By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Insight With Chris Van Vliet with guest Maven
Host: Chris Van Vliet
Podcast available via Podcasts.Apple.com
On possibly returning to WWE: “I can honestly say because people ask me, I haven’t gotten one call. If I get the call, I’m obviously going to listen to any opportunity that comes my way. I don’t care what the opportunity is, I’m going to listen to it. But I haven’t heard anything from [WWE], I don’t know. Would I love to go back, because in one of my videos, I talked about how in 2020 I went and had an interview with them to do just that. And it just didn’t pan out because of COVID. I would love to have that opportunity again, but I’m also 47. If it doesn’t happen, I’m not going to sit and twiddle my thumbs and hope. I’m gonna keep moving. I learned a long time ago life, there are a couple of key things about life. And that is you got to keep moving no matter if it’s good or bad. Keep plugging, keep moving, put one foot in front of the other, and just keep charging. If I sit and wait for a call from WWE that might not come, then I’m opening myself up to let myself down. And I refuse to do that. Because if you would have told me a year ago, that you’re going to be a YouTuber, I would have laughed in your face. But look where we’re at now. So if it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, then other things will present itself.”
On sabotaging his first WWE run: “I was just young. During my time my first run in WWE I was young. I was more interested in all the things that wrestling gave me rather than all the things I could give wrestling, if that makes sense. I was more interested in what me and Randy (Orton) were doing after the shows. I was more interested in the people, what can you do for me? Not how can I make the show better? The show was an afterthought. I’ll go out and wrestle my match, but what am I doing afterwards? Or how much money am I going to make in this? And I just went to I went about it with the completely wrong mindset. I didn’t try to get better, if I could go back and slap young me I would have been like yeah, get better. Look at these guys that you emulate. You obviously have the talent to be here. Now. just put a little bit more into it and actually see what you could pull out of yourself.”
On WrestleMania 18: “Oh my God, the long ramp. That was the longest ramp. Also, what The Rock said to me beforehand. I was nervous and it’s probably about an hour before I go out. I used to think it before every match, I used to literally stand in the back and have that feeling in the pit of my stomach and be like I hate this. Why did you pick this as a career? I don’t want to do this anymore. Because I was so nervous. But then the moment my music hit and I went through the curtain, it all went away instantly. But this was WrestleMania, so I’m obviously terrified. And Rocky sees me and he comes he’s like and just like the epitome of cool. But he’s like ‘Mave!’ I’m like, Yes, he’s gonna give me the secret. He’s gonna give me the special sauce. And as deadpan as you can imagine he goes ‘Mave, no one’s expecting much out of you just do the best you can.’ And he turns around and I’m like, what? And he turned and he turned and you know, that smile. And he gave me a wink. But that was the levity that was needed at that. Yeah, like, just listen dude, we’re out here to entertain go out there and have fun.”
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