Brad Maddox opens up about his WWE exit and more
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Brad Maddox opened up about his unceremonious exit from WWE, which occurred due to him labelling Indianapolis fans as ‘pricks’ during a dark match promo, inviting the wrath of WWE head Vince McMahon – who promptly had him fired.
When asked whether he had a chance to have a sit down with McMahon, Maddox said, “No, I didn’t get a chance to talk to him before I left. I wanted to, but I didn’t get a chance to. When I came to the back, people seemed split on it.”
Maddox also dismissed the myth of McMahon being rigid with approving ideas that weren’t his own and said, “If that reputation is still around, then it’s a myth. He likes guys who knock on his door. He’s a creative mastermind, so he likes it when you come in and pitch him an idea so he can sit there and think about it with you. You can talk about the creative side of wrestling with him.”
He added, “I think there’s a stigma that Vince’s door is more intimidating than he is. When I came back, I wasn’t afraid to knock on his door anymore, but I was delighted that once I did, he was really easy to talk to. He was really easy to pitch ideas to, and he was listening to what you just pitched him, and he would give feedback. He might give you different ideas. He was really cool to work with.”
The 31-year-old also threw some light on the ideas he pitched in order to secure a job, saying: “I did this one thing where I acted like I was lost in a cave, in Mexico. I put these videos out online. Then it turns out that I wasn’t lost, it was just a publicity stunt.”
Brad Maddox, whose actual name is Tyler Kluttz, started his wrestling career with Ohio Valley Wrestling, before moving to WWE’s Florida Championship Wrestling, where he was the Florida Tag Team Champion.
Brad had quite a good rein on the WWE, with his talent for being a smooth talker making him extremely good with a microphone.
However, the use of the word “cocky prick” just wasn’t acceptable with the WWE top brass, with McMahon preferring if he had just said cocky. Maddox now wrestles on the independent circuit under the name Mad Braddox.