Ahead of All Out, AEW TNT Champion Brodie Lee spoke with Wrestling Inc.’s Nick Hausman about the parody of Vince McMahon many believed Lee was doing upon his arrival in AEW.
Lee had planned to debut on Dynamite in March in his hometown of Rochester, N.Y. Lee said he was given the option by AEW President Tony Khan to delay his debut due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Lee wanted to proceed with plans.
Lee debuted as “The Exalted One” of the Dark Order before capturing the TNT Championship from Cody on the Aug. 22 episode of Dynamite. Lee said the skits included some Easter eggs about the WWE Chairman but weren’t meant as a Vince McMahon parody:
“Obviously, there was a couple of little Easter eggs and things that people could very easily pick up on, but as a whole, the character was never meant to be a Vince McMahon parody. But there was definitely a couple jabs his way in the early going. Once I realized that that was everything that people were going to talk about, I wanted to get away from that as quickly as possible because I wanted it to be more about me, more about my identity and more about my journey to where we’re going. I didn’t want to be seen as that bitter ex-employee. I don’t want that label on me whatsoever.”
Brodie Lee on skits parodying Vince McMahon
Lee said he enjoys the thought that the skits angered some in WWE management. Other topics addressed during the interview included the atmosphere of the AEW locker room and the negative experience he had in WWE.
“I remember telling Shawn Spears at one point, I said, ‘Is everybody always this positive because something doesn’t feel right to me.’ So it took a little getting used to in the beginning, but I love it… It’s a very different feel, very different vibe. [The] creativity there of mine is fulfilled. I go to bed happy at night, and I think that’s shown in the product.”
Brodie Lee on AEW locker room
Lee said his biggest criticism from his prior place of employment was not being used on TV:
“It was just very stifling not inherently negative like outwardly negative, but a negative experience when I’m sitting home, I guess, and not being used and stuff like that. So that was the negative part… They weren’t saying negative things to me per se, but the feeling was negative.”
Brodie Lee on WWE experience
You can check out Brodie Lee’s entire interview below.
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