10 Wrestling Moments You Didn’t Realise Inspired People To Become Wrestlers

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise to hear that hardcore legend Mick Foley and loyal WWE icon The Undertaker inspired more than a couple of wide eyed fans to become the next generation of top stars in the industry.

After watching the pair nearly kill each other in an historic Hell in a Cell match at King of the Ring 1998, AEW's resident loudmouth pr*ck Maxwell Jacob Friedman was one of those very youngsters who knew this was the career choice for him.

This unpredictable car-crash of a match led to MJF being hooked on all things pro wrestling instantly and he began to do a bit of research on YouTube. It was here where the future number one contender to the AEW World Championship stumbled upon a character who would change his world forever.

Speaking with Newsday, MJF revealed:

'I found this guy whose feet were up on the desk, he was chomping on gum real loud, you could tell he was talking to someone that was his boss but he didn’t seem to care … Once I saw Roddy Piper I knew exactly what I was going to be doing when I grew up.'

Though Piper clearly had a greater impact on the type of performer MJF would eventually become, had the star's father not decided to take him to a video store and let him watch Mankind get thrown through a cage we may never have been treated to 'The Salt of the Earth' we see today.