The commentary that you’re about to read is an official WWE commentary document written by Keith Elliot Greenberg.

Maven, How did you become so selfish? By Keith Elliot Greenberg

With Tough Enough building to its conclusion on SmackDown!, both contestants and fans have been turning on RAW to monitor the progress of the most-famous winner ever. Up until last week, Maven appeared to be nothing less than a role model – respectful, dedicated and scientific.
To a large extent, he was an anachronism – a throwback to what a wrestling hero was in those days before the “Attitude” era.
That seems to have changed dramatically.

I sympathize with Maven’s frustration over being eliminated from the Battle Royal Monday night to determine a No. 1 contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. This was a big opportunity, and it was lost in an instant. When he looked back up at the ring and saw that Eugene dispatched him, I understand Maven’s surprise. Eugene seems like such a loveable guy, and Maven had been nice to him in the past. Then, to add insult to injury, Eugene jumped up and down and clapped – like an NFL tackle doing a victory dance above a mangled quarterback,
Unlike many others who watched RAW that night, I can relate to Maven’s desire to smack Eugene around. Just a few weeks before, when Maven was the acting General Manager of RAW, he booked Eugene and William Regal in a challenge against World Tag Team Champions La Resistance. By no means does Maven deserve credit for the contenders’ victory that night – Eugene and Regal did that on their own. But Maven was responsible for creating the situation that allowed Eugene and his British-bred teammate to become champions.

So Maven felt betrayed. That’s fine. But let’s remember – he was in a Battle Royal. Eugene’s obligation was to one person: Eugene. And anyone who tells me that Maven wouldn’t have done the same thing if the roles were reversed is deluding himself. The thing is that, once the match was over, it was time for Maven to move on. He’s no longer a green, former schoolteacher who hit the lottery – in the form of Tough Enough – and found himself on the same stage with the biggest names in sports-entertainment. Maven’s been around a few years. He’s a professional. When he assaulted Eugene later in the night, Maven didn’t act like one. Was this a heat-of-the-moment eruption, or an indication of things to come? Sadly – and I’ve been a big fan of Maven for a long time – I have to go with the latter. Here’s why: even before the incident with Eugene, I thought that Maven was acting a little more selfish than we expected. But, maybe, we were expecting too much.

When Maven was given the opportunity to be General Manager for the night, he didn’t behave like a person who put the good of the company first. Maven was out for himself. That’s why we were treated to a main event of World Heavyweight Champion Triple H vs. Maven.
When Dusty Rhodes played a prominent backstage role in the 1980s National Wrestling Alliance, his peers resented the sheer volume of title shots he received. Because of Dusty’s innate charisma, the fans didn’t mind for a while. Eventually, though, they grew weary to seeing Dusty in the main event night after night. Business suffered, and some of his most loyal supporters turned on him. Believe me, Maven’s followers are going to react the same way. Maybe Maven doesn’t care. And maybe he shouldn’t care. After all, what have the fans done for him? When Maven was injured, did the fans drive him to rehab, motivate him in the gym, and help him regain his celebrated form? No – Maven did all that. So I can see why he may think that he’s the only one worthy of his loyalty.

When former champion Bob Backlund returned to WWE in 1994, he was a lot like the old Maven, conscious of popular opinion, and a stickler for fundamentals. But times had changed since Backlund’s run in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, and fans mocked him as a square. The derision ignited a part of Backlund that none of us had seen before. He turned into a nut. But he also won the WWE Championship from Bret “Hit Man” Hart at the 1994 Survivor Series. If this is the path Maven has chosen to take, who am I to begrudge him? Nonetheless, I still have the right to feel disappointed. Should the behavior he exhibited last Monday night persist, he’s no longer the standard for Tough Enough candidates like Justice Smith, Daniel Puder and Mike Mizanin. And that would be a shame.

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