Details of 40-year-old star being fired after WWE told him not to be funny; he argued with an official (Exclusive)

There have been several superstars who got over with the WWE Universe using comedy, though WWE might not always be in favor of it. EC3 has revealed that he received a lot of backlash from WWE producers for being funny during his NXT days.

Before becoming a world champion in IMPACT Wrestling, EC3 spent many years in WWE's developmental, known as the curly-haired Derrick Bateman. Carter recalled that he tried to portray a humourous gimmick, which, sadly for him, wasn't well-received by the veterans backstage.

While speaking on Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws, Ethan Carter III revealed that he was specifically told by an official that "funny does not make money."

"Derrick Bateman's coming up, getting flak from mindless idiot producers and yes-men saying things like, 'Oh, you know, funny doesn't make money!'" said EC3. "Derrick Bateman's humorous, and I'm like, 'Well, you know, you just have to stand up sometimes; the material provided isn't exactly very serious.' Yeah, 'But if you try to be funny, you'll be pegged as a joke.' And I'm like, 'Really? Funny doesn't make money?'" [6:50 - 7:13]

EC3 argued with the producer and provided multiple examples of legends using hilarious methods and catchphrases to attract the fans. Carter said Edge & Christain, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and Kurt Angle had amusing traits to the audience, yet they were still perceived as top guys.

The former WWE superstar wasn't allowed to showcase a quirky personality in NXT and noted that he was eventually fired back then for "not playing the game."

"Like, Edge and Christian doing five-second poses, that was pretty funny, right? Stone Cold saying 'what'? That's pretty funny, right? The Rock saying, 'poongtang pie'? It's pretty funny. He's like, 'Yeah, yeah!' Kurt Angle's three Is, that was pretty funny! And then, he's just like, 'Whatever!' And then, yeah, I get fired! Who knows? Who cares? Whatever! I don't play the game." [7:14 - 7:36]

EC3 on Kurt Angle finding the right formula in WWE

The main topic of Wrestling Outlaws this week was about WWE potentially discovering "the female Kurt Angle." As reported, EC3 had a warning about the highly-rated star and said that she should not be burdened by the expectations of following in Angle's footsteps.

The former IMPACT Wrestling champion briefly explained that Kurt Angle mastered the art of being an entertaining wrestling superstar during his prime in addition to learning the in-ring process.

"But funny is one thing, but the entertainment factor and the ability to back it up, that's what Kurt Angle lived for," added EC3. [7:37 - 7:46]

Was Kurt Angle the most versatile pro wrestler of all time? Sound off in the comments section below.

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