The Salt of the Earth wants to rewrite history

Maxwell Jacob Friedman is back to his usual tricks. Fresh off the recent reporting on his pitch for a Wednesday Night Wars documentary, the wrestling internet is currently engulfed in a dumpster fire of opinions. MJF pitching a project that essentially centers his own company’s origin story during their head-to-head battle with NXT is peak vanity.

Some fans love the audacity. They see it as a brilliant way to cement AEW’s identity as the scrappy upstart that dared to challenge the titan. If MJF is the one holding the camera, you know exactly what the tone is going to be. It’s not just wrestling; it’s a vanity project designed to paint Tony Khan’s promotion as the rightful successor to the attitude era’s intensity.

The skeptics are sharpening their butcher knives

Go to any message board today and you will find a massive group of fans who think this is bordering on delusional. The narrative from this crowd is simple: AEW lost the ratings war consistently, and trying to frame it as some glorious underdog victory feels like revisionist history. They are tired of the constant meta-commentary.

One user on a popular wrestling subreddit noted that a documentary from the perspective of someone who wasn't even a main eventer when the war started would be inherently biased. It ignores the actual numbers, which had NXT holding its own for long stretches before the pandemic changed the entire landscape. Some fans are just exhausted by the constant need to explain why this rivalry mattered.

Who wins the argument?

Honestly, the skeptics have the data on their side. When you look at the viewer stats from 2019 and 2020, the Wednesday Night Wars was a grind that left both brands bruised. Pretending it was some epic cinematic journey misses the point of why people watch—they just want fun matches, not ten-part docuseries on corporate warfare.

However, the supporters have a point about the storytelling value. MJF knows how to sell a feud, and if he can package that period into a compelling narrative, it might actually draw eyeballs. The potential for behind-the-scenes heat is massive, even if it is heavily filtered through the lens of a guy whose character is literally 'I am better than you.'

The creative flaw in the pitch

The biggest risk here is the echo chamber effect. If MJF is the producer, the documentary will likely lean into the 'us against the world' trope so hard it becomes a parody of itself. We have already seen this move before with the behind-the-scenes content in other promotions, and it rarely ages well. It feels dated the moment it hits the streaming service.

There is also the matter of timing. With AEW aiming for their own milestone moments in the lead-up to Double or Nothing, is a look back at 2019 really going to resonate with a current audience? The casual fan probably cares more about who is main eventing Las Vegas than they do about who won a demo rating war three years ago.

Final thoughts on the meta-era

We are officially living in the era of the meta-wrestler. MJF is brilliant at blurting out things that merge the lines of kayfabe and reality, but even he has to be careful. If you turn your entire career into an 'insider' documentary, you lose the ability to actually perform in the ring.

I want a documentary about the talent, the travel, and the actual grind of the road. I don't want a 90-minute promo session explaining why the company is actually the best thing since sliced bread. Keep the camera on the matches and maybe, just maybe, people will stop complaining about the constant corporate posturing.