"How do you not tell us that?" - Vince Russo on WWE not revealing the meaning of Keith Lee's 'Bearcat' name (Exclusive)
Keith Lee was one of the top names discussed in this week's Legion of RAW with former WWE head writer Vince Russo and co-host Dr. Chris Featherstone. During the show, Russo specifically spoke about his issues with WWE not mentioning the meaning behind the 'Bearcat' moniker.
Keith Lee's new name is an homage to Bearcat Wright, a legendary African American wrestler who became a popular name during the 1960s. While a handful of wrestling fans know the significance behind the nickname, WWE has not gone deeper on the topic on TV, and Vince Russo was surprised by the company's lack of on-screen acknowledgment.
Russo joked that a quick google search for 'Bearcat' threw up images of raccoons, and he felt WWE should let the masses know the reasoning for Keith Lee's transformation:
"Bro, you know where they got that from, right? But they have never told us that! So, what do we think? We think it's some kind of an animal. We're still trying to figure out a bearcat. We look up bearcat on the internet, and it looks like a raccoon because they still haven't told us. Why don't you tell us?" I mean, if they called him Keith 'The Big Cat' Lee, I would know that the Big Cat is Ernie Ladd, but everybody else would be like, 'Is he a Puma or some kind of a big cat?' How do you not tell us that?" questioned Russo.
Check out the entire episode of Legion of RAW in the video below:
Vince Russo on why WWE needs to explain the origins of superstars' nicknames
On Legion of RAW, @THEVinceRusso explained why Keith Lee will never get over on #WWERaw.
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The former WWE head writer recalled watching a 1978 American comedy, Animal House, and how every character had an unusual nickname. Russo said that each 'fraternity nickname' in the movie was well-explained irrespective of how ridiculous they sounded.
Vince Russo added that WWE was missing the mark with Keith Lee's 'Bearcat' avatar by not providing viewers with a solid backstory.
"Bro, you know what it would be like, one of the greatest comedies of all time, Animal House. They all had fraternity names. Every fraternity name was explained, so every nickname was explained. This is Otter; this is why he is Otter; this is Flounder. This is like all of them having nicknames, but we never knew how they got all those nicknames or any character on any television show having a nickname, but we don't know why. They are keeping [us] in the dark of why they are calling him that. It's ridiculous, bro," stated Russo.
Vince Russo cited a few more examples of celebrated baseball players such as Willy "The Say Hey Kid" Mays and Jim "Catfish" Hunter and highlighted that every alias had a logical meaning and background.
As for Keith Lee, the experienced wrestler officially went through a name change on RAW as he will now be known as 'Bearcat Lee' moving forward. As announced by the WWE, 'Bearcat Lee' will claw his way to next week's RAW, and we can only hope everything turns out fine for the former NXT champion.
If any quotes are used from the latest Legion of RAW, please add a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling and embed the YouTube video.