Former WWE star Maven made an appearance on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast to discuss a wide range of topics. Here are the highlights:
The Undertaker:
“Would I have had the run or the career that I had without him? Absolutely not. The guy knew how to do business,” Maven said.
“If you walk into that locker room in 2002 or 2001, there’s two people that immediately intimidate you. That’s Vince McMahon and The Undertaker. Other guys, yeah, they’re intimidating. They’re big. The Rock is the coolest guy on television. But Undertaker is walking around, and it’s almost like, literally, like a god walking on air.”
“People always say, ‘What’s Vince McMahon like?’and I’m like, ‘He’s a businessman. He signs the front of the checks, I sign the back.’ But Taker didn’t have to do what he did. The fact that he had the foresight to put me over by letting me eliminate him (at the 2002 Royal Rumble), that just gave me a career.”
Not working harder to get better in the ring:
“Johnny Ace used to tell me all the time, ‘Get out and get in the ring. Work with Fit (Finlay) before the show.’ You would have all these guys and girls in there just working on their craft.”
“I did at the very beginning, and then, it wasn’t laziness, I guess I just believed that I got it and I knew what I’m doing. I remember Stevie Richards used to be down at that ring before every show, just working on stuff, and that never was me,” he continued.
“If I can go back and tell a young me, it would be get your ass there. Now, I believe I had enough athletic ability where with a little bit more effort, I could have been putting forth a lot better matches. That’s my regret. I have no one to blame but myself.”
H/T to WrestlingNews.co for the transcript