Tom Prichard On Why Vince McMahon Doesn't Embrace Tag Teams, Vince Pitching Transvestite Manager
As previously noted, pro wrestling veteran Tom Prichard was recently a guest on the WINCLY with Wrestling Inc.'s own Nick Hausman. Among many other interesting topics discussed, Prichard talked about how he was pitched the Bodydonnas gimmick and how the kayfabe cousins were put with Cloudy [or Kloudi]. Prichard shared his thoughts on why WWE is not gotten behind tag team wrestling like it has backed women's wrestling. Also, Prichard weighed in on The New Day, whether the group should be disbanded, and whether Big E is world champion material.
According to Prichard, his brother, Bruce who was a producer with WWE at the time, pitched the Bodydonna gimmick to him while WWE Chairman Vince McMahon pitched him and Chris Candido, also known as Skip, the idea of putting "a transvestite" with the fitness fanatics.
"Yeah, yeah, [McMahon] was [the person who pitched The Bodydonnas gimmick] and that's one of my biggest regrets because it was in Madison Square Garden and it was during a horrible time in my life," Prichard said. "I hated The Bodydonna gimmick. I really did. I hated it with a passion. Yeah, [being well oiled] wasn't the only thing.
"Actually, I think it was somebody else who pitched it to us, but he pitched it. He pitched, 'well, let's get rid of Sunny and put a transvestite with you guys.' And I thought, 'what?' And Chris, God bless him, he said, 'I think that's the stupidest idea I ever heard.' And I thought, 'oh, God – here we go.' And this was before we started training, so this was before the training deal and I thought, 'oh man, I was in no mood, I was in no place, to speak up' and I was just happy to be there at that time. I mean, it was a low, low, low time in my life. But he pitched, 'let's get rid of Sunny and put Cloudy with you.' And I thought, 'wow, that's going to get over.' But I knew at that time that I thought we were pretty well sunk or at least that's the way I felt. I think it was probably Bruce [Prichard] who pitched The Bodydonna deal and he said, 'how would you like to cut your hair and dye it blonde?' and I said, 'no, I don't [want to cut it]. I wouldn't.' And he said, 'okay, great' and hung up on me. I thought, 'hmmm, well, we're kind of in limbo here. What do we do?" Prichard recalled, "so I called him back and said, 'ah, it's just hair, man. Let's go ahead and do it' all the while thinking I could get out of it somehow, but I never thought of that brilliant idea, so I cut my hair, dyed it blonde, and the rest is history."
To Prichard's knowledge, WWE has not rallied around tag team wrestling like it has women's wrestling for financial reasons.
"Number one, I think, and I've always heard this, and after realizing it and being in the office, I do understand it's an economic decision." Prichard explained, "instead of having one guy in one match, you have two guys in one match, and you have four guys in one match, so do you invest that on TV?"
Also during the conversation, Prichard shared his "love" of The New Day [bay-bee] and indicated that he would not break up the talented trio. Additionally, 'Dr. Tom' suggested that it does not take an optometrist to see Big E as a future world champion.
"Oh God, I love New Day, by the way! I love The New Day. I mean, not only were they great guys in FCW, but I mean they're just great guys period and I think they're very entertaining." Prichard continued, "I like them together. I really do. I still love them together. They're [Fabulous] Freebird-esque, if that's a word too. I don't care. I make up all kinds of new words. But they're very Freebirdish, I guess. And they're still very entertaining to me. I don't think they're ready to be broken up. And what would you do with them individually? I mean, I think they're stronger as a group. Now, Big E, if you get him in a singles [spot], of course, he's going to shine no matter what. And I think Kofi [Kingston] and Xavier [Woods] will shine too. But I love them right now as a team. Anything's possible in WWE and I sure do. I can see [Big E] as a world champion. Yeah."
Check out the interview in the audio player below. For information on Prichard's brand new Jacobs-Prichard Wrestling Academy, click here. If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit Wrestling Inc.