Teddy Long praises WWE for "outstanding" character change for 22-year-old star (Exclusive)
Teddy Long was recently asked about his thoughts on a certain young WWE star who is expected to make big waves in the future. He was full of praise for the recent character change the superstar underwent. The name in question is Ava.
On the latest episode of The Wrestling Time Machine, host Mac Davis asked legends Bill Apter and Teddy Long about their thoughts about the 22-year-old NXT star getting death threats online because of The Rock's WWE storyline.
Teddy Long was also asked about Ava's character change from a Schism member to the NXT general manager. He compared her to Vickie Guerrero and called her role "outstanding":
"I think she's put in that position to learn. That's a good training position, a good position to learn in. That's why she's there. Like I said, the only woman general manager I remember is Vickie Guerrero, and for her to come in and step in and be a female GM is outstanding." (1:43 - 2:03)
You can watch the full video below:
Teddy Long on how Vickie Guerrero's iconic "Excuse me" catchphrase was created
The former SmackDown general manager was arguably the greatest on-screen authority figure in WWE history - or at least the most well-liked. On the other hand, his counterpart, Vickie Guerrero, made a career out of being hated.
On Sportskeeda Wrestling's One on One, Teddy Long revealed the origins of Vickie Guerrero's iconic catchphrase:
"So she was so easy to work with, and the way we started to 'Excuse Me' is one day we were down at the ring, you know, just watching rehearsals and somebody come by Vickie, and she just turns around and like, 'Excuse me,' and I just said to her, 'That's it, keep saying that. That's it.' And that's, you know, how we started doing that. She was just absolutely great to work with," he said. [28:55 - 29:21]
Vickie Guerrero has been gone from WWE for a decade now and is possibly done with pro wrestling. However, she was a highly impactful authority figure while she was around.
If you take any quotes from this article, please embed the YouTube video and credit Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.
Why did Ricky Steamboat refuse to be WWE legend Ric Flair's final opponent? Find out the reason in the exclusive video below: