Maven On His Viral YouTube Channel, Biggest Mistake He Made in WWE, Advice From The Rock

Maven Huffman (@mavenhuffman) is a professional wrestler and YouTuber. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet in NYC to talk about the impact his YouTube channel has had on wrestling, other similar YouTube channels that have popped up since he starting having success, how he comes up with his video ideas, the mistakes he made while in WWE, the advice he got from The Rock before WrestleMania 18, what he's learned from John Cena, whether or not he wants to return to WWE as a commentator or manager and much more.

Subscribe to Maven's YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/@mavenkhuffman

Quote I'm thinking about: "It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others succeed." - Napoleon Hill

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On revolutionizing wrestling YouTube:

"I don't want to say that, we're taking it a little too far. I don't think I've revolutionised anything. I think I've opened people's minds up to what the possibilities are. And again, there were many guys that had way bigger careers. Many guys that were way up in the food chain in the WWE higher than I was that are doing the same type of platform. But we've just showed that there's a different way, there's more than one way to skin a cat. And yeah, we're taking advantage of that."

On giving himself credit:

"Here's what I will give us credit for, and it's not me. It's my partner, as well. He's the he's the brains behind the operation. Here's what I will say. The same way Matt Cardona revolutionised indie wrestling, the same way he showed other people there's just different ways of doing this. There's other ways, you don't have to be hired by one of the big three, to have a job in this business and to be successful and flourish. I think we've done that with YouTubing. Yeah, Stevie Richards, he's a good friend of mine, we talk daily, multiple times a day. I think that Stevie and I are putting out just different material. It's not a podcast. I don't know. Maybe. Maybe the undertaker would do something more like a Cafe de Rene type of podcast, man. I can't think of him taking anything [from me]."

On the Vince McMahon video he posted:

"We would have done the Vince video even if what he's embroiled in even, if that wasn't the case. Now the Vince video was going to come out regardless. But it's just, every time we go and we text each other potential possible topics. And you know, sometimes I'm like, Nah, I don't think I can talk about this, speak to that. And I have fans comment do something on ECW do something on WCW. I wasn't in ECW I wasn't in WCW. So I am basically trying to speak to what I have experience in. I don't want to overstep my boundaries, but we're trying to do it in a way where we're making YouTube videos first and foremost that just happened to deal with the wrestling topic."

Would he ever want to return to wrestling?

"I see it as well. And I can honestly say because people ask me, I haven't gotten one call. If I get the call, I'm obviously going to listen to any opportunity that comes my way. I don't care what the opportunity is, I'm going to listen to it. But now I haven't heard anything from [WWE], I don't know. Would I love to go back, because in one of my videos, I talked about how in 2020 I went and had an interview with them to do just that. And it just didn't pan out because of COVID. I would love to have that opportunity again, but I'm also 47, If it doesn't happen, I'm not going to sit and twiddle my thumbs and hope. I'm gonna keep I'm gonna keep moving. I learned a long time ago life there's a couple of key things about life. And that is you got to keep moving no matter if it's good or bad. Keep plugging, keep moving, put one foot in front of the other, and just keep charging. If I sit and wait for a call from WWE that might not come, then I'm opening myself up to let myself down. And I refuse to do that. Because I'm already, if you would have told me a year ago, that you're going to be a YouTuber, I would have laughed in your face. But look where we're at now. So if it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, then other things will present itself." 

On sabotaging himself in WWE:

"I was just young during my time my first run in WWE. I was young. I was more interested in all the things that wrestling gave me rather than all the things I could give wrestling if that makes sense. I was more interested in what me and Randy were doing after the shows. I was more interested in the people, what can you do for me? Not what how can I make the show better? That was an afterthought. I'll go out and wrestle my match. You know, but what am I doing afterwards? Or how much money am I going to make in this? And I just went to I went about it with the completely wrong mindset. I didn't try to get better, if I could go back and slap young Maven I would have been like yeah, get better. Look at these guys that you emulate. You obviously have the talent to be here. Now. Just put a little bit more into it and actually see what you could pull out of yourself." 

On John Cena:

"I got a lot of heat from people when my first ratings video came out, people thought I was burying John. I don't think John thinks John was a great technical wrestler, but what I will give that man credit for two things. One, there's no harder worker in the world than him. No one deserves success more than John. I could not be happier for the success he’s gotten. I'm not learning Mandarin, I can barely speak English. Two, he could teach a class on marketing and you know, just reinventing yourself. Like, look at what he's been able to do just from 2002 through now. And I mean, he's a full-fledged bonafide movie star."

On previous heat with Test:

"I took Test’s spot in WrestleMania 18. The Taker spot you know happened and then they have a couple of months later was Mania. Test was supposed to wrestle in that match. And that's a hell of a payday that he was missing out on that I took."

On WrestleMania 18:

"Oh my God, the long ramp. That was the longest ramp. Also, what The Rock said to me beforehand. I was nervous and it's probably about an hour before I go out. I used to think it before every match. I used to literally stand in the back and have that feeling in the pit of my stomach and be like I hate this. Why did you pick this as a career? I don't want to do this anymore because I was so nervous. But then the moment my music hit and I went through the curtain, it all went away instantly. But this was WrestleMania so I'm obviously terrified. And Rocky sees me and he comes he's like and just like the epitome of cool. But he's like Mave! I'm like, Yes, he's gonna give me the secret. He's gonna give me the special sauce. And as deadpan as you can imagine. He goes Mave, no one's expecting much out of you just do the best you can and turns around and I'm like, what? And he turned and he turned and you know, that smile. And he gave me a wink. But that was the levity that was needed at that. Yeah, like, just listen dude, we're out here to entertain go out there and have fun." 

On messing up his spot at WrestleMania 18:

"It wasn't it was not one just a spot. I completely. That's me missing the trashcan. Yeah, that is me missing the trash can. I've dissected that, I threw him in the trash can. And then the last minute, he underestimated how high I could jump and the fact, I should have told him, You know, I can dunk pretty easy. Keep it up at your head. And he puts it down at more like chest level. Then I went over top of it." 

What is Maven grateful for?

"New opportunities, hope and good people."