MJF has never been one to shy away from controversy or to defend his friends on social media if he feels they are being unfairly treated by the general public. A great example of this occurred earlier this year when the AEW World Heavyweight Champion sounded off on Twitter about his former roommate and close friend, Zachary Wentz, who is best known for his run as part of The Rascalz in Impact and brief stint in WWE NXT.
Wentz, who went by the name Nash Carter in NXT, was released by WWE after an old image of him surfaced online doing a Nazi salute. Wentz claims it was a poor decision and not something he did with malice but more as a joke. Friedman, who has openly talked about his Jewish heritage, defended Wentz against allegations of antisemitism, saying he believed his friend’s former girlfriend released the photo in an act of revenge. He also accused her of lying about previous abuse allegations leveled at Wentz.
Now, Friedman is coming to the defense of one of his fellow AEW Champions, Cash Wheeler. Wheeler, one half of the current AEW World Tag Team Champions, FTR, turned himself in to Orlando police last night on a charge of aggravated assault with a firearm. The charge stems from a road rage-type incident on July 27, where he allegedly pointed a semi-automatic handgun at a fellow motorist.
“Kinda disappointed how many dorks there are on this app that jump to conclusions so quick,” he began. “A ton of peoples privilege is showing. We’re all human. We’re all flawed. We all make mistakes. Take it from a guy who’s made more mistakes than most. I’ve had my ups and downs with FTR but Cash wheeler is a great dude and a bad ass. You’re getting FTR Vs Young Bucks in front of 80k plus on august 27th. Talk about that ya dweebs.”
Considering the latest revelations from the police report about the incident Wheeler is being charged in, it is a bit surprising that Friedman feels confident the match is still moving forward as planned. As we noted earlier, the judge in the case did not require Wheeler to surrender his passport while the case moved forward. So, it is possible that Wheeler will be allowed to leave the country and compete on possibly the biggest pro wrestling show of all time, but we will have to wait and see how things play out.