AEW's MJF Names His Favorite Wrestlers Growing Up And The Top 5 All-Time

AEW World Champion MJF has named the wrestlers he admired while growing up, as well as the era of wrestling that influenced him the most.

The AEW star is regarded by many as a throwback to wrestlers of old and a true student of the game, having been a fan of pro wrestling right from a young age. In a recent appearance on Dr. Beau Hightower's YouTube channel, MJF said he loved watching the likes of CM Punk and Kurt Angle while growing up but was more attracted to the wrestling of the '80s.

"Like, I remember loving CM Punk, loving Kurt Angle, loving Eddie Guerrero — there were like specific guys that I really gravitated towards, but for the most part, I always found myself watching old '80s wrestling on YouTube. There's something about it that just felt much more visceral and I related to it more. Like I remember being little, just watching Piper, watching Mid-South wrestling, Crockett, World Class," said MJF.

He also named two pro wrestling legends whom he was a big fan of in his younger years, liking them for different reasons.

"Bill Goldberg and The Rock were my two favorite wrestlers growing up mainly because Bill was just this massive Jew and there's not a lot of those right now," said the AEW star. "The Rock just because The Rock is The Rock and he's the man and if he's not in your top five something's wrong with you."

MJF also recalled watching Brock Lesnar for the first time, which was when he began watching pro wrestling, and was mesmerized by the sheer size of "The Beast Incarnate." But, he added that he always tended to go back to watching '80s wrestling.

"People always feel old when I say this, but the guy that was world champion when I first started watching was Brock. And I remember watching Brock versus Rock and being like, 'That guy just beat The Rock.' I was just so confused I was like, 'Who's this gigantic animal of a man?' And then you know I was already just hooked at the prospect of it and I'd be on YouTube and I would be watching you know older wrestling," he revealed. "I don't think I was the biggest fan of what was going on present day as I was growing up outside of a couple talents."

The AEW star, who previously named his Mt. Rushmore, also discussed his top five stars in pro wrestling. He emphasized that a wrestler's significance should primarily be measured by the money they generate for the company. 

"I think it's got to be Flair, Hogan, Dusty, Stone Cold, Rock, and then if you're still moving forward after that, you got to go with Cena. And then if you want to go backwards again, you know, Bruno [Sammartino] in his time was the biggest box office there was. That's what it's genuinely supposed to be about, who is helping their company the most," said MJF.