfriend and AEW backstage interviewer, Alicia Atout. The ceremony took place in Long Island, New York. The honeymoon would have to wait, though. He took off for Philadelphia and arrived at AEW Collision on Saturday just in time to screw Mark Briscoe out of a win against Konosuke Takeshita. That loss cost Briscoe a chance at Kyle Fletcher’s TNT Championship.

From Philadelphia To Vancouver And Back

After Collision, Friedman caught a flight to Vancouver to film scenes for the David Harbour-led movie Violent Night 2. He missed the September 10 episode of Dynamite while in Canada. He made sure, however, to make it back to Philadelphia for Saturday night’s episode of Collision again. After Saturday night’s show, he hopped on a plane back to Vancouver.

From Mexico City To Toronto

After filming more movie scenes most of the week, Friedman will be jetting off again. This time, he will head to Mexico City for CMLL’s 92nd Anniversary show on Friday, September 19. There, the newlywed will put his CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship on the line in a Title vs. Mask Match against legendary luchador Mistico. Immediately after that show, Friedman will fly to Toronto for AEW’s Saturday pay-per-view All Out.

At All Out, Friedman will have to face Briscoe in a Tables and Thumbtacks No Disqualification Match. That match was a direct result of Friedman’s interference the night after his wedding. If there is anything left of him after that match, he will fly back across Canada to film more movie scenes in Vancouver.

End Of My Maxwell Jacob Friedman Rant

Most top-level wrestlers have busy schedules, but this is ridiculous. Remember, this hellacious stretch all began with Friedman getting married. Most people prefer to have time off before their wedding date to handle last-minute details and afterward to enjoy their honeymoon. Yes, Shotzi Blackheart got married and then wrestled in her wedding dress later that day, but she is the exception. So too, I guess, is Friedman.

There has been a rash of recent AEW injuries to top stars like Swerve Strickland, Will Ospreay, Adam Cole, Orange Cassidy, and others. So maybe AEW top dog Tony Khan asked if Friedman could change his plans. I don’t know if the filming schedule for VN2 got changed, and that factored in as well. All I know is that this is a lot of wear and tear on Friedman and a lot of stress for the newlyweds. Just because he is only 29 years old does not mean he is immune to the physical, mental, and emotional strain that comes with juggling all these commitments. Even “generational talents” are not indestructible.

So, congratulations to Friedman and Atout on their nuptials. Congratulations to him on landing another big movie role right after Happy Gilmore 2 . Now Khan needs to let his cash cow take a break when his filming ends–he’s earned it. Yes, AEW is short a number of its top wrestlers right now, but there are plenty of people who can fill Friedman’s TV time for a week or two. Hook, Luchasaurus, Eddie Kingston, Riho, and Jamie Hayter have all made recent returns. Ace Austin just debuted. Maybe Khan can finally add one more women’s match to programming, or bring back one of the wrestlers he has sidelined.

The point is, Friedman is too valuable to the company to be run ragged like this, especially since he is still holding a contract for a future world title shot. It is time for Khan to use that deep bench of talent that he has and let them show what they can do. It is time for him to show that he is the booking genius that he believes himself to be. With WWE starting to counterprogram his company’s events, Khan is going to need a rested Friedman to keep the lights on at AEW.