During the latest episode of his “Marking Out with MVP and Dwayne Swayze” podcast, AEW star MVP opened up about a difficult chapter in his WWE career, revealing he was in the “doghouse” with management in 2007 and endured a six-month losing streak — which unexpectedly turned him babyface thanks to fan support.
MVP explained that he had “heat” at the time, stemming from behind-the-scenes issues. “Some of it came from some misunderstandings, and some of it came from me sticking up for myself,” he revealed. He criticized the lack of communication in WWE back then: “Nobody pulled you to the side and sat you down and said, ‘Hey, look, man, you got heat right now, you’re in the dog house. So this is how things are going to be.’”
Despite showing up on time and avoiding trouble, MVP was booked to lose week after week. “Every week, when I showed up to work, the whole storyline was that I can’t win… I lost to Funaki. I lost to Kazarian,” he recalled.
But the repeated losses eventually changed the crowd’s perception. “At first it was like, ‘Aha, that’s good. You lost. Aha.’ Then it was like, ‘Wait a minute. Man, we like him. Why is he losing like this?’” MVP said. “They succeeded in turning me into a babyface, because the fans liked me so much as a heel that they started cheering for me. They wanted to see me win.”
Even through frustration, MVP said he never phoned it in. “There were times when I’d be like, ‘Man, I’m just gonna go out here and go through the motions,’ but my professionalism won’t allow me to do that. So I’d still put everything into it.”
Eventually, WWE noticed the shift in crowd reaction and started pushing him again, giving him wins. Reflecting on that time, MVP shared, “I learned a big lesson from that. Sometimes, if you keep showing up, keep grinding, things turn around.”
Stay tuned to PWMania.com for more highlights from MVP’s podcast and updates on his AEW status.
(h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription)
