Maven Huffman almost returned to WWE with a new role.
Maven has previously revealed that he turned down several offers of a WWE return in the years following his release in 2005. At that time, the inaugural Tough Enough winner was a host on the Home Shopping Network and prioritised the stability of that job over getting back in the ring.
However, in a new video on his YouTube channel, the star has explained that he reached a point where he was ready to return to the wrestling business in 2019 and reached out to D-Von Dudley about the possibility.
“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 get Maven an audition for a commentary position at the Performance Centre.
“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.”
The audition was successful as WWE made Huffman an offer which he was all too happy 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!'”
COVID Ended Maven Huffman’s WWE Opportunity
Unfortunately, just hours later Maven turned on the TV to see that the COVID pandemic had reached a new level and he just wanted to get home.
“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.”
With WWE minimising their TV production, the position he had been offered was no longer required.
“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.”
H/T to SE Scoops for the above transcription.