Former WWE Superstar Maven Huffman would likely be working for WWE today, if not for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maven joined WWE in 2001 after co-winning that year’s Tough Enough with Nidia Guenard. During his four years with the promotion, Maven would become a three-time Hardcore Champion and is well-remembered for eliminating The Undertaker from the 2002 Royal Rumble match.
A Return Ruined by COVID
A few years after his release, WWE offered him a chance to return, but Maven declined, citing that he had a steady job with the Home Shopping Network. On a recent video from his YouTube channel, Maven recalled a time years later when he was ready to come back.
“I reached out to D-Von and knowing D-Von still had a great relationship with the WWE, I reached out and I said ‘D-Von, I see a path forward I see an opportunity and I know I know I could work with the company.’ The company that I love the company that brought me into this business and I see my opportunity not as a wrestler, age wins but I see my opportunity with maybe announcing, maybe backstage interview segments.”
D-Von was able to put a good word in with WWE, who brought Maven to the Performance Center in Florida. The former Superstar went on to explain how his audition for the role went.
“Tom [Phillips] took me back into a room where they had several monitors set up. What they do with these monitors is they practice, they get themselves ready for live television and they get themselves ready by calling old matches. And that’s what we were going to do that day… He knew I was buddies with Matt Cardona so he actually pulled one of Matt’s and Brian’s old tag matches out just to help aid me with my comfort level. So we then spend the next few hours just calling different matches and he’s guiding me.”
Maven felt the audition went very well and was pleased to bump into some old colleagues, including WWE’s current Head of Talent, Triple H.
“I happened to bump into Hunter and it was good catching up with Hunter. He and I probably talked for a good two to three minutes, caught up… We didn’t talk even talk to business. We talked family and just how we’ve been, just on a personal level so it was good catching up with him.”
After Phillips gave his seal of approval, Maven was contacted with an offer, which the former Tough Enough alum was excited to accept.
“They say ‘Maven if you were given the opportunity to accept a job but we told you you had to move here and it would take you 6 to 12 months coming to this facility and just working by the monitors and just learning different matches is that’s something that you’re willing to do at this level and at this age? And I said ‘Absolutely! I’ll start packing tonight! Tell me when I’ll move here as soon as possible!'”
Maven felt on top of the world for about four hours as he envisioned his future as a WWE commentator. That was until he turned on the TV that night, and saw how the COVID-19 pandemic was changing sports and entertainment.
“I get to the hotel and then I see it. Flashing up on the TV screen and every hope that I had was dashed in a second and what did I see? Flashed up on the TV screen was ‘NBA to cancel their regular season.’
“March 11th 2020 the day that the entire world shut down… That job, it took second place because obviously, we started hearing about just what was going on obviously you heard about people getting sick and family members being lost my goal immediately turned into making it back to New York.
“Within a month the entire world was on lockdown. WWE programming would stop. Live Events, they would only do studio shows in that location. Studio shows that only required a few announcers. Announcers they already had.”
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