Maven reflects on realizing he wasn't ready to be a WWE main event talent when he faced Triple H on the November 15, 2004 episode of WWE Monday Night Raw.
Maven was given the opportunity to experience being front and center on the episode of WWE Monday Night Raw that aired on November 15, 2004. He was the General Manager for the night per the stipulation of being on the winning team of the Survivor Series 2004 main event. He teamed up with Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and Randy Orton to compete against Snitsky, Batista, Edge, and Triple H in that match.
The main event of the November 15, 2004 episode of WWE Raw would see Maven challenge Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. In his latest YouTube video, Maven dissects the match, admitting to his audience and himself that he wasn't ready for the gravity of that moment.
"This is hard to admit, but I have to admit it, I wasn't ready for this stage. I wasn't ready to be on the main event. When I throw that first punch at Triple H, I'm following directions, and my next thing was to stand there and wait for my next bit of instructions. I now know to follow that first punch up and stay on him. Stay on him. Punch, punch, punch. Hunter's a professional. He's gonna cut me off. He's gonna He's gonna throw a knee, poke me in the eyes, he's gonna do something to get to where he needs to go. He shouldn't have had to call the entire match, move for move. That's just proof that I wasn't ready to be in the position that I was in. So, it comes to no surprise that this would be the last time I would be in the main event. I wasn't ready."
Reflecting on the post-match interactions he had with Triple H, Maven revealed that, in hindsight, this moment likely started the downturn of his career.
"I immediately sought out Triple H. I sought out Hunter. I wanted to obviously pick his brain. I wanted to make sure everything we did he was okay with. I wanted to know things, what I can do better. He gave glowing [remarks.] Just, 'Hey, you were great, man. Yeah, a couple things could have been better here and there...' He can't teach me instincts. He can't teach something that is only learned through repetition and through years and through just being in certain situations over and over and over again until it just becomes habit. Did I do everything he said? Absolutely. Did we pull off a match that the fans believed? Yes, we did, but I did just enough, just enough to show him, Vince, and upper management that I wasn't ready. I had no clue, no idea, that the match I had with Hunter probably started my downward spiral, which would ultimately lead to my exiting the company."
Learn more about Vince McMahon's reaction to how Maven handled the evening at this link.
Click here to read what Maven told Sean Ross Sapp about not joining Triple H and Evolution on this night.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Maven's YouTube channel in addition to linking back to this article and giving Fightful credit for transcription.
