Johnny Jeter Shares Frustration With Finding An Identity And Pitching Creative Ideas

If WWE fans remember Johnny Jeter for one thing, it's likely his time as a member of the Spirit Squad. While his stint with WWE didn't last forever, he did go on to become a World Tag Team Champion. 

During his recent appearance on "Developmentally Speaking," Jeter revealed the toughest aspect while coming up through OVW was finding an identity, and the creative process in general proved to be quite tricky as well.

"The writers back then, I think they have the wrestlers do a lot of the work for them," he said.

Jeter expanded on that, stating that writers were looking for multiple storylines to take to creative each week which meant seeing one of your pitches play out elsewhere. "You give that to them and the next thing you know, you might see your story playing out for someone else," he continued. "But either way, you were always pitching ideas to the creative team. For me, I think my problem in OVW was struggling to find an identity."

As a heel, Jeter often felt like a Chris Jericho clone, and finding that special something to make his gimmick or character stand out was challenging. "I was young, it's hard to figure out a character," he added. 

When it came to the Spirit Squad, he was simply told to cut his hair and that he was going to be a cheerleader. In cases like that, it was all about checking himself at the door.

"I think everyone has an idea of who they are and what they can do, and what character they imagine themselves being," Jeter said. "Everyone wants to be the badass ... I don't think we were exactly thrilled, but you know it's like, 'drop the ego a little bit.'"