Former WWE Star Talks Vince McMahon Giving Talent Creative Freedom
Former WWE superstar Al Snow says Vince McMahon gives his talent creative freedom, they just misunderstand.
The comments come in a new feature piece by The UK Sun where the publication examines what turned out to be Snow's failed gimmicks in WWE before reinventing himself in ECW. Snow explained his first gimmicks in WWE – masked wrestlers known as Avatar and Shinobi in the mid-1990s ? failed because he mishandled opportunities.
"Those were opportunities that I mishandled ? I didn't have enough of an understanding or knowledge to take full advantage," said Snow. "At that time, I made the mistake that a lot of pro wrestlers do and pointed the finger at everyone else and and never took responsibility for not succeeding."
Snow debuted in the then-WWF on the October 23, 1995 episode of Monday Night RAW as Avatar.
"I was given a stage and platform," said Snow. "The Avatar character was new and different and neat, but knowing what I know now, I could have made that so much more than what it was."
Snow, 54, believes it's a misperception that Vince McMahon is burying younger talent with gimmicks. In fact, he says Vince gives talent creative freedom and wants them to succeed.
"Vince McMahon genuinely wants every wrestler to succeed. He's a businessman," Snow explained. "Not to mention his ego. The more his wrestlers succeed, the more his business succeeds, the more he succeeds ? and he gets to take credit."
"Guys misunderstand ? in WWE Vince gives you creative freedom. Once in you step in that ring, there's nothing Vince can do to help you get over ? and there's nothing he can do to stop you getting over."
In the late 1990s, Snow was sent to ECW as part of a cross-promotion with WWE to combat the rise of WCW. He believes it was an opportunity where he was able to reinvent himself.
"I had to go away and reinvent myself," said Snow. If I stayed in WWE I was never going to be in a better spot. Chris Candido spoke to Paul Heyman on my behalf, Heyman spoke to Vince, and I was kind of put on loan to ECW."
Snow explained that he himself created the gimmick that put him on the map and that Heyman had nothing for him.
"Paul had no plans for me, so I was free to do whatever I wanted. I was trying to demonstrate that I had suffered a nervous breakdown, and had mental illness," said Snow. "I was reading books on abnormal psychology and read a case study about a woman who heard voices from inanimate objects. She thought they were talking to her."
This was the beginning of Snow's legendary "head" gimmick where he came to the ring with a mannequin head and had the words "Help Me" written backwards on his forehead. As a result, crowd chants such as "We want Head" and "Head! Head! Head!" were born.
"I picked up this mannequin head that was backstage at a show and remembered Mick Foley jerking around in the car with this Styrofoam head he kept his mask on," said Snow. "He would pretend it was his girlfriend and I thought, 'You know I'm going to take this to the arena and talk to it.' It just took off."
Snow was recalled to WWE in 1998 where he brought the "head" gimmick back with him and he was inserted in hardcore programs. Snow went on to serve as a trainer for the original episodes of WWE Tough Enough and returned to full-time wrestling in 2006 when WWE resurrected the ECW brand. He then worked as a developmental trainer for the company through their affiliation with Ohio Valley Wrestling until 2008.
Snow has since worked on the independent circuit and served as an agent for Global Force Wrestling. He founded the Al Snow Wrestling Academy with multiple locations in the United Kingdom and has a new sportswear brand called Elbow X Collar. You can read more comments he made to The UK Sun by clicking here.