Heath Slater Talks Turning "Chicken S-T Into Chicken Salad" In WWE, John Cena Praising Him

Former WWE star Heath Slater recently reconnected with Wes Brisco on "Brisco and Big Ace" on VOC Nation. The two reminisced about their time at FCW as well as the Nexus.

"Everytime we had promo class, he would literally just tell me to be myself," Slater recalled. "He was like 'oh baby you've got so much charisma just let it go, just let it come up. Flap that hair, move those hips, do your thing!' That's when I was Handsome Heath, this wild man shaking the ring posts. I'd come out with long hair, flapping my hair, shaking my hips. Dusty was like 'come on, keep going', Dusty was loving it."

Slater talked about making the most out of any angle that was given to him and how that ability was complimented by John Cena. He said he loved being a heel the most as well as the interaction he has with the fans.

"I had so many gimmicks that were legit chicken s–t that I had to turn into chicken salad," Slater stated. "I remember John Cena telling me, 'they always give you an inch, but somehow you bring it to a mile.' I don't know, I just try to take ideas and do it.

"What I loved about being a heel is that I'd go out, and people would see me out in a restaurant and say 'I know you're a bad guy, but I just want you to know that we love hating you. We love booing you. You're just a fun bad guy.' I love having a good chat with the fans. Even if it's just like having a couple drinks. I've done that in so many bars it's not even funny. Over the years of just connecting on the screen and off the screen, it's just really cool."

Slater recalled Wes' father Gerald Brisco's reaction to the Nexus angle. Gerald Brisco told Slater that the Nexus would be remembered for years, and Slater noted that people are still talking about the Nexus to this day.

"I remember seeing him in Tampa," Slater recalled. "It was in Miami when Nexus happened, and I remember SmackDown. I think was in Tampa the following night. He was there. I just remember he was like 'man, all that stuff y'all did last night, people are going to be talking about that for years.' Look at it, a decade later and people are still talking about it."

Wes gave his thoughts on what made the Nexus successful. Wes said that the Nexus succeeded when they were give the opportunity to be themselves, and their downfall began when they lost creative control.

"It was different, and they actually allowed them to take the handcuffs off and let them be them," Wes said. "I remember the downfall is when [the WWE] started not letting [the Nexus guys] have creative control. That was when it was kinda starting to get a little shaky and started to run it's course."

Slater has said before on Chasing Glory that he had pitched many ideas in WWE but none were followed through on. He was also on The Wrestling Inc. Daily where he detailed the rise and fall of the Nexus. On "Brisco and Big Ace", Slater gave a shorter explanation on what killed the Nexus angle.

"When it came to SummerSlam, it all just fell to hell," Slater stated. "When we didn't take over WWE, [the angle] didn't matter anymore."