Mr. Anderson had one of the biggest personalities in WWE when he first broke through, but according to him, Vince McMahon actually wanted him to pull things back.
During his appearance on Tagging In with Chris Harris, Anderson talked about his promo style and how it came across when he watches old footage now. The conversation started when the host mentioned that Anderson’s delivery sometimes felt a little Jim Carrey-like. Anderson admitted that comparison made sense because Jim Carrey was one of his favorite performers.
“I’ve never heard anybody say it other than me myself? Like I’ve I’ve noticed it like Jim Carrey was always Yeah. one of my favorite one of my favorite uh performers.”
While that high-energy style helped get him noticed, Anderson said watching those old promos now can be rough for him because he feels he was doing too much.
“And now when I watch back my when I watch my old stuff back, it’s almost it’s cringey to me. Like it was too too much.”
That over-the-top delivery was part of what helped him stand out before WWE called him up. However, Anderson said things changed once Vince McMahon got involved.
“And that that became a thing with so that’s that’s sort of what got me to the dance in the first place. And then when I got there, Vince was like, ‘Stop doing that. Stop being so entertaining. Stop being so over the top.’ And I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’”
Anderson said it was hard to understand at the time because the exact thing McMahon wanted him to stop doing was also the thing that helped make him stand out.
“Like I I just it was really really hard to wrap my head around. Okay, now I’m supposed to do this differently. Well, that’s what’s made me me like.”
The host pushed back a bit and said that was the character, especially for fans who watched Anderson during that era. Anderson agreed that it worked for the role, but he still sees it differently when looking back.
“And and it took a really long time for me to figure that out and it figure out exactly what he wanted that I understand it now. And like I said, it’s f***** cringy when I watch my old stuff like, oh my god, like why am I so, you know, over the top?”*
The interesting part is that Anderson’s personality was one of the biggest reasons fans reacted to him so strongly in the first place. His entrance, his voice, and his exaggerated delivery gave him a different feel from everyone else on the roster.
Still, Anderson made it clear that once he got to WWE, he had to adjust to what McMahon wanted, even if it went against the instincts that helped him get there. Looking back, Anderson seems to understand the note now, but at the time, being told to stop doing what made him different clearly threw him off.
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