Maven has high praise for two Tough Enough alumns.
WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard spoke with Maven about his status as being a Tough Enough alumnus. Maven believes John Morrison and The Miz, in particular, were able to enjoy more success in wrestling because they were able to lose the Tough Enough label.
“Of the people that graduated or that left Tough Enough. My favorites are John Morrison and obviously The Miz. I think those two are, you know — I think what separated them from what I was able to do was they were able to get rid of the Tough Enough halo where I never was.”
Pritchard mentioned that The Miz might have been aided by his history on MTV, so there was a fan connection on a certain level.
“He’s a hard worker. And I see what you’re saying because I had an emotional investment in him too. When he finally did make his way into the WWE, it was like, ‘He’s earned it.’ Because I don’t know if you remember those Challenge shows they used to do all the time. I used to love those. And he would always get into character. So you knew he loved it. So by the time he did make it, I thought he had earned it.”
‘I’m not my favorite wrestler.’
Maven also praised John Morrison’s work ethic and said the AEW star was his favorite wrestler.
“And then John Morrison, I mean, John’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever seen. He does stuff with his body I wouldn’t try in a swimming pool. He’s gotta be either 40 or in his 40s now too. God knows I don’t look like I did 20 years ago, but he does [now],” Maven joked. “He’s amazing. He’s just an amazing athlete. And he was my favorite.”
“It’s funny. I was doing a signing one time. And this woman comes up to me, and she was, an older lady. She was like, ‘Oh, you’re my favorite wrestler.’ And I was like, ‘I’m not my favorite wrestler.’ And that’s true. That’s actually true,” he noted. “So of all the Tough Enough contestants, John Morrison was definitely my favorite. And that’s myself included.”
Morrison now works in AEW as “Johnny TV”, while The Miz continues to be a mainstay in WWE.
Check out our full interview with Maven below:
