Vince McMahon Wanted Ex-WWE Star To “Just Be Weird” On TV

Vince McMahon took wrestling seriously, but was not opposed to having daft characters in storylines.

Over the years, WWE has seen many gimmicks often used for comical relief in a heated environment. One such character was Festus.

Festus was introduced in October 2007 as part of the Jesse and Festus tag team duo.

Festus’ persona was that of a docile individual, but with a mental disability. His natural facial expression was staring into nothingness with an open mouth and tongue sticking out.

However, when the bell rang, he would turn into a violent being, ferociously attacking his opponents. One could subdue him by ringing the bell again.

The gimmick was dropped after the 2009 supplemental draft, and Festus was repackaged as Luke Gallows on SmackDown.

Recently, Gallows appeared on PWMania in an exclusive interview, wherein he discussed this two-year run as Festus.

When asked about Vince McMahon’s reaction backstage, he was told the boss loved it.

I was fishing for feedback, and all I was told was: “He loves Festus. Just… be weird.” (laughs) That was the guidance.

And it worked. Fans still remember it, kids loved it at the time, and honestly, it was a great way to ease into being a television wrestler.

Vince McMahon Dressed As Dr. Evil During His 80th Birthday Party

Vince McMahon recently celebrated his 80th birthday.

The former boss has kept a low profile since a former employee filed a sexual assault and trafficking lawsuit against him.

His birthday party, though, was reportedly grand, with the who’s who of WWE attending it.

WWE Hall of Famer, The Godfather, recently gave details about the party while speaking on his podcast, claiming Vince McMahon dressed as Dr. Evil.

I’m like, ‘Vince, thank you for inviting me.’ He goes, ‘Charles, I just want you to know there’s nobody here that’s not my true friend.’ And we talked for a second and then we walked in, but he had on, like, a Dr. Evil suit.

I didn’t want to say it to him but, first of all, he looked better than when I’ve seen pictures of him lately, he looks a lot better than that. He’s walking a lot better than that. He introduced me to his girlfriend or whatever she was. But I thought, Dr. Evil, you’re Dr. Evil.

Elsewhere, Bruce Prichard revealed his biggest WWE flop. Read about it here.