Posted on 9/04/125 by Phil Johnson
In an exclusive interview with PWMania.com’s Lee Tarrier,
former WWE star Luke Gallows opened up about the origins of
his unforgettable Festus character, Vince McMahon’s direct
involvement in bringing it to life, and the untold backstage
stories behind one of WWE’s most unique gimmicks. Gallows
also reflected on why he’s never been embarrassed by the
role and how it changed his career. You can read the entire
interview by clicking here.
Here are some highlights:
On Vince McMahon pitching the Festus character:
“We [Good brothers] were supposed to debut as Jesse and
Justice Dalton, pig farmers in overalls. Then, right before
our first TV match, they pulled us aside: ‘Vince wants to
see you.’
So we go into Vince’s office, and he explains this Festus
character to me—saying he knew someone catatonic as a kid,
which I’m pretty sure was bullshit. (laughs) But he starts
doing the Festus face at me, tongue out and all, and makes
me do it back. ‘Not like that, goddamn it—like this!’ Here I
am, 23 years old, never spoken to Vince before, and suddenly
we’re sticking our tongues out at each other. Totally
surreal.”
On Vince’s reaction after Festus debuted on TV:
“I was fishing for feedback, and all I was told was: ‘He
loves Festus. Just… be weird.’ (laughs) That was the
guidance.”
On how Festus came to life:
“A couple days later, they called me and said, ‘You need to
practice—don’t wrestle like a wrestler anymore.’ So instead
of headlocks and holds, they had me do big bear-paw punches,
slaps, weird offense like the nuts-to-the-face spot. They
wanted Festus to look like he didn’t know how to wrestle.”
On never being embarrassed by Festus:
“I’ve never been embarrassed by it. Of course, every
wrestler dreams about being Ric Flair with the robe and the
long blonde hair, but being a character like Festus was a
lot of fun. It literally bought me my first house.”
Gallows also opened up about working with CM Punk in the
Straight Edge Society, his time with AJ Styles and Karl
Anderson in The Club, and his current ventures outside WWE.