Published: 25 seconds ago by Dave Adamson | Last Updated: 25 seconds ago by Dave Adamson
Dave has been a website writer for WrestleTalk since October 2022, having previously written for Den of Geek, among a number of wrestling, movie and television-related sites. Dave has been around the independent wrestling scene for more than a decade, including behind-the-scenes.
WWE
A product of the first season of Tough Enough, Maven has reflected on his career revolving around one drop kick in the WWE Royal Rumble in 2002.
Appearing on MTV’s WWF Tough Enough, a scripted reality show that set out to find new stars, Maven would be the co-winner of the first season, alongside Nidia.
Heading to the main roster, Maven would become a three-time WWF Hardcore Champion before being released from his contract on July 5, 2005.
One of the most prominent moments in Maven’s career in the then-WWF would be eliminating The Undertaker in a shock moment during the Royal Rumble match in 2002.
During a recent appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Maven would reflect on that moment and how he went from thinking he was being pranked to realizing it was a serious plans, saying:
“I think when I saw the seriousness on Taker’s face. He’s walking me through and spoon-feeding me what I’m gonna have to do to find success for that night, and then I’m like, holy cow, the way The Undertaker and the way Shane McMahon are reacting, no one’s going to remember Hunter wins this Rumble. People are only going to remember this spot if we pull it off.
“But then that became a big if. Because what happens if I miss that drop kick? Taker and I aren’t starting a wrestling match. My whole career revolved around hitting that one drop kick. And I’m glad that I was in there with Taker. I probably bugged him like a little lost puppy looking for a belly rub the entire day. My career was made from one man and one drop kick.”
Semi-retired as a professional wrestler, Maven has gone out to carve out a niche as a YouTuber, with his channel frequently seeing the star share his insight into the profession.
Addressing his success on YouTube, Maven noted that he’s “happier now” than he’s seemingly ever been, reflecting on how this differs from the man he was after winning Tough Enough.
The Reality Of Tough Enough
Starting as WWF Tough Enough in 2001, the scripted reality series would run for six seasons, being renamed WWE Tough Enough when the F was dropped from the company name. Season Five would be a relaunch of the concept in 2011, hosted by Stone Cold Steve Austin, while the final season would see Chris Jericho in the host role.
With 2001 seeing Maven and Nidia as joint winners, it’s curious to explore a list of subsequent winners and consider where they are now.
2002 would see Jackie Gayda and Linda Miles both win, with Miles being released two years later, and Gayda seeing the same outcome in 2005.
Tough Enough III would see Matthew Cappotelli win, only for his WWE career to be cut short by a malignant brain tumour, with his release coming in January 2009. The joint winner for that season was John Hennigan, perhaps the most successful to come out of the show, currently signed as Johnny TV in AEW, but well known as John Morrison.
Daniel Puder, an MMA fighter, would be the winner of the fourth season, but may be best remembered for a segment on the November 4, 2004, episode of SmackDown, in which he accepted a challenge from Kurt Angle and subsequently applied a legitimate kimura lock on the main roster star.
2011 would see Andry Leavine, who was already under a developmental contract with WWE, compete and win, although his run would end in April of the following year.
Finally, the 2015 series would see Joshua Bredl and Sara Lee as winners, with the latter being released in September 2016, passing away in October 2022, and Bredl seeing his own release in November 2017.
The concept was an entertaining one, and very much arguably in the high waters of reality television, particularly for the MTV generation, and while it did create stars outside of the winners, only The Miz is still with WWE today, having competed in the fourth season, only to lose out to Puder.
Arguably, the concept has been revived in the form of A&E’s WWE LFG, now in its third season, with a number of currently contracted developmental talent seeking to get their start.
Transcript from chrisvanvliet.com.
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