"He could have used me and the character for a long time" - Former WWE star says Vince McMahon missed the boat on him (Exclusive)
Vince McMahon is no longer involved with WWE, but his undeniable creative influence on professional wrestling spans decades. During a recent interview, Nailz opened up about his time in the Stamford-based company and explained why the promotion could have done much more with him.
Infamously known for assaulting and nearly choking out Vince McMahon in a real backstage altercation, Nailz was fired from WWE in 1992 after the incident. Before his release, the 65-year-old star was one of the most intimidating characters on TV, playing the gimmick of an ex-convict who was as extreme as they came.
While Nailz's WWE career was cut short due to his issues with Vince McMahon, the 65-year-old felt he could have been a character with a longer stint in the promotion.
Nailz spoke to Dr. Chris Featherstone of Sportskeeda Wrestling and admitted he didn't know whether WWE had any additional plans for him. The retired wrestler, however, knew that his character was compelling and could have been pushed on television for a longer time.
"I don't know what he [Vince McMahon] had in his mind as far as where the character was going to go and what he was going to do with it. All I found out from the office was that 'We want you to do this; we want you to do that.' Unfortunately, it didn't work out for a longer run because I believed that he basically missed the boat. He could have used me and the character for a long time." [From 03:45 to 04:09]
Nailz regularly interacts with older fans, who still remember being afraid of his WWE persona.
People who watched wrestling during the early 90s recalled that Nailz, who battled The Undertaker and Big Boss Man, was legitimately terrifying whenever he performed inside the ring.
"All the fans come out and say, 'I wish you were there for a lot longer because we really loved your character.' We really loved the intensity, and people were just scared, and you were just a really believable character," Nailz continued. "It wasn't anything where we thought, 'Oh, that looks fake or that looks phony.'" [From 04:10 to 04:28]
Former WWE star Nailz responds to criticism over his in-ring work
As a character, Nailz was incredibly believable and made pro wrestling look less phony than it sometimes gets accused of being.
Nailz realized that while he wasn't the most proficient of in-ring workers during his heyday, his wrestling style suited his character.
For a person who has been in jail, fighting was more important than applying wrestling holds. Nailz stated that he incorporated hard-hitting strikes inside the squared circle as it was how convicts would slug it out in a prison brawl.
"A lot of people would say, you know, he is not the greatest wrestler, but people have to realize when a guy just gets out of prison, he doesn't know arm drags and hip tosses and backdrops. He knows how to fight in a 6/9 cell; he knows how to fight in a prison yard. So, that type of fighting that I did in prison is the same type of fighting I brought into the ring, with a lot of punching, kicking, and choking." [From 04:29 to 04:55]
After the end of his WWE run, Nailz wrestled for a few years and competed in his final match in 2001, following which he stayed away from the ring.
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Nailz, however, can be found at wrestling conventions interacting with fans, signing autographs, and sharing stories from his eventful career.
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