Vince McMahon nixed 2008 SmackDown footage in case it scared kids, ex-WWE star recalls
Vince McMahon was responsible for the creative direction of almost every WWE Superstar between 1982 and 2022. In a recent interview, Sinn Bodhi disclosed how the WWE Executive Chairman took a hands-on approach when creating his outlandish character.
Bodhi worked for WWE between July 2007 and March 2009. In October 2008, the 50-year-old received his first major opportunity when he was repackaged as the carnival-themed persona Kizarny.
On Jake Roberts' The Snake Pit podcast, Bodhi recalled how his former boss was not impressed by the promotional material he filmed at a theme park:
"We filmed a bunch of crazy stuff that I would do. Putting my hand in wolf traps, getting darts thrown in my back, sitting in electric chairs, breathing fire, doing all these things. And when Vince had taken a look after the fact at the raw footage, he was like, 'Holy f**k, I can't use any of this. You're gonna scare the s**t out of the kids. I need you to be a babyface.'" [0:43 – 1:01]
Vignettes aired on SmackDown for several weeks in late 2008. The footage mostly revolved around other people performing stunts at the theme park. Bodhi would then repeatedly say the line, "My name is Kizarny."
How WWE director told Sinn Bodhi to talk
Although he has a deep voice in real life, Sinn Bodhi received instructions to speak with a high-pitched tone when he performed as Kizarny.
Bodhi was disappointed that the vignettes focused on other theme park personalities instead of himself:
"I remember the director, as I was saying stuff, he's like, 'Turn your voice down. Put the octaves up. Make it sound less scary.' (…) Next thing I know, I just sound like this squeaky toy. They used mostly B footage of the other guys doing sillier, less spookier, less honorary stuff, I guess, and then I'm sitting there going, 'Hey, you look at these cool people doing cool things. By the way, I'm Kizarny.'" [1:01 – 1:34]
On the January 2, 2009, episode of SmackDown, Bodhi defeated MVP in his main roster debut as Kizarny. Two months later, he was handed his release.
Do you have any memories of Kizarny in WWE? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit The Snake Pit and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.