Brad Maddox Talks WWE Departure, Undertaker, CM Punk Angle and More

Brad Maddox may not have fulfilled his potential during his career with WWE due to the company's porous booking, but the former Raw general manager, referee and wrestler still has a bright future in wrestling and beyond.

At just 31 years old and full of talent as the former OVW Heavyweight champion and FCW Florida Tag Team champion, there is still plenty Maddox has yet to accomplish in the wrestling industry.

Whether it’s stealing the show on the independent wrestling scene or making the transition to a new career such as acting, Maddox showed plenty of talent when WWE gave him the opportunity during his time on the main roster.

Maddox recently spoke with Ring Rust Radio (quotes courtesy of the News of Delaware County's Joe Arcidiacono) about the details of his departure from WWE, his thoughts on a possible return in the future, his work with The Undertaker on The Tonight Show and much more.

The biggest news recently was that WWE released Maddox. There were rumors and speculation about why the company let him go, but the former Superstar cleared the air about exactly why he was fired:

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I called the Indianapolis crowd pricks in the dark match of a SmackDown taping, which I didn’t consider inappropriate or a bad word knowing that it was a dark match. My job is to go out there and work up the crowd get them warmed up. You don’t have the rules you have while on TV. There I can talk to the crowd directly, make fun of their football or basketball team, tell them that they smell bad, and whatever you want to use to get them worked up. I just kind of threw that in there and was going to call them losers, but thought that was a little lame. So instead I called them pricks, and Vince did not take it as lightly as I did.

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The sudden departure of Maddox is the culmination of WWE missing the boat with the talented performer. Instead of taking advantage of his skill set and his momentum when he was red-hot, the company let him sit on the sidelines.

Sometimes things happen for a reason, and the hope is that Maddox—now known as Mad Braddox—fulfills his potential outside WWE. Once he becomes a star elsewhere, maybe then he can make a return to Vince McMahon’s company.

When asked about his thoughts on a possible return in the future, Maddox said, "Depends on what I am doing. I am certainly not going to close any doors. I have enough experience in my 31 years to know you can never say never. We will see what happens, I have some other plans and things I am working on, but I am not opposed to it."

Before Maddox left WWE, he had the honor of appearing on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon in the role of a turkey going up against The Undertaker. When asked about the experience, the former Raw GM stated:

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It was fun, and I might have been the only guy left in the states at that time since everyone was working the European tour. I don’t know why I was picked for it, but I had fun with it. I assumed at the time that it was going to be a full turkey mask. When I got there they showed me the outfit and I thought, “Where is the rest of it?” I guess everyone is going to know I am a turkey and that’s awesome. I did get to meet Jimmy Fallon and he let me know I had made it in show business. We were talking to their writers to see what they were thinking about us. There wasn’t much for Taker and I to talk about. We pretty much walked around and just tried not to laugh about it. Then during rehearsal he said this is the part where he was going to tombstone me.

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One of Maddox’s biggest highlights as a member of the WWE roster was his work with CM Punk, Paul Heyman and The Shield. He was a major part of the company’s top storylines, but he never had the payoff fans would have hoped to see from him.

When asked about that period of his career, Maddox answered candidly:

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I agree with you as far it could have led some where better than it did, but that is where I messed up early on. I wasn’t proactive enough. I didn’t go to Vince in those days or knock on his door; I didn’t go ask questions to the right people or ask where this is going or say, “Hey did you guys know that I can wrestle and came up through your developmental program?” I did all the things there that they said I had to do to get moved up and show that I am qualified. It was a lack of communication on my part with Vince and Hunter and the right people. It probably would have had a totally different impact instead of just sitting around and waiting on the writers to come hand me my script and assuming they had some grand plan for little old me. I can definitely say I could have been more proactive in those early days. I did love working with Paul and working with Vince in his office and working on promos in his office. It was a really cool experience.

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There is no doubting how much raw talent Maddox possessed during his run with WWE, but he was never booked to properly get over as a character. Add in a lack of consistency and commitment from the company, and he was one of the most underutilized talents of the last decade.

WWE’s loss should be the independent wrestling scene’s gain.

While Maddox expressed his desire to act—a field in which his natural charisma and quick wit could make him a star—his rapport with wrestling fans would make him a welcomed addition to a wrestling promotion like TNA, Ring of Honor or even Lucha Underground.

Whatever is next for Maddox, his positive attitude and abilities on the mic will help make him a success at anything he puts his mind to moving forward.

For more wrestling talk, listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics or catch the latest episode in the player above (some language NSFW).