Maven’s memorable Royal Rumble in 2002 was a roller coaster even before the match had begun.
Speaking on The Bump, Maven spoke about how he was approached about going to Atlanta, where the pay-per-view was taking place. Maven figured he would be in the Royal Rumble match but didn’t know he would be eliminating Undertaker.
At first, Maven thought it was a rib on him when Shane McMahon told him about the spot.
“I got the call literally the day before. The day before, they called and said, ‘You’re going to Atlanta.’ That’s where the Rumble was. I flew out the next day, no clue what was going to happen. At that point, I’m not an idiot, I knew I was probably in the Rumble, but I knew I would probably come out, get a quick pop Tough Enough was going to get and then I would be thrown out and got rid of as soon as possible. When I got there and they called me to the ring, there was Shane and ‘Taker. They called me to the ring and at the time, I’m terrified. I’m the rookie, young, in my 20s and here I was with Shane McMahon and with Undertaker, scared to death. Then he tells me, ‘Maven, you’re going to go out there and eliminate [Undertaker].’ I thought he was completely joking. I thought it was the rib of the century. Well then, ‘Taker turns, looks at me and says, ‘Are you effing kidding me?’ At that point, I wanted to run. I just wanted to leave. ‘Taker had his hands with what was going on that day. He helped my career more than anyone on that single day,” Maven said.
In regards to the aftermath, Maven said he and Undertaker had somewhat of a bond where Undertaker would acknowledge and respect Maven from that point forward.
“He was happy. From that day on, me and him kind of had a bond. He always gave me a smile, that little, ‘Hey kid’’ look and let me know what I did, he was satisfied,” Maven said.
You can check out the full interview and the episode in the video at the top of the page.
