WWE and Vince McMahon liked Former WWE Superstar Heath Slater. The company wanted to push the wrestler to the top, but they had one issue that needed to be addressed.
During a conversation with Such Good Shoot podcast, Slater revealed that an official approached him and asked him to cut his hair and go for trunks. The reason? He reminded Vince McMahon of Superstar Edge.
“Johnny Ace [John Laurinatis] was like, ‘Yeah, Vince don’t like Sebastian, I was like, ‘Hell.’ They were like, ‘We want you to cut your hair and go to trunks too. You remind him too much of Edge.’ And I’m just like, ‘What the hell, man? Like, I don’t want to go to damn trunks, you know? S***.’”
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Slater wasn’t too thrilled with WWE wanting to change him because of Vince McMahon getting reminded of The Rated-R Superstar.
“And then, like, ‘You’re the one that told me to grow my hair out!’ I am confused, you know? So it’s like, ‘Hey, we want to bring you up here. We like you. And you’re a good worker, but we want to change every damn thing about you.’”
Even though he was asked to change factors about himself, WWE allowed hulk to use his real name inside the ring. He pitched the idea to John, John pitched it to the rest of the team, and everyone signed off on it.
Heath Slater turned down an offer from WWE
WWE released Slater in 2020. By this time, he had worked with the company for over a decade. Therefore, he had made a name for himself.
Now, WWE offered him a returning opportunity, but the pay wasn’t at par and he wanted to do his own thing for a while.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
“They offered me one back, but it was like half of what I was making. I was like, ‘Nah, I need to find myself and do other things and just chill. Just breathe and relax and spend time with the family. Just chill.’ I never burned any bridges up there, they all know me. I still talk to more than half the people [in WWE]. I was there for so long and we were friends. It’s no hard feelings. I told them, ‘I just want to go and do my thing for a little bit.’ They were like, ‘We don’t blame you, you get it.’ That was it.” H/t Fightful
Currently, Slater is working with IMPACT Wrestling. Even though he had spoken to other promotions before locking down IMPACT Wrestling’s offer.