Perry Saturn believes his infamous Moppy storyline in WWE was designed as punishment for his unscripted attack on Mike Bell during a match in 2001.
Speaking on the INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet podcast (second video below), Saturn recalled how the storyline came together, revealing that Pat Patterson originally pitched an even stranger idea involving a plunger.
“Pat Patterson thought I should marry a plunger, so that’s what he pitched, and somehow the plunger got turned into the mop,” Saturn said. “The whole idea was I did that because I got hit in the head, which is what happened with Mike Bell.”
Saturn believes there was little doubt that the angle was intended as punishment for what happened with Bell.
“This was my punishment, and I can prove it was a punishment because they never gave me any direction.”
The incident occurred during a match between Saturn and Bell that aired on WWE Jakked/Metal in 2001. Bell botched an arm drag that caused Saturn to land awkwardly on his head. Saturn then responded by legitimately attacking Bell with several moves that were not planned as part of the match.
Looking back, Saturn said WWE officials were angry about the incident. He recalled agent Tom Prichard initially checking on his condition after the match.
“They were hot. Tom Prichard was the agent, and he babyfaced me with the heat. ‘Perry, are you okay? We need to make sure he’s okay. I didn’t know he landed on his head like that.’”
Saturn said he was dealing with neck issues the following day and needed to see a doctor, but acknowledged that it did not justify his actions against Bell.
“The next day, my neck was f*cked up. I had to go to the doctor to get my neck looked at, but I wasn’t hurt, and that doesn’t give me the right to do what I did.”
Saturn also recalled a conversation with Vince McMahon, who wanted assurance that something similar would never happen again.
“And Vince told me, ‘Okay, Perry, you have to tell me right now that you’re never going to do that again.’ I go, ‘Vince, I didn’t do it on purpose this time, so I can’t tell you that because I didn’t mean to do it.’”
According to Saturn, McMahon became increasingly frustrated with his response, but Saturn refused to make a promise he did not believe he could honestly guarantee.
“He was getting hot at me, and I’m just not going to tell him something that I don’t believe. If I tell him something, he’s going to know it’s what I believe. Otherwise, I’m not going to say it, because that’s important to me.”
The Moppy storyline would go on to become one of the more memorable comedic angles of Saturn’s WWE run, with Saturn portraying the mop as his love interest.
Also during the interview, Perry Saturn recalled being shot in the neck while intervening in attack.
