Rhino Claims WWE Producers Tried to Micromanage Him Early in His Career

Rhino was one of the biggest names in ECW who ended up joining WWE back in 2001. While he was a good fit there, everything wasn’t perfect as Rhino has revealed how producers tried to change his style there.

While speaking on The Wrestling Classic podcast, Rhino talked about what it was like when he first joined WWE after wrestling in ECW. He said many of the producers backstage didn’t know much about his past work, so they started giving him advice and tried to change the way he wrestled.

Edge and Christian were the ones who told him not to listen to all that. Christian was very direct about it, while Edge explained things in a more professional way. They both told him to stick with the style that made him popular, and once the fans reacted, the producers would understand that he didn’t need to change.

“I’ll never forget… it was Edge and Christian when I went to WWE. You know, a lot of the producers then, they never watched me in ECW—and I understand that—but they were trying to tell me to work this way and work that way.

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And then, I think Christian’s exact words were, ‘F them.’ Adam was a little more business, you know? He spoke a little more appropriately as far as business goes. He explained it a little better. But it was kind of funny, because more or less, they said, ‘Do what got you to the dance.’ And then when the fans react to you, they’re going to realize they don’t need to give that input. A lot of producers and agents feel like they have to give input.”

The TNA Hall of Famer said that moment stayed with him and helped shape how he works now as a producer or agent. He said that not every wrestler needs to be told what to do all the time. If he doesn’t know a wrestler, he takes time to see if they need help or if they already know what they’re doing. If they’re experienced, he mostly just gives them the important rules and lets them do their thing.

Rhino explained that giving too much direction can hurt a wrestler’s performance, especially if they’ve been doing it for a long time. Newer wrestlers might need more help, but veterans usually know what works for them. His goal is to support them without getting in the way and help them keep getting better.

“But see, that also stayed with me through my career. Because whenever I produce or agent a match, if I don’t know the person, I’ll find out if they’re good or not. And then if I haven’t seen them, I’ll ask them, ‘Okay, do I need to hold their hand through this part or give them advice here, or just let them do what they do?’ And then just tell them the dos and don’ts.

It’s really helped me out, you know, as far as that. Sometimes you can over-micromanage. And anybody that shows up to work—they don’t want to be micromanaged, especially if they know what to do and how to do it.

If you’re just starting out in that field, of course, you’re going to need a little more help. But if you already know—if you’ve been at this craft for a while—you kind of know what you can do, what you can’t do, what will get over for you and what won’t. And then you try to help them get to the next level. So yeah.”

Rhino will always appreciate Edge and Christian’s advice since he was able to retain what brought him to the dance and he ended up becoming one of the Attitude Era’s most memorable stars, which is what really mattered in the end.

What do you think about Rhino’s approach to mentoring wrestlers today? Sound off in the comments.

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