During a candid discussion on his “Marking Out with MVP and Dwayne Swayze” podcast, AEW star MVP recounted his experience being in the “doghouse” in WWE around 2007, a period marked by a six-month losing streak that, paradoxically, led to an organic babyface turn due to fan support.
MVP explained that “heat,” meaning being in trouble with management or the locker room, was the cause. “Some of it came from some misunderstandings, and some of it came from me sticking up for myself,” he said, without detailing the specifics. A significant issue for him at the time was the lack of communication. “Back then, when you had heat, 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.’”
He recalled his frustration during this period: “I remember saying, like, man, I’ve never been face down in my food in catering, you know, I don’t have a drug problem. I show up, you know.” Despite this, he realized his role. “Every week, when I showed up to work, the whole storyline was that I can’t win. I’m losing. I’m losing. I lost to Funaki. I lost to Kazarian.”
This prolonged losing streak had an unexpected effect on the audience. “I remember losing every week, and you could hear like the reaction from the crowd, where at first it was like, ‘Aha, that’s good. You lost. Aha.’ Then it was like, ‘Wait a minute. Man, exactly. We like him. Why is he losing like this, you know?’” MVP continued, “And what they actually succeeded in doing, inadvertently, was turning me into a babyface, because the crowds, the fans, liked me so much as a heel that they started to cheer for me. They wanted to see me win.”
Even while in the “doghouse” and on a losing streak, MVP maintained his professionalism. “There were times when I would in my head, I would be like, ‘Man, I’m just gonna go out here and go through the motions, man, I don’t even wanna [do this],’ but my professionalism won’t allow them to do that. So I’d get out there and I’d still put everything into it.” Eventually, WWE recognized the shift and “things turned around,” with management deciding to push him with wins again. MVP noted he “learned a big lesson from that,” understanding that sticking it out and maintaining good work can lead to opportunities.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Marking Out with MVP & Dwayne Swayze with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
