Marc Mero Reflects On Never Reaching The Top Of WWE: 'I Wasn't Well-Liked'

In the mid-1990s, Marc Mero made the jump from WCW to WWE (known as the WWF at the time), as many wrestlers had before him. When he made that decision, Mero expected to become a top star in the promotion, but it didn't take long for him to start having doubts. Speaking on "Insight with Chris Van Vliet," Mero detailed his initial meeting with Vince McMahon to discuss his new character.

Mero stated that he believed the initial plan was to essentially rip off his WCW character, but because of active lawsuits between the two companies, that decision was changed. Instead, McMahon pitched "Wild Man" Marc Mero.

"I go, 'What's a wild man?'" Mero said. "[McMahon] goes, 'Can you do a Tarzan yell?'"

Although Mero told McMahon that he didn't have a strong voice and couldn't do the yell, they stuck with the character anyway. However, Mero didn't like or relate to the "Wild Man" idea, which he believes resulted in the audience never connecting with it.

On top of that, he was paired up onscreen with his wife, Sable. That made Mero not only unpopular with the audience, but it had an effect on his standing in the locker room, as well.

"My confidence wasn't there," Mero continued. "I wasn't well-liked. ... Come to find out later, I got this guaranteed contract, I have my wife flying everywhere I'm flying, so I'm not hanging out with the guys, not going to the bars, not staying up and doing things with those guys."

At the time, McMahon did not offer guaranteed contracts, with Mero being the first. As a result, he believes that some of the resentment toward him in the locker room came out of jealousy.

Mero wound up staying with WWE until 1999. He wrestled 20 pay-per-view matches, including Royal Rumble and Survivor Series appearances, and had just one title reign, with the Intercontinental Championship, during his WWE tenure.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Insight" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.