Evolution Schematic 12.22.07: Maven

Writer’s Notes

So, it’s the final couple of days before Xmas, and you’re reading a column reviewing the career of a Tough Enough winner. Congratulations, you’re officially a Hardcore Wrestling fan.

Your theme music for today’s column is “Ready For The Floor” by Hot Chip, which is the most annoying catchy song I’ve heard in quite a few months. I won’t embed the vid since it’s not related to the topic at hand, but I will link it.

A few people have pointed out my lack of Sunny pics last week. I could point out that while I really like Sunny as a performer I don’t find her THAT attractive, but I won’t. Instead, My Bad, I was lazy, and here you go.

Overview

We’ve discussed and seen a lot of people in this column who have wanted to get into the sport, the business of Pro Wrestling for many reasons. Fame, fortune, girls, competition, girls, a place in the history books, girls, girls, men. But more and more, we find people, men and women in Pro Wrestling because they grew up watching it. People in the industry just because they want to be in it. Maven is one such man. A winner of the first WWF Tough Enough, his career is short by most standards, and apart from a few key moments, relatively uneventful. But his career is more important in a way than just his path. He is, in a nutshell, a changing of the guard. Maven represents in many ways the turn-over point between the old school mentality of the industry (Competition, Man On Man, the Audience just there along for the ride) and a new school way of thinking, where the Audience is the industry, and the point is to entertain them first and foremost. It began a fair while ago, but with Maven and Tough Enough, it seemed to mark the spot where it took over.

Not that he noticed. After all, he’s just trying to cope, best he can.

Background- Watching Wrestling. What a concept.

Maven was for many years just another wrestling fan. With his ‘Mom’ (actually his aunt, but that’s neither here nor there) Maven Huffman was a fan of wrestling as he grew up, went to college, did all the normal things. But while he must have considered trying out Pro Wrestling, he never did. That is, until…

Debut- “WWF Tough Enough” or “How I learned to stop worrying and love shattering 4th walls”

WWF announced that it was moving into Reality TV.

*cough*

And so WWF Tough Enough was born. Maven decided it was worth a shot, and applied. And got in. And survived. And won.

Along with Nidia, Maven was the inaugural winner, which surprised many who felt Chris Nowinski/Harvard was the shoe-in, can’t miss pick. Chris certainly felt so, thinking that Maven only won because his ‘mother’ had been sick during the show, thus getting Maven sympathy. Regardless, Maven won, he didn’t. And he didn’t get any sympathy when he debuted on the main show.

Phase 2- Welcome. *slap*

Maven’s first match for the WWF was against one of his trainers from Tough Enough, Tazz on Smackdown, October 4th, 2001. Tazz, non-surprisingly, made Maven tap out. Tazz then raised his student’s hand after the match, then clotheslined him, apparently disappointed in his performance.

The following week, Maven challenged Tazz to a match, and the same thing, almost, happened. Tazz won by submission, then went to help Maven up, only to get clotheslined himself by Maven.

The next week was the final match between the two, fellow TE winner Nidia at ringside with Maven. And this time, as Tazz went for a cover, Nidia interfered, pulling Tazz off Maven. As Tazz yelled at her, Maven got up, surprised Tazz, and got a three count.

Maven gained some small respect from the locker room with this victory, but lost most of it after a brutal match where Booker T, still angry at the Alliance losing at Survivor Series, challenged, beat, and destroyed Maven in a match. But from this low point came arguably his highest.

Phase 3- The Dropkick.

Maven managed to get into the 2002 Rumble match. He drew #11, not great. But what was really not great was the fact that The Undertaker was the sole man in the ring, angry, pissed off, and mentally in a bad, bad place. Taker took his time, beating on Maven, then the Hardy Boyz, who Taker had tossed before Maven’s entrance, came back in and attacked Taker. Taker got them out of the ring, then leant out slightly to yell at them. Maven, seeing a chance, hit a dropkick.

Taker was then eliminated, going over the top rope, landing on the floor.

The look on his face I’m sure still haunts Maven to this day. Certainly the complete, total and systematic demolishing Taker gave him afterwards, eliminating him from the Rumble then almost eliminating him from the land of the living by tossing him head first into a popcorn stand, still must bother him on cold days.

It did however get Maven, in a roundabout way, a WWF Title match. You see, the rules about outside and/or eliminated wrestlers eliminating people in the Rumble is not hard and fast. Nominally, it is allowed. If you run in, nail a guy with a taser, toss him out of the ring and then leave, it’s a legal elimination. However, the rule has been waved at times by people in authority when they didn’t like the situation (see: Vader/Monsoon, 1996 Royal Rumble), and thus some people complained that Taker’s elimination of Maven wasn’t legal. Because of all this, Jericho decided to end it by giving Maven a title shot, thus ending the whining. Maven couldn’t believe his luck, tried his darnest, but lost the match.

However, he did end up with a belt, as soon after he got a shot at The Undertaker’s Hardcore title, although he didn’t need one since the 24/7 rule was still in effect. But no-one was crazy enough to try it. No-one except The Rock, who ran in, attacked The Undertaker (his No Way Out opponent) and gave Maven the match, and the Hardcore Title.

Phase 4- 24/7.

Maven held the belt proudly, losing it a few weeks later to Goldust as Goldust checked on him in the medical area. Al Snow won the belt off of Goldust then Maven won it back off his trainer and mentor, Al. Maven walked into and out of Wrestlemania X-8 the champ, albeit with Spike Dudley, The Hurricane, Mighty Molly and Christian having title reigns during the show, Maven winning the belt back as Christian was leaving the building, then stealing Christian’s cab.

Maven then got the honor of being the 10th man drafted to Smackdown by Vince McMahon, Vince wanting the Hardcore belt for Smackdown. Unfortunately for Maven, Raven beat him for it on the final non-brand extended Smackdown, thus taking it to Raw and giving Vince a reason to hate Maven. However after a beatdown from Holly, Vince lost interest in Maven.

Phase 5- Maven and Al Snow

Maven then formed a tag team with one of his trainers, Al Snow, and the duo went after the Tag Belts which had become exclusive to Smackdown. However, the pair failed to beat Billy & Chuck at Backlash, and didn’t get another shot before Maven broke his leg in a match against Christian, putting him out for most of the rest of 2002. However, when he comes back, he found himself on Raw, traded by Stephanie as one of 5 superstars (himself, Ivory, D-Von Dudley, Val Venis and Al Snow) for Big Show.

Not a great boost to one’s ego.

Phase 6- Raw Maven.

Maven found himself against his old foe Chris Nowinski, who was still bitter over Tough Enough. The two had some battles, Maven coming out on top for most of them and proving that he deserved to win the competition. Maven then, slowly but surely throughout 2003, seemed to be moving up, his wins over Nowinski impressive enough that he began to get some bigger matches. Some went well, as he teamed with the likes of Shawn Michaels and Goldberg. But others went badly, like when HHH dismantled him as a message to Booker T. His on air time was spotty, but he still had a job, he was still doing what he loved. But after Batista and Matt Hardy brutalised and pinned him respectively at Armageddon at the end of 2003, it all stopped being fun as his aunt/mother’s health got worse.

Phase 7- Leave of Absence

He took some time off to care for her, being there for her when she passed away due to cancer. After a couple of months to grieve, he finally got back to work. And lost all the momentum he had.

Phase 8- The treadmill.

2004 for the most part was a bad year, even without his ‘mother’s’ passing, as he didn’t seem to get any major wins, was rarely on big shows, was just another guy, which on some level was good, it proved that he had no stigma for his way into the business. Even with Nidia by his side for a bit, he just couldn’t string together many victories, but who cares, he was a Pro Wrestler! But the glean wore off the glass, and Maven got tired. So he took matters, and his life, in his own hands.

Phase 9- The Ladder.

He slapped Batista, loyal member of Evolution, backstage, challenging him to a match after Batista interrupted Maven’s interview time. Maven then pinned Batista in the middle of the ring. This led to Maven being on Randy Orton’s team at Survivor Series, helping Team Orton beat Team HHH, giving Maven one Raw to GM. He, naturally, gave himself a World Title shot, coming oh so close but falling to HHH.

To be so close, and yet so far, finally snapped something inside Maven’s head. He wasn’t going to take this sort of crap any more.

Phase 10- The Darkness claims another one. As it always does.

Because a few weeks after his failed shot, he was in the Battle Royal set up by Randy Orton for the World Title, although it was then turned into a #1 contender’s Battle Royal by Vince. Regardless, Eugene eliminated Maven from the match, so later in the night Maven attacked him.

Standard reaction.

Maven’s career at first seemed to take an upswing as he got into the IC scene, although losing to IC champ Shelton Benjamin twice in 5 minutes at New Year’s Revolution then again the following night on Raw in a Royal Rumble Qualifier certainly dampened the rising star.

So much so that he had to sign a sponsorship deal to make ends meet.

Phase 10b- The Simon System, as used by Maven!

He became the poster boy for the Simon Dean Health System, teaming with Dean at the same time as advertising the product. The duo was somewhat successful, but were never top tag title contenders.

During this, he signed onto Eric Bischoff/Kurt Angle/JBL’s crusade against the ECW Reunion show, and was one of the invaders at ECW One Night Stand, having lost to Lance Storm on the Heat prior to the PPV.

It turned out to be his last major WWE event, as he was released along with several others a short time later.

Today- Indy show here, Reality TV there…

After a few appearances in other media forms, The Surreal Life, BET Jazz, Maven is now mainly wrestling on the Indy Scene, having teased retiring before sticking to the business, teaming with Shark Boy on occasion and proving that he does want and deserve to be here.

Conclusion

So, the guy won a Reality TV show, held a meaningless title a few times, and then got fired. So?

Maven is, again, symbolic. He is the guy who was accepted despite coming in via something that turned the industry on its ear. He marks the point when Pro Wrestling, at least in New York, is more entertainment than sport. He is the guy who proved that anyone can make it in the WWE. But above all, Maven proves one thing.

You can expose the business, and yet still be a part of it. And that’s something to both be thankful for, and worry about.

And now, another sliver of a fractured view of life, as from the pen of Dave Lovelace…