Andrew Befumo may have earned social media celebrity status in the past year but long before he was ‘bringing the boom’ on TikTok, the New Jersey native was a professional wrestler. Two decades after hanging up his boots, A.J.’s internet fame has led him back to the ring in a surprisingly personal matchup against AEW’s QT Marshall.
If you’ve opened any social media app in the past year, there’s a good chance you’ve seen The Costco Guys. Befumo (known by his online persona of A.J.) rose to fame by bringing his family on camera, hamming up their personalities, and having them give their verdict on various bits of food.
So how exactly has a TikTok influencer found his way into a wrestling ring? At a PPV with AEW no less? In speaking with his opponent Q.T. Marshall directly, we learned how far Befumo’s history in the squared circle goes back and just how significant this matchup 20 years in the making truly is.
There’s far more to this story than just a wrestling promotion capitalizing on the hype of an internet phenomenon. As Marshall (Michael Cuellari) put it, the matchup is “as personal as it can get.”
Little footage of Eric Justice’s early ring days exists online today.
Decades out of the ring
New Jersey locals in 1999 may have known the name Eric Justice. As the face of his smaller regional promotion at the time, Befumo was the hometown hero, ‘The American Powerchild’ as he was called.
Throughout the early 2000s, he effectively held down the fort, helping generate buzz and sell tickets for the company. And while the pro wrestling industry was on fire back then, as the likes of The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin led what became known as the ‘Attitude Era’, there was a ceiling for Befumo at the time and went no further than the regional indies.
Ending his run like a true professional, Befumo stepped aside to welcome the next generation, the new hero that would help carry the company moving forward. That wrestler was none other than Q.T. Marshall.
“On his way out, he introduced me as the guy that would be taking over from him,” Marshall told us. Now two decades on, their lives heading in vastly different directions ever since, their paths have intertwined once again.
As Befumo’s online persona began to pick up steam, and the extended family took social media by storm, AEW’s Sonjay Dutt told Marshall of an idea. What if they reach out to the man formerly known as Eric Justice and see if he’s eager for one last shot at glory inside the ring?
Evidently still in great physical shape, as viewers can see with every flex that accompanies every ‘BOOM’, gears began to turn for Dutt’s idea, though it wouldn’t be an easy sell at first.
“Just trying to convince A.J. to do it, that was pretty tough,” Marshall explained. “But once I saw things starting to go viral on his end, [Dutt] had this idea, just to get him to All Out, have him do some TikTok’s with everybody.
“I wasn’t at All Out, but I knew if I could get in his ear a little bit, I could probably convince him to do one more match.”
“It was the next day [after All Out] I gave him a call. I pitched him the idea softly, about getting in the ring again, being able to do it in front of his family.” Though admittedly, after attending All Out, “he wasn’t really too keen on it first.”
The reason why Befumo had his doubts about a return was due to the quality of wrestling on display at that PPV, according to Marshall.
“He went to All Out and he watched Will Ospreay vs Pac. When you go to see the athletes perform, see what they’re capable of doing. As someone who hasn’t been in the ring in 20 years, I think that might be a little intimidating at first.”
But overcoming that mental hurdle, it wasn’t long before he talked Befumo into wrestling a tag team matchup, though they soon pivoted to a one-on-one affair so he could “do all the heavy lifting.” It’s all the more fitting given their personal history.
“As personal as it can get”
“AJ and I have known each other for 20 years,” Marshall said. While never training partners and seemingly never having locked up before, the two now have a chance, as humorous as may seem on the surface, to close an important chapter.
“To be able to have this come full circle, especially in New Jersey, our hometown, all our friends and family will be there… If you asked him, as a wrestler, everyone yearns for that one shot of just being in the spotlight like that.”
Befumo has a chance to grapple with the “young, fresh, babyface” he passed the torch to all those years ago on the independent scene. While it may not have come together quite how he perhaps envisioned it decades prior, his TikTok fame, in many ways, paved the road for this unexpected shot at redemption.
QT has been in there with the best of the best.It goes far deeper than just ‘TikTok famous ex-wrestler gets in the ring again.’ If he just wanted to lay some smackdown, Befumo could have done that anywhere at any time. But to have his return be against Marshall, it couldn’t be more personally fulfilling.
Where the best wrestle
Now to the match itself. Obviously, Befumo’s online antics would lead you to think the match on the Full Gear pre-show may be nothing more than a slice of comedic wrestling. A few high points to get the crowd electrified for the main portion of the evening coming up after the funny business is out of the way.
But that’s not quite the case. Unlike other celebs who may phone in their preparation, Befumo, knowing how sacred the mat truly is, has been preparing like an animal.
“I think a lot of people think this is going to be more of a ‘ha-ha’ type wrestling match, but I’ll be honest, the way AJ’s been training, I don’t think so,” Marshall said candidly. “I think I’m in for a lot more than I bargained for. He’s going to go above and beyond to shock everybody.”
AEWA brief appearance on the All Out pre-show planted the seed for Befumo’s in-ring return, and of course, he’s bringing Big Justice with him.
Living in the Fort Lauderdale area, Befumo has been retreading old steps and running the ropes with Coastal Championship Wrestling, a facility run by WWE legend Gangrel. “I know he’s been putting in the work,” Marshall assured.
Before the idea of a singles match came to fruition, Marshall revealed he even “invited A.J. to the Nightmare Factory,” his own pro wrestling training facility co-owned by current WWE champ Cody Rhodes. At the end of the day, they both want this to be a showcase for Befumo, not just a chance to create a few viral moments, but something more meaningful and tangible than that.
“He’s getting in the ring, doing drills, going back to square one, making sure his fundamentals are all there. The biggest thing is he’s going to be nervous, and once you’re nervous, if you can’t relax in the heart, you can’t relax mentally. So he just needs to get as many reps in as he can until it’s like the back of his hand.
“If he brings that energy and brings the boom like he always does, the crowd will give him back what he puts out there.”