When MJF was trying to win Chris Jericho’s favor and become part of The Inner Circle, he took part in the “Le Dinner Debonair” segment, which drew mixed reactions from fans. Now it seems that the segment has received mainstream attention.
Chris Jericho and MJF’s musical performance during “Le Dinner Debonair” made its way into the list of ”Best Performances Of 2020” of the New York Times.
Here is what the New York Times said in their review of the segment:
Some weeks the athleticism at this professional wrestling start-up is more exciting than anything happening in Vince McMahon’s empire. And no one in the WWE has this kid’s combination of diction (Juilliard by way of Long Island), intensity or cheesiness, either. Even when Friedman’s lost his cool (his nom de ring is MJF), he still has astounding control. The character is part heel, part tool (hair gel, loafers, Burberry bling — tacky, tacky, tacky) and part goodfella wannabe; his mouth does more running than he does. For reasons only the producers of this show can explain, a long segment in October between MJF and the veteran Chris Jericho culminated in a version of “Me and My Shadow” complete with dancing women and live singing. It was less than spectacular, though not for anything Friedman did. He wasn’t embarrassed at all. He was smooth in a way that should worry Ric Flair. This kid makes you wanna say, “Woo!”
It was also said that MJF was the one who originally thought of the idea of doing a musical segment. He had this idea after he watched the film Rocketman, which was based on the life of Elton John.
