Maven recently discussed the reason why WWE released him back in 2005. Speaking on the Mic Check with Mr Anderson podcast, the former WWE Tough Enough winner revealed that his firing was a result of his own lack of effort. He admitted that while he performed his scheduled matches, he did not put in any extra work to improve his craft.
Maven detailed how former WWE Senior Vice President of Talent Relations, John Laurinaitis, had asked him to get more reps in the ring, but Maven did not follow through. This ultimately led to his firing. When host Ken Anderson asked what the call was like, Maven explained the conversation.
“The firing call? Yeah. [He mimics John] ‘Maven, we’re gonna have to let you go.’ It took me years to admit this. He wasn’t wrong. He was like, ‘For a year, maybe for years, we told you to get your ass to the ring and get better.’ I just never did.”
Maven continued, taking full responsibility for the decision and attributing his mindset to his youth at the time. He noted that he enjoyed the benefits of being a wrestler more than the work of wrestling itself. “I attribute it to being young, and, at the time, I liked the life and what wrestling gave me more than what I could give wrestling, and if I could go back and redo things, I would try to give wrestling more if that makes sense.”
Anderson asked what management wanted him to do. Maven replied, “Work with Fit, work with Dean, work with these legends before the show. … Yeah, just get better. I would go down and I would talk over my six-minute match with Stevie Richards or Chavo on, and then punch the clock and then go get a workout in or something.”
To further illustrate his point, Maven used an analogy comparing his job in WWE to working at a coffee shop, explaining he was only doing the bare minimum required of him. “I’m only showing up to make the coffee. I’m not taking the garbage out. I’m not stocking the shelves. I’m not making calls to distributors.”
Maven then admitted that if he were in management’s position, he would have made the same decision: “even he would’ve fired himself.”