Blue Meanie Talks First WWE Release, Reflects On Passing On WCW To Go Back To ECW
ECW Orgininal The Blue Meanie appeared on The Wrestling Inc. Daily Podcast earlier this week. In the beginning of his appearance, Meanie explained why he left WWE, during his first run with the company a year after his debut.
"I was under contract for two years and a year and a half run. There was a moment where I was losing weight," Blue Meanie said. "I lost 160 pounds, and they're like, 'Well look, we'll have you go down to Memphis,' their developmental territory, and try to reinvent myself because I didn't look like The Blue Meanie anymore.
"While I was down there, my grandmother got sick. She had pancreatic cancer. I was like, 'Hey, I need to take care of the family. I have to go home'. So, I drove back to Memphis, and maybe a month or two of going home, they gave me my release." Meanie added, "I signed a contract, so they paid me for two years, but I had a year and a half run."
Meanie also gave his take on the historic InVasion storyline the WWE had with both rival companies, ECW and WCW. He believed that the InVasion angle could have been done better if the right talent from WCW was involved. Meanie also expressed his view on the storyline, while reminiscing about ECW which was where he began his professional wrestling career.
"Yeah, it definitely could have been done better. It would have been great if WWE just helped keep ECW afloat and never go out of business and then slowly, through the transition of power, somehow without the public knowing, ingratiate ECW to WWE because people knew ECW was out of business. Other people have tried to buy it too," Meanie continued. "Some people tried to buy it before WWE got it, but if they could just have acquired it somehow and eventually have ECW invade WWE without–it takes away the illusion when the company that raged against the machine was now part of the machine. ECW was this rebellious promotion.
"Screw WWE! Screw WCW! We're ECW!," Meanie exclaimed.
"It's hard to do that when you're part of WWE. With the WCW stuff, they didn't have a lot of the heavy hitters. They were still under contract with AOL Time Warner," Blue Meanie explained. "They just wanted to ride out those contracts, and I don't blame them. You're getting paid to sit home, recoup, and let all of your injuries heal. You're getting paid to heal up at home; why not? But yeah, it could have been done away a lot better."
As Meanie was giving his thoughts on how the InVasion could have been portrayed, he revealed that he had the chance to join WCW after his initial release from the WWE. He explained that he had the possible opportunity of going to WCW by receiving a call from current WWE Executive, Bruce Prichard.
"When WWE initially had released me, Bruce Prichard, during the call while he had released me, offered to contact WCW on my behalf. Well, not officially, but, he's like, 'I know J.J. Dillon's down there in WCW. I can call him and put in a good word for you'. You're talking about having regrets, one of the things I wish I would have taken him up on and work for WCW, because who knows?
"That could have brought me a vehicle to go back to WWE, and it would have been cool to say I worked for WCW as well. In a way, it was like choosing between a ride on the Hindenburg or the Titanic. They were both going down. I decided to go down with my friends in ECW. ECW looked like they were going... their writing was on the wall that they were going down."
"If I'm going to go out, I'm going to go out with my friends," Blue Meanie said. "In hindsight, as a business move, I wish I would've gone to WCW."
If you see any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Wrestling Inc. Daily with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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