MJF has built himself up throughout his time in AEW to being one of the biggest stars in the business. He is a major name who is now considered a main event player as the AEW World Champion, but for a lot of fans, it was only when he debuted in AEW that they began to learn who he was.
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However, AEW isn't the first place that he worked, and the Salt of the Earth was able to achieve plenty before landing a contract with Tony Khan's promotion. He showcased great skills and qualities ahead of time that fans should know about.
10 Trained By A Former WWE Superstar
Everybody has to learn the basic skills of how to wrestle so that they can be trusted to compete safely, and for MJF that took place at the Create-A-Pro training school. That allowed him to learn under former WWE Superstar Brian Myers, who is well-known to many as Curt Hawkins.
As well as Myers, MJF was also trained by Pat Buck who had worked behind the scenes in WWE as a producer, and he is now in a similar role for AEW, with those two men coming together to help mold and create a young MJF.
9 Using Different Names
The vast majority of wrestling fans know MJF as exactly that because that is the name that he has been using throughout his entire AEW career. However, certain wrestling fans will know MJF differently, because throughout his career MJF isn't the only name he has used.
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At times in the past he has worked as Pete Lightning and Sandy Bunker in various promotions. He also used a slight tweak on the current name he has by being Maxwell Jacob Feinstein, which is similar to how he appears today.
8 Dog Collar Experience
One of MJF's greatest matches throughout his AEW career came when he competed against CM Punk in a Dog Collar match, which was a huge moment for him. The stipulation is quite a rare one and guarantees a brutal match, which is what the two men provided.
However, what a lot of people don't realize is that MJF has experience in this world because he has competed in another Dog Collar match, against Ethan Page. The encounter took place for Alpha-1 Wrestling, but it was Page who secured the win.
7 CZW World Heavyweight Champion
MJF is enjoying a run right now as the AEW World Champion, but it isn't the first time he has had gold in his hands. During his time on the independent scene, he would regularly work for CZW, a promotion best known for its hardcore wrestling.
During that time he beat Rickey Shane Page to become the CZW World Champion, proving that even during that time people had high hopes for him in the wrestling industry as his talent was clear to see.
6 Vacating CZW Gold
The CZW World Championship wasn't the only title that he was able to hold during that time in his career because before winning the big one he was able to hold the CZW Wired Championship as well. This is a title that has been won by the likes of Drew Gulak, Lio Rush, and Joey Janela in the past.
MJF defeated YUMA to claim the gold, and throughout his 336-day reign, he was dominant as the champion. He eventually had to vacate it after throwing the title to the floor as he put together an undefeated run during that time.
5 He Tried To Enter Tough Enough
Tough Enough has proven to be a major launching platform for professional wrestlers to become WWE Superstars, with the likes of John Morrison, Maven, and Mandy Rose all going on to do great things from this point. That is why MJF tried to be part of that show as well.
Back in 2015 when WWE was relaunching the show, wrestlers could provide their own audition videos on YouTube to try and prove they deserved to be involved. That is exactly what MJF did, with his audition tape still being available for people to view.
4 WWE Work
MJF may not have been brought in for Tough Enough, but that didn't stop his attempts to prove he was worth signing to WWE. Much like many independent wrestlers, MJF took on some enhancement work to try and get himself seen by the company.
Fans are well aware of when he portrayed a security guard backstage at NXT, as the clip of him being shoved into a wall is a popular one. However, he once was used as a body double, so the company could practice paint for Finn Balor's demon gimmick as well.
3 The Dynasty
During his AEW career MJF has been involved in some impressive factions that people are sure to remember, but he has also been involved in another group before that, where he was the leader. This took place in MLW, which was a company where MJF was truly able to make his name.
He worked alongside Richard Holliday and Alexander Hammerstone to form The Dynasty, which was a group that got to feud against the Hart Foundation, with Teddy Hart, Davey Boy Smith Jr, and Brian Pillman Jr. being part of that group.
2 MLW Tag Team Champion
The combination of MJF and Holliday ended up being a successful one as a tag team, while Hammerstone focused on being a singles talent. It led to a period of success for MJF as the two of them ended up being the MLW Tag Team Champions together.
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They defeated Hart Foundation to claim the gold, and they went on to put together a 119-day run with the gold before they eventually dropped them to The Von Erichs.
1 MLW World Middleweight Champion
MJF's biggest accomplishment before joining AEW also took place at MLW where his singles qualities were able to shine through. He won the MLW World Middleweight Championship, becoming the first man to ever hold the title in MLW's history when he defeated Joey Ryan.
MJF ended up holding the title for 141 days, but he was never officially beaten for the gold either. Due to an elbow injury, MJF had to vacate the title, making this a particularly impressive period for him.
