Ex-WWE star says Shawn Michaels yelled at him backstage after in-ring botch
Shawn Michaels is widely viewed as one of the greatest in-ring performers in WWE history. In a recent video, former WWE star Maven Huffman recalled how The Heartbreak Kid reprimanded him after a clumsy moment during one of their matches.
In 2003, Maven teamed up with Michaels at several untelevised live events. One time, the former Tough Enough winner tried to show off to a crowd in Albuquerque, New Mexico, by attempting a Michaels-esque kip-up. However, he failed to get to his feet and landed awkwardly on his back.
Maven said on his YouTube channel that he was "gasping for air" due to the high elevation in the city, causing him to suffer cardiovascular issues. After the match, Michaels gave the then-rookie a stern warning backstage:
"I was in the ring with a legend, and if I looked back, by association, he looked bad," Maven said. "So, once the match was over, once the crowd got a good chuckle out of a rookie not landing a simple move, we get backstage and Shawn laid into me. He told me, 'If you're not a hundred percent sure you can do and land a move, don't do it. Take it out of your arsenal.'" [3:27 – 3:53]
Maven and Shawn Michaels also joined forces with Goldberg to defeat Randy Orton, Ric Flair, and Triple H on the September 1, 2003, episode of RAW.
How Maven reacted to Shawn Michaels yelling at him
Although the tough New Mexico conditions gave Maven a good excuse for the botch, he knew he should have done better.
The former Hardcore Champion accepted a telling-off from Shawn Michaels and acknowledged the elevation should not have caused him to fail a kip-up attempt:
"I pretty much kept my mouth shut," Maven said. "I think I tried to spit out a reason but he didn't wanna hear it. He was in the same elevation I was. He didn't have an oxygen tank over on the side getting air while I was in the ring. He was going through the exact same conditions I did, so an excuse, he didn't wanna hear it. And, to be honest, I felt kinda bad. He wasn't wrong in this case. I was a hundred percent in the wrong." [3:53 – 4:16]
Maven wrestled for WWE between 2001 and 2005 after winning Tough Enough. He is arguably best remembered for feuding with The Undertaker after eliminating The Deadman from the Men's Royal Rumble Match in 2022.
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Please credit Maven Huffman and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.