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A wrestling veteran recently revealed that WWE didn't have anything for him at the time of his signing. He also praised Vince Russo for his character.
After a short stint with the company from 1993 to 1995, Gangrel returned to WWE in 1998 and became popular for his vampire gimmick. He also formed a faction called The Brood along with Adam Copeland (a.k.a Edge) and Christian Cage. The faction broke up in 1999, and both Copeland and Cage would go on to enjoy legendary careers in the WWE and win multiple World Championships.
During an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda Senior Editor Bill Apter, Gangrel opened up on how The Brood was formed and even credited former WWE head writer Vince Russo for his vampire gimmick.
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"Well, they [WWE] hired me when I was on a All Japan tour and they told me I had a job and everything and then when I came back from Japan and they said, 'well, you might not wrestle for a year. We don't know what to do with you.' And in the process they had already signed Adam [Copeland] and he was there but I don't know if they knew what to do with him."
The veteran continued:
"They had him [Adam Copeland] maybe reading some kind of poetry like Jim Morrison or some kind of dark character like that but they didn't know and then I think Vince Russo, he's a big vampire fan, a lot of credit to Vince Russo because he called me up and said 'hey, can you still do the vampire stuff? You still have the fangs' and I go, 'Of course I can make it happen.' He called me up on a Friday and he had me at TV on a Saturday debut on a Sunday Night Heat. So, they taped it. They came up with that entrance, that music and everything." [From 03:47 to 04:35]
Vince Russo also opened up about Gangrel's vampire gimmick in WWE
Vince Russo held a prominent position in WWE at the time when Gangrel was wrestling for the promotion. Hence, he is the perfect person to give some insight into the character.
Speaking on an episode of Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws show, Vince Russo mentioned that Gangrel's character was inspired by his actual lifestyle.
"He [Gangrel] really lived that lifestyle, obviously, bro. He has got his freaking teeth filed down, for crying out loud. So, he obviously lived that lifestyle, so it started with him. Back then, Edge and Christian had a totally different look, and the look was very cool, and vampires and the underground, that whole lifestyle was very, very cool back then. You match that with the dress, the ring entrance, and all that stuff, as well as the dropping of the blood, and you've got a faction that's pretty, pretty cool." [From 40:00 onwards]
Gangrel recently showed up at AEW Double or Nothing and helped Adam Copeland retain his TNT Championship against Malakai Black.
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