Jon Heidenreich still finds controversial Michael Cole WWE segment ‘disturbing’
Former wrestler Jon Heidenreich revisited one of the most controversial segments of his WWE career, admitting that he still finds it ‘disturbing’ two decades later.
Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Heidenreich reflected on the Michael Cole segment which drew widespread criticism on an edition of SmackDown in 2004. In the angle, he threatened Cole before reciting a poem in a scene that left viewers deeply uncomfortable. Despite his reservations, he claimed he was willing to follow WWE’s creative directions assigned as a talent trying to establish himself in the company.
“It’ll always be disturbing, there’s no doubt about it. I mean, it was brought to me, I don’t remember particulars, but I do remember thinking, man, this is really off the wall. When you’re training to do vignettes and practicing in Louisville, you don’t practice for a vignette like that.”
“They said I was gonna abduct him, and bring him to the back, and then put him in a room. Then I think it was like you’re gonna act like you were watching him, and you’re going one place with it.”
“It’s like you’re going like it, and then you say, I’m gonna give you a poem. But it sounds like I’m gonna give him something other than a poem. I don’t know if it’s innuendos and stuff when you say it, ‘I’ve been watching you, I know what you want, and I’m gonna give it to you.’”
“But I look back and all the things that have been said about all these years, it’s kind of made me infamous, more than famous. But it’s disturbing still, and it’s weird.”
“When they bring it to you, I’m not gonna say no. Like when they said you’re gonna be with Legion of Doom, I’m like, all right. Whatever they bring to you, that’s where I was. If they told me to do a backstage thing or do this, and not like killing somebody or something, where you have to go to jail. I would do it, I’m gonna do it the best I can.”
Following his WWE exit in 2006, he briefly wrestled on the indies before retiring from in-ring competition altogether.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
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