WWE giving Drake Maverick redemption isn’t the feel-good story you think it is

Weeks after being released by WWE in the midst of a global pandemic, Drake Maverick was granted a new contract to close out an episode of NXT. And quite frankly, it’s disgusting.

There’s been no shortage of criticism leveled against WWE for many of their questionable actions. From poor booking to oblivious corporate statements, from trips to put on a series of shows for a genocidal regime to their continued associations with problematic figures, it’s been a mess.

And at first glance, Drake Maverick earning a contract to close out this week’s episode of NXT may seem like a bright spot in a field of dreck.

For those unfamiliar with what happened to Maverick, here’s the CliffsNotes version: on Apr. 15, while the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on the healthcare structure and economy of the entire planet, WWE released a sizable number of wrestlers and performers from their contracts. Gallows and Anderson, Aiden English, Rusev, Heath Slater – even long-time referee Mike Chioda – were among the names.

Upon hearing he was released, Drake Maverick – former 205 Live general manager, former manager of AOP, and former attempter to consummate his marriage in the midst of his perpetual chase for 24/7 Championship glory – filmed a video that he uploaded to Twitter, and it was a tough thing to watch.

From the moment Maverick hit the record button, he was already teary-eyed – and who wouldn’t be? However, Maverick stated he would still be competing in the NXT Cruiserweight Championship tournament, as he had already been announced as a competitor – but he acknowledged those would likely be the last matches he would wrestle for WWE.

Fast-forward to this week’s episode of NXT where Drake Maverick had, seemingly against all odds, made it to the finals of the tournament against El Hijo del Fantasma. He had attained a vast outpouring of support from the WWE Universe. Despite a solid effort from Drake, Fantasma won the match, apparently striking midnight for Maverick’s Cinderella story.

But before the carriage turned back into a pumpkin, Triple H appeared as a sort of fairy godmother to Drake, offering him a contract with NXT to remain an active competitor. As I mentioned at the opening of this piece, at first glance it seems like a real bright spot amidst the realities of the outside world, a feel-good story for a nation in need of one.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but this ain’t it.

Let’s get conspiracy theories out of he way first — this was not a worked release back in April. Tom Colohue reported for Sportskeeda that Maverick was indeed let go, but the fan support was too much to ignore so he was offered a new contract. Original plans were for Maverick to basically be an enhancement talent for the other superstars in the tournament, then so long, Charlie.

While I am thrilled for Maverick to be rehired — I think he has tremendous value both as a veteran presence and a unique personality, which should help out the future stars of wrestling working in NXT right now — the entire manner in which it played out is kind of gross.

Look just at the sheer facts of it all: a man lost his job, along with numerous others, in the middle of a global pandemic. The company that fired him, by the way? On track to record the largest annual profits in company history, but the stockholders wouldn’t be happy unless those profits were even larger, so it was time to clean house.

That, in and of itself, is bad enough. But then to cravenly use the footage of this man crying because he’s so distressed over not only losing his job, but because he won’t be able to actually say goodbye to his friends because of social distancing and travel restrictions, as a marketing tool? It just reeks of corporate appropriation.

There’s also the manner in which the new contract was revealed. It’s one thing when Triple H came out and basically signed Cedric Alexander to a contract after he was eliminated from the Cruiserweight Classic back in 2016.

Even that is kinda shady. Yeah, we get it, the crowd is cheering for him and chanting “PLEASE SIGN CEDRIC” but to so opportunistically jump on an organic moment to insert yourself? Well, actually, that’s kinda what Triple H does, isn’t it?

The Drake Maverick situation is a thousand times different. This was a guy who, for all we knew, was literally unemployed. Cedric Alexander was a prominent independent wrestler. I saw him compete alongside Johnny Gargano and Drew Gulak in the CHIKARA King of Trios tournament literally three weeks after that video! But Drake was going to be out the door with few propsects, thanks to the limited number of companies running shows at the moment.

Triple H appearing as the great savior yet again only confirms that WWE firmly believes that WWE is the only way a WWE

wrestler

superstar can get over. If Drake just were to announce “hey guys guess what? I’m back! #neverquit” on Twitter, it seems like he’s the hero of his own story.

But Triple H going out there to hand him a contract after he “failed” to get rehired because he lost the match makes the corporate entity the hero.

But the cherry on top? After NXT was off the air, Drake cut a promo backstage where he alluded to “seizing opportunities” that others weren’t seizing. I don’t know if that’s a Drake Maverick promo, or a WWE-written promo, but either way it smacks of insensitivity. Did Aiden English and Rusev not grab opportunity when Rusev Day became one of the hottest acts in WWE?

“Seizing opportunity”? Drake was released on the same day as Zack freakin’ Ryder. Now, I’m one of the few people on the planet who isn’t a big Zack Ryder fan, but even I can’t deny that he not only seized opportunity, he created it for himself.

It’s clearly ruffled some feathers in the wrestling world besides just mine. Lio Rush – who was released from his contract the same day as Maverick – called it a slap in the face, and he’s 100% right.

The trauma from losing a job is real and to use it as a storyline is callously indifferent to the other talent who aren’t getting hired back (although there are now reports that some are being offered new contracts). Writer David Bixenspan also has some valid thoughts on the whole thing being “twisted”- check out his Twitter timeline for even more.

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Let’s make one thing clear: If Drake Maverick doesn’t record a video of himself announcing he’s been released, we aren’t even discussing this right now. Layoffs happen, furloughs happen – they are terrible and awful, but they happen. I’ve been working as a music teacher for 12 of the past 15 years – the other three were when I was laid off because music is among the first things to go when budgets get tight.

And the pressure to perform and still give it your best effort when you know you aren’t going to have that job in a few weeks? It’s absolutely brutal. I found out about my position possibly being eliminated in February, the decision was confirmed in April ahead of the budget vote, and then my concerts were in May! I’m up there waving my arms in front of a group of teenagers with my back to the audience – how do you think Drake Maverick felt going into a WWE ring with the knowledge that he’d be done in two weeks when his matches in the tournament were done?

I want to reiterate that none of this should be construed as a knock on Drake – you do what you gotta do to provide for yourself and your family. (Even those critical about the whole storyline, like Rush and Bix, are expressing their happiness for Maverick, and their public disgust lies solely with the company.)

Maybe I’m just cynical. Maybe I’m upset because standing ovations at my concerts when I had termination looming wasn’t enough to change minds in the budget committee. But the decision to turn a man’s genuine pain and sorrow into a storyline is a decision that should not be made in 2020, though it’s been done before and will probably be done again. And to top it all off, this probably doesn’t even crack the top ten of awful acts by WWE.

What are your thoughts on how the Drake Maverick story unfolded on NXT?