Independent star Maxwell Jacob Friedman recently spoke to The Rattlesnake on The Stone Cold Podcast about his early experiences on the road (being a relative rookie and only 22 years old). MJF admits he’s not much of an “after party guy” but says one night he went out after a show and it scared him straight.
“It is the only bad road story I have. I was at House Of Hardcore for Tommy Dreamer. Good guy, great guy, great eye for talent – that’s why he booked me. I’m at the show, right, and I get there, and we are in Upstate New York. And God, bumble crap, 100 people population. People have less brain cells than they do teeth. It’s bad. It’s real bad, Steve. And, out of nowhere, there’s this huge biker gang and they’re just hanging around. Some of them are in the locker room. Some of them are out of the locker room. And I go up and I go, ‘Hey, Tommy! What’s going on? Why are these guys here.’ (Dreamer says) ‘Oh, they’re cool. They’re chill. They’re just doing security.’ And I go, ‘okay.’ The night proceeds. I have an amazing match, obviously.”
“I get to the back. We’re done. We all go to this bar and I went out just because it was the respectful thing to do. There were a lot of great guys there. And it was guys the likes of me, Pepper Parks, Alex Reynolds… I’m trying to think who else was there… The Spirit Squad was there, Mike Mondo and Kenny (Dykstra), and then, Robbie E. Now, Robbie buddied-up with one of the guys in the biker gang and they were really getting along. They were having a great time. And I was like, ‘oh, I guess these bikers aren’t so bad.’ We go back to the hotel. It’s me and all these guys and we’re all shooting the s–t. We’re all hanging out. And then, Robbie goes, ‘do you know what? Let’s go to the biker gang’s clubhouse.’ And I guess I’m the only one whose sane, I go, ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea at all! I’m not trying to die!’ And everyone else in the room, because they’re all crazy professional wrestlers, go, ‘yeah, that’s cool. That sounds like a great idea.’ Wisely, the two other guys who knew it wasn’t a good idea, Pepper Parks and Alex Reynolds, they tiptoed out of the room. Just as I was about to tiptoe out of the room, one-half of The Spirit Squad, Kenny Dykstra, he looks at me and he goes, ‘hey kid, where are you going?’ (MJF replied) ‘Well, you know, it [has] been a long night. I think I’m just going to hit the hay.’ (Dykstra responded) ‘Uh uh.’ He throws the keys at me, and said ‘you’re driving.’ (MJF sighed) ‘Great.'”
Apparently, MJF and the other pro wrestlers were having a good time at the biker clubhouse until he noticed a swastika on the wall.
“We drive to this secluded area at this biker clubhouse. We pulled up. I’m not going to lie to you, Steve. As you can see, I’m jacked. I’m a very large individual, but a biker gang’s a biker gang, okay? I pull up. Oh yeah! I mean, I can probably beat up most of them, but not all of them. We open the door and we’re greeted by two gigantic guys with huge straggly beards and they’re patting us all down. I’m having a panic attack and they stop and they go, ‘the wrestlers are here!’ They give us big hugs, bring us upstairs. We’re having a good time. We’re having a blast. We’re drinking. We’re talking. We’re having a great time. Me and Willie [Mack] are in the corner talking to the barkeep of the clubhouse. We’re shooting the s–t, and, honestly, I’m starting to calm down. I’m, like, fine. I look over to my left and there is a gigantic Nazi symbol. At that point, I cover my right arm because there is a Star Of David on it and I just pretend just have my arms crossed – I’ve got to look tough. I realize, it takes me a couple of seconds, all the information that’s going on and I go, ‘they may not know I’m Jewish, but they definitely know that Willie Mack is black.’ I’d imagine they know. So now I’m freaking out and I start jabbing Willie, ‘Willie, Willie’. I’m Jerry Lawlering it. I’m trying to talk through my teeth. Willie turns around [and asks], ‘what do you want, fool? Like, stop touching me! What do you want?’ And I’m like, ‘look over there,’ the old head nod, trying to point to the [swastika]. And Willie’s like, ‘leave me alone! I’m having fun!’ And I was like, ‘Oh, great! Awesome!'”
“And, the best part, out of the corner of my right eye, there is a large individual behind Willie Mack. He points at the barkeep and mouths, ‘what the eff is he doing here?’ Now there is poop dripping down my leg. I’m having a full-blown panic attack. This is it. This is the end. And the barkeep looks at him and goes, ‘don’t worry about it.’ Like, give him the old, ‘it’s cool. Don’t worry about it.’ At this point, I get up from my chair, I excuse myself from the conversation with the barkeep, I walk right up to Kenny Dykstra, and say ‘hey, Kenny! I had a great time, bud. Thanks for making me come out here. Maybe we should go back to the hotel!’ (Dykstra replies) ‘Man, stop being such a party-pooper! What are you talking about, MJF? We’re going to chill right here!’ (MJF says) ‘Hahaha! Kenny, we should go right now.’ Mike Mondo then goes, ‘yeah, I’m pretty tired. Let’s go to the hotel.’ My inner monologue, ‘thank God!'”
Before the group could take their leave, one of the bikers had a parting message for them.
“We start leaving and we get into the car. I turn the car on. We’re out of here. One of the fine Nazi bikers knocks on my window. More s–t dribbles down my leg. I roll the window down. He grabs my leg and gets very close to me, and he goes, ‘drive safe. Don’t text and drive. The last time somebody did that, they got pulled over by a cop, and they found our warehouse, and we had to change locations.’ (MJF replies) ‘Hahaha! You’ve got it, man! Absolutely! Love you, buddy. You’re the best!'”
Apparently, Willie Mack was no selling the swastika at the clubhouse, but he was just as relieved as MJF to make it back to the hotel.
“I start the car up, get the hell out of there, get to the hotel, kick the door in, fall to the ground, (cries) ‘yes!’ I’m kissing the ground, ‘thank God!’ I look over to my right. Willie, Willie’s doing the same thing. I go, ‘Willie! What’s wrong with you?’ He goes, ‘man, did you see that Nazi symbol?’ And that was my night. He was trying to play it cool, which is not something a Jewish kid from Long Island’s very good at doing!”
