Photo: Courtesy of All Elite Wrestling (Credit: Lane Walbert)
Maxwell Jacob Friedman may be the most hated man in professional wrestling, but he's apparently a "hero" on Long Island.
The 25-year-old rising star returned to his hometown during All Elite Wrestling's Dynamite live broadcast from UBS Arena on Wednesday (December 8) night and was showered with cheers, reversing roles with usual fan-favorite CM Punk, who the Long Island crowd booed during multiple appearances.
Initially, Friedman's theme song hit to open the show, which sparked a thunderous reaction, until Punk instead walked out to troll the audience.
After a commercial break, Dynamite aired a vignette, which showed MJF pull up to his high school alma mater in a Ferrari and touted the Plainview native as a "hero" to Long Islanders, referencing local favorites like Billy Joel, Ralph's Ices, Ben's Kosher Deli and Bagel Boss.
Friedman then walked out and -- possibly both in and out of character -- appeared uncharacteristically ecstatic by the positive reaction, while mocking Punk's pro wrestling return in his hometown of Chicago in August.
Friedman went on to finish in the final two of the Dynamite Diamond Battle Royale along with Dante Martin to compete next week against Martin at the special Winter is Coming edition of Dynamite to for the chance to win his Dynamite Diamond Ring for a third time.
Hours after the show, Friedman re-shared a video from UBS Arena of his entrance with, "The house MJF built."
Friedman has been heralded for his mic work and dedication to staying in character at all times, which apparently is so serious that his parents are in on the act.
Nina Friedman shared a photo on her Twitter account revealing a sign bashing her ahead of Wednesday night's event which shows a grade school age Maxwell's picture next to "the last time our son wasn't an a*****e."
(WARNING: Foul language)
In September, Nina and her husband Steven Friedman went viral prior to the live broadcast of Dynamite: Grand Slam at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York, after Nina tweeted a photo of herself and her husband with a sign that read, "We're MJF's parents and we think he sucks too!"
"Probably NOT gonna make the cover of Parents Magazine but see you at Arthur Ashe tonight," Nina tweeted with the photo.
True to form, Maxwell quote-tweeted his mother's post with, "F*** off mom."
Prior to the broadcast, the Friedmans participated in an interview with FITE TV's Josh Shernoff and apologized for bringing their son into the world of wrestling.
“We are the bad ones, and we’d like to say we apologize to the entire world,” Nina said. “He is a f****** idiot, but he’s ours.”
Shernoff asked the couple if they were excited to see their son wrestle in front of a large crowd, or at least excited to "see him get his a** kicked."
"I'm always happy to see him get his a** kicked, he deserves it," Nina responded.
"I'm not allowed to kick his a** anymore because I'd go to jail," Steven added.
The Queens crowd seemed to agree as it unmercifully booed MJF, who defeated Brian Pillman Jr. via submission.
Friedman has emerged as one of wrestling's biggest villains, pushing the boundries of offensiveness and rarely being shown out of character.
Amid his previous New York return, the Pinnacle leader was feuding with Pillman, which included desecrating the memory of his rival's legendary late father, Brian Pillman Sr., joking about his mother Melanie's battle with drugs and disrespecting Pillman's then-pregnant sister, Brittany, which resulted in her giving birth hours later.
MJF is currently feuding with Punk, with several of their dueling promos being credited by many as the best segments of the year.