Steve Carrier on September 4, 2018
Edge & Christian welcome Drake Maverick to the show.
Maverick informs that he’s a “walking rib” and he wants everyone to laugh and have fun all the time. His 205 Live character is the most serious character he’s ever played, and he has no idea what he’s doing. He points out that he loves playing silly characters that make people laugh, and entertaining people in that fashion is where he’s most comfortable.
He says that his first instinct is to entertain, but WWE officials told him to hold himself back for now. He understands that for career longevity, that’s the best move for him at the moment. He notes that he loves the role and he’s taking great pride in being able to put a lot of the 205 Live talents over.
Maverick notes that one issue for 205 Live is the fact that there are no variances between the big competitors and the small competitors. Everyone is roughly the same size, and that makes it difficult to vary match types. Edge jokes that Buddy Murphy looks like he should be on 255 Live, but Maverick adds that Murphy is legitimately 198 lbs.
Maverick informs that Hulk Hogan is one of the main reasons he wanted to become a professional wrestler. He jokes that when he wrestles he even works like Hogan, even though he’s only 5’5”. While Hogan influenced him, he knew that it would be tough for him to accomplish those things in a business where size was king, but when he first saw Rey Mysterio and Spike Dudley he knew there was a chance for him.
He points out that when he went to his first day of wrestling school his trainers asked him who his favourite wrestler was. He said his favourite wrestler was Spike Dudley and the trainer was surprised. He replied, “You want to be Spike Dudley?”, and Maverick said “Yes”, so the trainer quickly threw him into a locker. Christian says Spike Dudley is one of the toughest guys he’s ever been in the ring with, and Edge agrees.
Maverick informs that his “Rockstar Spud” character was basically a Spike Dudley rip off in the beginning, but over time he started to make the character his own. He points out that the character was meant to get heat from audiences while still entertaining them, and he thought he accomplished that.
He notes that receiving a contract from Dixie Carter was an incredible moment for him. He didn’t give up on his dream of becoming a professional wrestler, and in that moment all of his hard work had paid off. He points out that his family and friends must have been concerned about his decision to pursue a career in wrestling due to his size, so when he got that contract he was proud to show them that he accomplished his goals.
He points out that when he was called up to TNA he thought he’d be a wrestler, but when he was told about the role he’d be playing he knew he was going to crush it. Being Dixie Carter’s annoying little assistant was something he knew he’d be able to do well, and he had a lot of fun in that role. He also developed a real-life friendship with EC3 during that time when they were working together on a nightly basis.
Maverick informs that he was also trained by Al Snow and Rip Rogers after moving to the United States. He learned a lot of great things from those guys, and even to this day he thinks that love and hate is where the money is in the wrestling business. When he hears fans chant “This is Awesome” it concerns him to a degree because fans should hate one performer and cheer for the other.
He points out that his time in TNA came to an end when the company approached him and said they’d need to restructure his deal if they were going to continue to work together because they couldn’t afford his previous deal. He worked very hard to reach the income level he was at and he truly believed he was worth that much to the company, so he decided to just let his contract expire and he moved on.
He adds that leaving TNA at that time was the scariest thing he ever did. He didn’t want to leave the company because he loved the schedule and the money, but he also didn’t want to take the pay cut so he stuck to his guns.
A part of him feels guilty when people praise his work on 205 Live. He points out that the show should be about the performers in the ring, who are working very hard each week to build something new. He points out that NXT didn’t really take off until a few years in, so people shouldn’t be so quick to count out 205 Live.
That sums up this week’s episode of E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness. You can listen to the show yourself anytime here, and I’ll catch ya next week for another recap!
September 4, 2018 10:24 am
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