Drake Maverick is back with the WWE after being released by the company twice over the past two years. He was first let go in April 2020, but a tearful promo upon his release and his performance in the Cruiserweight Championship Tournament in the months that followed earned him a new contract and a spot on the NXT roster. Unfortunately, he was on the receiving end of budget cuts yet again last November. He released another promo, one that got praise from major stars across the industry (even John Cena), but has yet to wrestle a match since then.
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It turns out the man formerly known as Rockstar Spud is now working in WWE’s Creative Team, as reported by PWInsider‘s Mike Johnson. The hiring took place roughly a month ago.
Update: Maverick has confirmed his new position via a post on his LinkedIn page — “I am pleased to announce that towards the end of 2021 — I accepted the wonderful offer of becoming a part of the WWE Creative Writing Team as a Writer / Producer. Some of my last appearances in ring for WWE fittingly happened in the United Kingdom. The last appearance of that tour was in my hometown of Birmingham, UK where it all started. My parents had seen me perform many times at arena shows but never for the WWE. I finally was at peace with what I had accomplished in life & said to them both at the hotel with tears rolling down & my face beaming with pride ‘Mom, Dad — I did it.’
“My final appearance in the ring was in Louisville KY which was my first home in the United States when I moved to the country in 2013 Æ This writes itself doesn’t it? After a fun & entertaining match with involving a cavalcade of stars, we returned to the gorilla position to smiling faces & a rounds of applause,” he continued. “That UK tour ending with that night in Louisville KY was the most rewarding week of my career. If you told me there & then that was the end — I was good with it. I now have the opportunity to expand my horizons even further in the industry I love as well as many other avenues including film & television. After a career beginning in 2001 as an in-ring performer, I have personally exceeded all of my personal expectations from a geographical & physical standpoint in a line of work somebody like myself should have never succeeded in. Needless to say, all thanks to the people I have had the pleasure of being around on the journey & this industry as a whole — I am in a blessed position in life. It owes me nothing yet I owe it everything. Thanks for reading — James.”
Maverick’s aforementioned promo video seemed to indicate that he wanted to continue his in-ring career. In a video where he spoke to himself in the mirror, he explained, “Look at ya. You can’t pull this one again. Get up. You’re gonna be fine. I mean, everything they ever gave you turned into a moment, right? If they wanted you to be a manager, you made it work. If they wanted you to run around 24/7, you made it work. They even tried to get rid of ya. You made that work too. I don’t know what else to tell ya. You’re a success! You’ve always been a success, and you’re going to carry on being a success. You did everything you said you were going to do in life. You’re a success!
“Look at me. Look at me,” he added. “Hey. I know we’ve been here before, but we don’t belong here anymore. What was our dream? C’mon, what was our dream? It wasn’t to be a WWE superstar, was it? It was to be a professional wrestler. You can’t be fired from wrestling pal. Somebody’s going to book ya. Even an idiot like you. But what I’m asking you to do is get up, because if you don’t get up, this whole journey, this whole dream is gonna die. It’s gonna end. And we’ve got so much more that we need to accomplish here in this journey. It’s going to keep going, but we ain’t gonna accomplish nothing if you don’t get up! C’mon, get up! What you just going to let this dream die? Get up! We’re gonna accomplish everything! GET UP! GET UP!”
