MJF’s growing acting résumé will add another feature film this holiday season. The AEW star and former AEW World Champion appears in the newly released trailer for Stranglehold, a Christmas-themed heist and dark comedy that will arrive digitally and on demand on October 2.
The film places MJF in an ensemble that includes Ashley Benson, Jake Lacy, Justin Long, Ron Perlman, David Arquette, Kayla Braxton and Ryan Cabrera. MJF is featured as one of the gangsters working for a crime boss named Roger, who is played by Perlman.
Stranglehold centers on Bailey, a small-town Arkansas stripper portrayed by Benson. Bailey decides to rob the club where she works, enlisting the help of her former military husband Tim, played by Lacy. Their motivation is to give their daughter a better Christmas and pursue a better life. The setup blends a holiday backdrop with a criminal scheme, with the trailer establishing the film’s darkly comic tone and the complications surrounding the attempted robbery.
While MJF has become one of wrestling’s most visible personalities through his work in AEW, the project continues his move into acting opportunities outside the ring. His role in Stranglehold puts him alongside a group of established screen performers and gives him another appearance in a Christmas-set movie, though this is separate from his upcoming work in Violent Night 2.
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MJF Joins an Ensemble Cast
Perlman plays Roger, the crime boss whose operation includes MJF’s character and other gangsters. Perlman’s extensive film and television background makes him one of the more recognizable names in the cast, while Long also brings a lengthy body of comedic and dramatic screen work to the production.
Arquette is another notable member of the ensemble. The actor is also well known in professional wrestling circles as a former WCW World Heavyweight Champion, making his appearance alongside MJF a crossover point between different eras of wrestling and entertainment. Arquette’s championship reign remains one of the most talked-about celebrity-in-wrestling stories in the history of WCW, and Stranglehold now pairs him with one of AEW’s leading modern stars.
Kayla Braxton, known to wrestling viewers for her time as a WWE broadcaster, is also part of the cast. Braxton plays Ashley, a dancer at the club at the center of the film’s robbery plot. Her presence adds another wrestling-media connection to a production that already includes both MJF and Arquette.
Ryan Cabrera is credited as “Influencer Dad.” Cabrera is the husband of WWE Superstar Alexa Bliss. Although his listed character name offers little detail about the size or nature of the part, it gives the film another connection to the wider wrestling world.
The cast composition makes Stranglehold a project with familiar faces from several entertainment spaces. At its core, however, the film’s story follows Bailey and Tim as they take a desperate, high-risk step in hopes of changing their family’s circumstances before Christmas.
A Holiday Crime Story With a Darkly Comic Premise
Christmas films often lean toward family stories, romances or broad comedy, but Stranglehold approaches the season through a heist premise. Bailey’s effort to get more for her daughter places emotional stakes behind the planned robbery, while the involvement of gangsters and a crime boss suggests that the couple’s plan reaches far beyond a simple theft.
The trailer introduces the central situation: a woman working at a club turns to a robbery with assistance from her former military husband. The decision is tied to their desire to provide a decent Christmas for their child and create a path toward a better future. Those personal motivations sit against the criminal underworld represented by Roger and his gang.
MJF’s role as one of Roger’s men is the film’s clearest point of interest for AEW fans. The available details identify him as part of the gangster group, but do not provide a character name or further information about his place in the story. The trailer offers viewers an early look at him within the movie’s crime-comedy environment ahead of its October release.
The project is directed by Clark Duke, who co-wrote the screenplay with Chandler Duke and Billington Garrett. Duke has taken on both acting and filmmaking work, and Stranglehold marks another directing effort built around an offbeat comic premise. The credited writing team has constructed a holiday story that combines family pressure, a club robbery and criminal consequences.
Another Film Credit Before Violent Night 2
Stranglehold will not be MJF’s only holiday-season screen appearance in 2026. He is also set to appear in Violent Night 2, which is scheduled for a theatrical release on December 4.
That places two MJF film projects on the calendar within roughly two months of each other. The October digital and on-demand release of Stranglehold arrives first, followed by the December theatrical debut of Violent Night 2. Both films share a Christmas setting, though they are separate productions with different casts and stories.
For MJF, the releases provide a notable extension of his public profile beyond AEW programming. His wrestling persona has long been built on a sharp-tongued, confrontational style and a strong command of character work. Film acting calls for a different format and production environment, but his appearances in projects such as these create additional opportunities to perform for audiences who may not regularly watch professional wrestling.
The connection can work in both directions. Wrestling fans who follow MJF’s career have a new project to watch outside the ring, while viewers who encounter him through film may become aware of his work in AEW. The same is true of the movie’s other wrestling-adjacent names, particularly Arquette and Braxton.
There is also a practical difference between the two releases. Stranglehold will be available digitally and on demand, allowing viewers to access it at home beginning October 2. Violent Night 2, meanwhile, is scheduled to open in theaters on December 4. The two distribution plans give MJF appearances in different corners of the film marketplace during the same holiday period.
Release Date Set for October 2
The new trailer puts the focus on the film’s impending arrival. Stranglehold is set for a digital and on-demand release on October 2, giving audiences the chance to see MJF’s latest movie role before his next Christmas-themed feature reaches theaters later in the year.
The story’s central heist, the relationship between Bailey and Tim, and the criminal threat posed by Roger’s side of the operation form the key elements of the film’s premise. Benson and Lacy lead the narrative as the couple making a dangerous choice for their daughter, while Perlman, Long, MJF, Arquette, Braxton and Cabrera round out the supporting cast.
For AEW viewers, the most immediate takeaway is straightforward: MJF is on screen in the trailer and has a credited role in a feature arriving October 2. With Violent Night 2 still to come on December 4, the remainder of the year will give the former AEW World Champion two high-profile movie releases tied to the holiday season.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.