Dan Maff
PUMP PUMP!
The thought of hearing those 2 words together at a wrestling show sends chills up and down my spine. Am I mark? Who fucking cares. But I am. If I heard those 2 words play over the sound system and the curtain opened up and Mafia & Monsta Mack came down the aisle I would be marking out like a mother fucker. And so would a lot of other people including Maff and Mack themselves I bet. That’s understandable. Da Hit Squad were the top dogs of tag team wrestling since 1999 until the day they worked their last match together. No one can ever say DHS were not at the top of their game. When they split they left as the best tag team on the indies. If they got back together it would be the same.
In recent days we’ve seen a number of posts on the DOI message board and there has been a lot of talk about a possible DHS reunion. Mafia and Mack back together again to dominate the tag team scene. With tag team wrestling being over looked these days and with a limited number of good tag teams out there you really can’t blame people for thinking and wanting it to happen.
Something people really need to think about and understand is that it is the year 2004 and we are about to come upon 2005. Times have changed. The wrestling business has changed. And most importantly people change and that is as normal a thing as you can get. I’ve heard and read time and time again that Dan Maff is crazy for working with BJ Whitmer and forming a new tag team with him when he split up with Monsta Mack to do singles work. Shit if Maff was gonna tag with someone it should be Monsta Mack right? WRONG.
What people need to understand is what DHS accomplished is something that both Maff and Mack and even their trainer Homicide can be extremely proud of. It is something that no one can ever take away from them. But it is something that is in the past. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Maff wanting to experience something new in his career. And teaming with Whitmer is something HE wanted to do. Dan Maff wanted to experience more in his career. To not have taken the steps just to see “what if” would be a tragic mistake that he would have had to live with. Why life with questions and regrets?
I had the pleasure of talking to Dan Maff last night on the phone for a little while and I had the chance to hear in his voice how passionate he really is about his current role in wrestling. He is so excited about this team with Whitmer. Maff told me one of the reasons he is excited and looking forward to this adventure is that no one is expecting them to succeed. They think it’s a passing phase. They think that ROH had nothing to do for Maff now that he was working singles. With Samoa Joe, Low-Ki’, Homicide, CM Punk, Christopher Daniels and some of the others its easy to get the impression that Maff’s chance to rise to the singles top has a lot of obstacles. So put him back in a tag team. Give him more reason. But why Whitmer?? Why cant we hear it again? PUMP PUMP?
First off no one ever said you wouldn’t hear it again. Maff made it perfectly clear to me that you can never say never about anything including another Hit Squad run in the future. He even spoke about participating in a Doghouse Reunion show if it were hosted by the right people. But right now he is teaming with BJ Whitmer and people need to start accepting that and they really should throw their support behind them. I mean you don’t have to support them but after everything Maff has sacrificed in the wrestling business I think he deserves the chance to explore new challenges in his life without having guilt about it.
Steve Mack
And the same can be said about Monsta Mack. Shit he was on top of the world one day as one half of the most dominating tag team of our time. Then the team split and Mack was having trouble finding his niche. But Monsta Mack is a very talented wrestler. His time will come. He will figure out his roll and where he fits best. Maybe it will be in a tag team with someone else. Maybe it will be as a singles wrestler. And maybe, just maybe it will be as one half of the greatest tag team of our time – Da Hit Squad. But people need to allow fate and destiny to happen. They need for the chips to fall where they may fall and accept it for what it is. Monsta Mack needs to be confidant in himself and know just as I know that he can make it in wrestling as a member of DHS or not. He’s got charisma, he’s got wrestling down. There is no reason for him to not succeed as long as he works hard, continues to train and stay in shape and believes in himself as we believe in him.
Sure people can easily say well DHS would be the best team today. That they could still dominate. You’ve even heard people say Maff has a better chance at making money as a member of DHS then he currently has. They even may think that Maff is not working as much as he used to when he was a member of DHS. Well that needs to be understood a little bit more. Maff chooses his work. And he chooses to take less bookings but for companies that pay him well. He could easily work EVERY Friday, Saturday and Sunday if he chooses to. HE could take $50-$100 to work smaller feds, which he occasionally will do, but he is a single parent and has a young daughter that he needs to raise and his time is valuable. So for him to pick up work at some smaller feds that just don’t pay him enough to leave his apartment is just not worth it. With a daughter on the way myself I completely understand where he is coming from. I respect him for taking this stance. Every child needs a parent as mentally strong as Maff is. Not too many wrestlers have chosen to spend more time with their kids. They usually choose the time on the road. So Maff works his schedule in his life the way he sees best. And that’s the way life is and Maff should be commended for standing true to his beliefs. To those who think he doesn’t work as much as he should, he works Jersey All Pro, Ring of Honor, USA Pro Wrestling, tours Puerto Rico on the regular also as he is a rising star on that scene. He works AWA occasionally too. So he has a full plate.
BJ Whitmere
Dan Maff & BJ Whitmer are two amazing wrestlers that form a pretty dominant team themselves. They’ve only had a couple of matches together and it’s still so early in this project. But not too many people think this team will last and will be successful. It’s a stop gap for both guys until ROH finds some singles spot for them some may think. Hogwash! People should give them a chance. Just like people need to give Monsta Mack a chance.
Da Hit Squad to me have never “broken up”. They’ve just moved on to new projects. New goals have been formulated. And these goals should be respected by others. There is nothing wrong with Dan Maff wanting to experience his life and his career the way he sees fit. And there is nothing wrong with Monsta Mack feeling like DHS would be better off together. When each one of them comes down to ringside I still Da Hit Squad and I still hear PUMP PUMP in my head. But I respect the fact that it is 2004 and I respect the fact that today Maff and Mack are still working. And I for one am not going to live in the past. I look forward to the future just like Maff and Mack do.
Stay tuned and look out for an in depth interview with Dan Maff. The interview will be serious and it will be worth the read. Thank you for taking the time to read this and best of luck and much love to you all. PUMP PUMP!
