Former WWE star takes William Regal's side in Goldberg controversy

WWE Vice President of Global Talent Development William Regal is one of the most respected pro wrestling stars, so it's no surprise when a talent speaks highly of him.

Maven Huffman was the co-winner of the inaugural season of WWE Tough Enough, and he went on to become a three-time Hardcore Champion. Huffman and Regal worked several WWE tag team matches against each other ifrom 2003-2005.

The 37-year-old wrestler-turned-YouTuber uploaded a new video this week where he talked about various opponents he had in his career. Huffman recalled working with The Man's Man in WWE.

"I still hear this guy in my head telling me, ‘Keep your hands out your pockets, lad.’ The story behind that is, I’m out at the ring. I feel somebody tap me on the shoulder as I’m standing with both my hands in pockets, and it was William Regal. He told me, and I still remember this years later, he told me, ‘You’re a fighter. Fighters never stand with their hands in their pockets. They have to be ready.’ It’s just always stayed with me to this day," Maven said.

Working then as Lord Steven Regal, the wrestling legend faced off with Bill Goldberg on February 9th, 1998 during a live WCW Nitro episode. The match led to controversy between the two grapplers, and now Huffman is taking Regal's side. He added that Regal made him a better wrestler, and he has undying respect for the 2008 WWE King of the Ring winner.

"Goldberg had a match early in Goldberg’s WCW career with Regal, and both of these guys are gonna tell the story a little bit different. Goldberg says that Regal took liberties with him, and Regal says the office told them to have a competitive match. I tend to stand behind Regal and his interpretation of what he was told to do. Now, that said, I still think he went out and made a show. I still think he went out and proved a point, not only to Goldberg, but to the world, about what true toughness is," he said.

He continued:

"But William Regal, I worked with him a handful of times, and every time we worked together, the reason he has my undying respect is because it didn’t matter if we had a four-minute segment, he made it a point that I was going to learn something during my day’s interaction with him. He was going to not only tell me what we were gonna be doing, but explain the why behind it. He in essence made me a better wrestler. He’s one of the guys I wish I would have stuck to like glue because I probably would have had a longer and more fruitful career had I paid attention to William Regal," Maven said.

Huffman also stated that every pro wrestler who comes into contact with Regal is better for it.

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Maven Huffman reacts to "mean comments" from WWE fans

YouTube can be an interesting place for wrestlers and fans, and Maven Huffman discovered this when he re-launched his channel, and started regularly producing videos dealing with topics from his WWE career.

The three-time WWE Hardcore Champion recently responded to "mean comments" that fans left on some of his older videos. One person called him a "boring version of The Rock," and he responded.

"I never dug you, Maven. Maven... with an I. Wow. You always seem like a boring version of... here it is! There we go! Boring version of The Rock, and try hard uncle. Uncle... capitalized. So I'm obviously his uncle... I never wish I had. Oh, I'm the uncle he never wish he had. Well, news flash! And be happy you still don't have me as an uncle. But again, another person that says I am a boring version of The Rock? You're watching! So how boring am I?," he said. [2:42-3:17]

The Rock and Huffman never had a one-on-one match in WWE. The Tough Enough season one co-winner last wrestled for WWE on June 20th, 2005 at the Sunday Night Heat tapings in Phoenix. He teamed with Romeo and Antonio for a loss to The Hurricane, Val Venis, and Rosey.

What did you think of Maven in WWE? Where does William Regal rank on your list of all-time greats? Sound off in the comments section below!