Former WWE Superstar Maven Huffman was delighted to be moved to RAW, believing the red brand’s live atmosphere allowed him to thrive under pressure.
After winning the first season of WWE Tough Enough, Maven was brought to SmackDown, but returned from a lengthy injury as a member of the Monday Night RAW roster.
In the latest video from his YouTube channel, Maven said he preferred working on RAW as opposed to the pre-taped SmackDown. He said,
“I’ll be perfectly honest. For me, I was ecstatic when they moved me over to Raw. I always appreciated and I always enjoyed a live atmosphere better. Things just felt different backstage. Things felt crisper, it felt like a tighter-running ship, you could definitely see that more emphasis and more importance was placed on timing, getting things done in their proper time.”
In late 2004, Maven became the General Manager of RAW for one night, which allowed the Tough Enough alum to prove himself in a high-pressure setting. He said,
“I remember the night that I was the Raw General Manager. It was in Indianapolis and I was involved in I want to say probably ten or eleven segments of that night. That was ten or eleven more segments than I was normally in. So I had to learn lines, I had to learn staging, I had to learn promos. I had to also have my match with Hunter. I was literally moving, working, and prepping the entire day.
“That night, at the end of that night, when I got through gorilla, and immediately saw Vince and he gave me his approval and told me, ‘Amazing job,’ it meant so much more. Why? Not because it was coming from Vince. Of course, it was great hearing it from Vince, but because it happened on a live show. There was literally no room, zero room for air, and knowing that I was able to perform in a live environment like that, it felt so good.”
