Ex-WWE star wanted to change his name to 'Bishop'; John Laurinaitis quickly rejected his idea
John Laurinaitis once rejected a WWE Superstar's pitch to get his name changed.
Maven Huffman has not wrestled in a WWE ring for more than 18 years at this point. He wrestled his last match in the company way back in 2005.
At one point during his run in WWE, it dawned on Maven that a name change would be beneficial for his character. He approached John Laurinaitis with the idea, who quickly shot it down. Check out the pro-wrestling veteran's comments:
"I remember as a kid, dreaming about becoming a wrestler. I used to sit and think, 'What was my name gonna be?' And actually after Tough Enough, I actually went to Johnny Ace and told him, 'I want to change my name.' In my mind, I wanted to maybe change my name to, like, Bishop or something. Johnny quickly shot me down and told me, 'Well, the whole world knows you...' let me do it in Johnny's voice, 'Maven, the whole world knows you is Maven from Tough Enough, that's your name.' Most guys change their name just to get their gimmick over, just to have something that they can market themselves. That's why guys change their name." [11:15-11:52]
John Laurinaitis was the one who informed Maven about his firing
John Laurinaitis called Maven in July 2005 to inform him that he was being let go by WWE. Maven mentioned in a previous video that Johnny Ace tried to help him in the best way possible, but he did not listen:
"To his credit, Johnny Ace, Director of Talent Relations, told me multiple times that it was in my best interest to get down to the ring and work with guys like fit Finlay who is a wealth of knowledge. And, what can I say, I was a 25-26 year old kid who didn't listen to good advice, and I thought it was probably a better idea to go off to the gym and get a workout in, once I had my match down." [6:51-7:20]
Maven has not been associated with WWE for almost two decades now. However, he is doing well for himself since his YouTube channel has taken off pretty quickly.
Do you think a name change would have benefitted Maven? Sound off in the comments section below!
If you use Maven's quotes, please credit his YouTube channel and give an H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcription!