3-time champion says The Rock wanted to work with him in WWE
The Rock was one of WWE's marquee names in the early 2000s before reducing his in-ring schedule to focus on acting. Maven, a WWE star between 2001 and 2005, recently recalled how he almost feuded with The Great One.
In 2001, Maven won the first season of the Tough Enough reality show. The 47-year-old earned a WWE contract and made an instant impact by eliminating The Undertaker from the 2002 Men's Royal Rumble Match. He also held the Hardcore Championship three times.
On Developmentally Speaking, Maven said The Rock tried to help by appearing in a storyline with him:
"Something happened to me that he didn't like. I don't know if it was the writing or whatever, but he pulled me aside. He was going away to do something. I don't know if it was The Scorpion King or what. But he was like, 'So and so did you dirty here.' He was like, 'When I come back we're gonna do an angle together.'" [35:26 – 35:49]
The Rock's WWE appearances significantly decreased around that time due to his movie success. As a result, plans for him and Maven to become on-screen rivals were nixed.
Maven on The Rock's WWE creative control
Nowadays, The Rock can influence storylines due to his star power and important role as a board member of WWE's parent company, TKO.
Maven added that only a select few wrestlers have had some control over their creative direction over the years:
"There was very few people, probably Rock, [Steve] Austin, 'Taker [The Undertaker]. This was before [John] Cena was who he was. This was before [Randy] Orton became who he was. At this time, Rock, Austin, 'Taker, and Hunter [Triple H] were maybe the four that they could write whatever they wanted for themselves." [35:54 – 36:16]
Maven also spoke about the possibility of returning to WWE one day following the success of his wrestling-themed YouTube channel.
What are your thoughts on Maven? Hit the discuss button and let us know.
Please credit Developmentally Speaking and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.