Maven Huffman Maven Klint Huffman ( November 26 , 1976 ) is an American professional wrestler , best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) between October 2001 and July 5 , 2005 under the name Maven . In 2008 he became a guest expert on the Home Shopping Network . Early life . Maven was born to an African - American father and an Argentine mother . After his mother died he was adopted by his mother ' s brother and his wife . Maven graduated from Eastern Mennonite University of Harrisonburg , Virginia in 1998 . Before becoming a professional wrestler , Maven was a middle school teacher , teaching Grade 6 , at Twality Middle School in Tigard , Oregon . Maven ' s Aunt whom he called mom , died on February 12 , 2004 , after a long battle with cancer . Career . World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment ( 2001 - 2005 ) . Maven won a year ' s contract with the company after he won the first series of " Tough Enough " , a reality television show used to find new WWE stars , in 2001 . Soon after , Maven would receive further training at Heartland Wrestling Association . Maven eliminated The Undertaker from the 2002 Royal Rumble by dropkick ing him from behind ; Undertaker responded in turn by returning to the ring and dragging Maven out of the ring ( under the ropes ) and savagely beating him , leaving Maven unable to continue . The two wrestlers began a feud over the Hardcore Title , which Maven won from Undertaker thanks to interference from The Rock . At WrestleMania X8 , Maven lost the Hardcore Championship to Spike Dudley during Maven ' s match with Goldust but won the title back the same night from Christian , thanks to the 24 / 7 title defense rule . In 2003 Maven entered the Royal Rumble for a second time . He attempted to eliminate Undertaker by using the dropkick a second time but failed and was eliminated again by Undertaker . Subsequently that year , Maven continued wrestling on WWE Heat and making random appearances on RAW . Nonetheless , on March , Maven was given a World Title match against then Champion Triple H , on Heat , but lost . In 2004 , Maven experienced the biggest push in his career , even gaining a victory over then - Evolution member Batista . Maven then took part in a " Survivor Series " Elimination Match at Survivor Series 2004 , teaming with Randy Orton , Chris Benoit , and Chris Jericho to face Triple H , Batista , Gene Snitsky , and Edge for the power to control " Raw " for one month . Maven was attacked backstage by Snitsky prior to the match , but after Benoit was eliminated , Maven arrived to join his teammates . He was eventually eliminated by Triple H . Orton was the sole survivor and as a result , he and his team had control of " RAW " for one month . Maven was the first to control " Raw " , booking himself in a World Heavyweight Championship match against Triple H , who tried to get out of it by offering Maven a place in Evolution . He declined , but despite interference from Jericho , Benoit , and Orton , Triple H retained the title due to interference from Snitsky and Ric Flair . Maven turned into a villain two weeks later by turning on Eugene , assaulting him as revenge for his elimination in a Battle Royal on " Raw " . Maven then feuded with then - Intercontinental Champion Shelton Benjamin , culminating at New Year ' s Revolution 2005 in a singles match for the championship . Before the start of the match , Maven did a worked interview out of the ring , blasting the Puerto Rican crowd . Benjamin quickly defeated him in just a matter of seconds , using a roll - up . Maven then cut a promo on Benjamin , stating that it " Didn ' t count " , and challenged Shelton for a re - match . It was accepted , he returned to the ring , and was then beaten in seconds , yet again , by Shelton ' s signature T - Bone suplex . During this time , he entered an unofficial alliance with Simon Dean , serving as a successful user of the Dean character ' s " Simon System " line of nutritional products . The team was split when Dean was traded to " SmackDown ! " , and Maven was subsequently released by WWE on July 5 , 2005 . Independent circuit and retirement ( 2005 – 2007 ) . On November 19 , 2005 , Maven wrestled his first match following his WWE departure , where he lost to Slyck Wagner Brown via disqualification in a match for NWA Cyberspace . On February 10 , 2006 , Maven joined United Wrestling Federation Live and teamed alongside Jeff Jarrett to defeat Team 3D . On March 31 , Maven wrestled his first match for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he and Jarrett lost to Jeff Hardy and Kip James in a tag team dark match . After wrestling sporadically for the UWF and in dark matches for TNA throughout the year , Maven wrestled his final match on October 5 , 2007 , where he lost to Test in a match for Full Throttle Wrestling . Return to professional wrestling ( 2015 – present ) . On July 11 , 2015 , Maven announced his return to pro wrestling . His return match took place at Brian Myers ' Create A Pro Wrestling Academy in Long Island , New York on July 19 , 2015 .