Former WWE superstar JTG has revealed he once pitched a Big Mouth-esque character to Vince McMahon.
The Cryme Tyme star – now working for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) – has opened up on his plans after the company split up his popular tag team with the late Shad Gaspard, which included him being accompanied by an ‘invisible’ Muppet-style character only he and the audience could see.
He exclusively told Metro.co.uk: ‘He was gonna be invisible to everyone else. It’s kinda like, I dunno if you watch that show on Netflix, the cartoon with the Hormone Monster – Big Mouth?
‘It was gonna be something similar to that – I’m interacting with the monster, he’s making jokes and having a blast on everybody else’s behalf.
‘Only I can see him and interact with him – the WWE audience could hear him, but the people backstage, they’d be oblivious. “What’s he laughing at? Who’s he talking to?” ‘
Given the success of the Netflix hit series – which launched in 2017, seven years after Cryme Tyme broke up – he was definitely onto something, especially with the character appearing as a Jim Henson-inspired puppet on screen.
It sounds like McMahon himself was a big fan, but the gimmick wasn’t able to get off the ground due to poor communication within the company.
‘I pitched it immediately to Vince, and Vince loved the idea. It was just, “How were we gonna pull that off?” Then I had to start talking with the people underneath him. That’s when issues came,’ he admitted.
‘Vince liked it, he trusted his people beneath him to get the job done and it wasn’t happening. The communication wasn’t there.’
For JTG, the character was perfectly set up for WWE’s kid-friendly style at the time.
‘I know they wanted me to cater to kids. That was the direction they wanted me to go in because of my charisma and the energy that I brought to the ring,’ he explained.
‘I think incorporating a foul-mouthed Muppet, it appeases to both kids and teenagers. I thought it would’ve been a cool little stint.’
It wasn’t the only character he came up with and pitched to the creative team.
‘I pitched the urban Joker, I wanted to do a Joker character, a demented character with face paint similar to the Joker but not exactly,’ he passionately said.
‘I was gonna take the movie The Dead Presidents, that type of urban face paint, the bank robbery, with the Joker and do that!’
There was also an idea of channelling Rocky 5 by having Booker T join him as a mentor before he turned on the legend to set up a feud.
‘We had similar backgrounds, we both came from tag teams and now singles,’ he added. ‘He was gonna help me get on the right path of becoming a top superstars, and then when I get there, turn on Booker T after everything he’d done for me.’
Tonight (July 6), JTG is poised to face fellow WWE alum Chris Adonis for the National Championship tonight on NWA Powerrr but his successful early run almost didn’t happen due to a scheduling issue.
‘I’m glad it worked out. I was shooting something that weekend for a TV show and I would have much rather been in the ring than on set,’ he smiled.
‘So, I tried to work something out with the directors and I was able to pull it and move forward with the NWA booking.’
If JTG wins tonight, it will mark his first title reign for a major promotion, after tag team gold somehow eluded him and Shad during their time in WWE.
Despite that baffling statistic, the grappler admitted he reached a point where he learned to accept the lack of title reigns and instead focus on Cryme Tyme’s enduring popularity with fans.
‘People remember their favourites! Hacksaw Jim Duggan never held a title but he’s definitely remembered,’ he pointed out.
‘There’s a few out there who are definitely legends in the business and never got their hands on gold, and that just happens to be Cryme Tyme.’
*Tune into NWA Powerrr tonight (July 6) at 10.05pm to see JTG and Chris Adonis battle for the vacant National Championship.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE : Ex-WWE star JTG keeping late Cryme Tyme partner Shad Gaspard’s memory alive with NWA run
MORE : Ex-WWE star Melina wants current female stars to respect history of women’s wrestling
from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8291209 https://ift.tt/36e0yec
No comments:
Post a Comment