Former WWE star Mansoor has opened up about the early days of Maximum Male Models, revealing that the faction was one of Vince McMahon’s final creative ideas before his departure from WWE in 2022.
Speaking with Sportskeeda.com, Mansoor discussed how heavily the act was initially centered around its fashion show concept, including an unusual period when WWE tested the segments in front of live event crowds.
According to Mansoor, Maximum Male Models were originally expected to continue presenting fashion-themed segments on WWE programming for several weeks. “So it’s so interesting with the Maximum Male Models because we were Vince’s last idea, before he left the company. So we debuted and we were supposed to do those fashion show segments for weeks. Actually it’s a funny story, Vince had us go to house shows and do fashion show segments and I was like ‘Oh cool’ and then maybe somebody will come out and kick out b*tt, like toss us around. Nope, we would do our fashion show segments and leave and the crowds would be like ‘Huh?, That’s it?’. Like it’s just two guys in shorts doing this [poses], this and this. I had no clue what was going on there but I don’t know what the end goal was. Vince then left and Hunter [Triple H] took over.”
Mansoor’s recollection offers an interesting glimpse into how the Maximum Male Models concept was being developed during the final stages of McMahon’s creative leadership. Rather than using the live event appearances to immediately set up matches or physical confrontations, Mansoor and his partner simply performed the fashion show routine before leaving.
The timing ultimately meant the group underwent a significant creative transition almost immediately after its introduction. McMahon announced his retirement from WWE in July 2022, with Paul “Triple H” Levesque subsequently taking control of the company’s creative direction.
Maximum Male Models continued on WWE television following the leadership change, with Mansoor performing as mån.sôör alongside ma.çé, now known as MxM Collection. However, the original vision Mansoor described was conceived under McMahon and never had the opportunity to fully play out before WWE’s creative direction changed.
