It must be interesting to be Kimbo Slice’s manager. The former backyard brawler turned porn-company valet turned boxer and mixed martial artist has had an interesting life, with no shortage of interesting deals thrown his way. One such deal which never ended up coming together was from none other than World Wrestling Entertainment.
In an interview on WWE.com, former talent scout Tommy Dreamer recalls how a VHS tape of Kimbo Slice fighting ended up in his hands, and how he tried to convince those above him in the promotion that Kimbo could be a big star.
“I spoke with his manager and then I spoke with (Kimbo) briefly and he was down and ready to go — he was a big fan,” Dreamer said. “My job was to look for new talent, so I brought the demo packet to John Laurinaitis, the head of Talent Relations at the time, and I presented it to him. The handling of how to hire him would have been different because he wasn’t a trained wrestler.”
According to Dreamer, Laurinaitis was concerned about Slice’s age and how long it could take to turn the backyard brawler into a main show wrestler.
“This was somewhere between 2003 and 2005, so if he’s 42 years old today, he was in his early 30s then. So if you’re going to bring in a talent who has no wrestling experience, it’s going to take a while to adapt.”
Dreamer had seen firsthand the failure of many fighters to convert from kickboxing or mixed martial arts to pro wrestling, so he understood that Kimbo’s history of backyard competition didn’t mean the heavyweight could hack it in the UFC.
“If you get someone that age, unless they are a superior athlete, it is going to take at least two years to learn how to do what we do,” Dreamer told WWE.com. “And if you’re trying to make someone a star, it’s going to take another two years to try and elevate him. So, ‘We’re not going in that direction,’ that’s what that means.”
There were also questions as to whether Kimbo, already one of the early viral stars of the internet, would be willing to pay his dues in the notoriously difficult developmental system before moving up to WWE. In the end, a deal never got made, which is too bad. You’d think if Slice wasn’t willing or able to hack it full time, they could still bring him in for a special appearance or two.
Dreamer shares that sentiment. “I can remember being in the crowd when Mr. T hopped the guardrail before the first WrestleMania and when I first saw Slice, I just saw him looking into the camera like Clubber Lang and saying ‘Pain.’ ” … I think he would have been a huge star in our industry if he had pursued it.”
(Via WWE.com)
