Vince McMahon's reaction when ex-WWE star asked to lose several squash matches
Heath Slater has revealed that Vince McMahon was surprised when he pitched the idea of losing several squash matches before RAW 1000.
Slater was originally supposed to lose one match against a legend in the build-up to the landmark episode, which took place on July 23, 2012. WWE’s decision-makers then planned to book different superstars against the returning legends every week.
Speaking on Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw, Slater said he asked WWE executives John Laurinaitis and Mark Carrano if he could compete in every match. Laurinaitis and Carrano advised the former 3MB member to speak to McMahon, who ultimately approved of the idea.
“I go straight there and I tell him exactly what I told them,” Slater said. “Vince was like, ‘You’re willing to do that?’ I’m like, ‘Hell yeah, I’m willing to do that! Please just give me a two-minute promo, put something over, have them come whip my a**. I’m good. Let’s do this.’ So he went with it. He’s like, ‘Okay, yeah.’” [1:16:50-1:17:08]
Slater’s first match to promote RAW 1000 ended in defeat against Vader. The four-time tag team champion also suffered losses against Lita, Rikishi, Road Warrior Animal, and Sycho Sid. His only victory over a legend during that time came against Doink the Clown.
Heath Slater enjoyed the unpredictability of Vince McMahon’s booking
Today in wrestling history Vader returned to #WWE on #Raw to defeat the one man band Heath Slater #2012 http://t.co/VNAdhIdlnd
Although he suffered a series of losses in short matches, Heath Slater’s popularity grew thanks to the entertaining storyline.
The current IMPACT Wrestling star added that Vince McMahon did not tell him which legends he would be facing:
“It was like, ‘Holy cr*p! Who am I gonna face? Who’s coming in?’ And they never would tell me.” Slater continued, “So each week was a surprise for me too. That was the good thing about it.” [1:17:08-1:17:19]
Slater referred to himself as the “Legend Builder,” a reference to the “Legend Killer” name used by Randy Orton. Following the conclusion of the storyline, the one-time 24/7 Champion lost a 77-second match against Orton on RAW.
Please credit Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.