WWE star MVP was a recent guest on the Metal Injection’s Squared Circle Pit podcast to discuss a number of different topics, including how WWE transitioned him into an on-screen talent after making him a producer back in 2020. Highlights from the interview are below.
How he transitioned from a producer to an on-screen talent since his return:
And then they offered me a position as a producer. ‘You give it 90 days, see if you like it’ and I decided, ‘Alright, yeah, let’s give it a shot.’ I was gonna retire anyway and the pandemic hit and so it was just before that, they had asked me, ‘Hey, can you go on-screen and do a get-over segment with Drew McIntyre?’ ‘Sure, I’d love to.’ ‘Can you do it again next week?’ ‘Sure, I’d love to’ and before I knew it, every week I’m on television and I got released from my position as a producer but was immediately brought on — there was a seamless transition. I was kept on as talent and it just — one week turned into another and we’re doing this Performance Center and then the Performance Center turns into the ThunderDome and so much for retirement, here I am so no, I never thought that I’d be managing the WWE Champion. I never really thought that I’d be a manager in this industry. But I’m having so much fun and I’m glad things did transpire the way they have. I appreciate Paul Heyman opening up that door and allowing me to come back and show everybody that I still got it, as the saying goes, ‘You still got it!’ And of course I’m thankful to Vince McMahon for giving me the opportunity to contribute on this level and I tell the young guys all the time, ‘Thanks for letting me play.’
How his surprise at the Rumble came to be:
The Royal Rumble was taking place in Houston. So in the past, WWE had reached out to me about being a surprise entry in the Royal Rumble and you know, a couple times it didn’t work out and other times we didn’t come to terms but it was never any animosity. It was just, you know, business. But this time I reached out to them and made it clear that, ‘Hey, I’d love to be a surprise entry, it’s in Houston, I live there’ but most importantly, I just wanted my son who is now a wrestling fan to see daddy in the WWE and Paul Heyman facilitated that and you know, it was spectacular to be able to come back to the WWE universe at a Royal Rumble but it was supposed to be a one-off just for my son to see daddy.
(H/T and transcribed by Post Wrestling)