Post by Snitsky on Jan 21, 2009 18:04:42 GMT -5
Credit: nodq.com
Following his release from World Wrestling Entertainment this past November, former ECW General Manager Armando Estrada has been busy opening a fast food restaurant in Glendale, Arizona called "Baby's Steak and Lemonade." You can catch him behind the counter there.
In an interview with SLAM! Wrestling, Estrada talked about his time with WWE. Estrada said WWE brass were concerned about fans cheering him due to how he pronounced his name when Umaga entered a program with John Cena at the start of 2007.
"I created that middle name. Paul Heyman helped me come out of my shell. I started rolling my R’s and Paul told me to do it every time," Estrada said. "We couldn't have the audience suddenly liking us, and I was told to remove that aspect. John Cena had been getting a mixed reaction and if this top heel and his manager were getting cheered, we ran the risk of the fans booing Cena. January 1st, 2007, in Miami, I was told, 'You have to stop that.'"
Towards the end of his run in WWE, Estrada still traveled with the company, but was rarely used.
"I was still traveling every week to the television week and I was always being told you are going to start again next week. During that time we switched writers. Unfortunately, I got lost in the mix. There were 10 heels on ECW and five babyfaces." Of course, he was then let go.
Unfortunately for him, WWE owns the name "Armando Estrada," even though he created it in Ohio Valley Wrestling. "The original Armando I came up with it was my creation, my brainchild. My name to my short laugh, every catch phrase, every mannerism, breaking the cigar, I came up with 'Samoan Bulldozer.' Unfortunately, even though it is my name, I can't use it."
Following his release from World Wrestling Entertainment this past November, former ECW General Manager Armando Estrada has been busy opening a fast food restaurant in Glendale, Arizona called "Baby's Steak and Lemonade." You can catch him behind the counter there.
In an interview with SLAM! Wrestling, Estrada talked about his time with WWE. Estrada said WWE brass were concerned about fans cheering him due to how he pronounced his name when Umaga entered a program with John Cena at the start of 2007.
"I created that middle name. Paul Heyman helped me come out of my shell. I started rolling my R’s and Paul told me to do it every time," Estrada said. "We couldn't have the audience suddenly liking us, and I was told to remove that aspect. John Cena had been getting a mixed reaction and if this top heel and his manager were getting cheered, we ran the risk of the fans booing Cena. January 1st, 2007, in Miami, I was told, 'You have to stop that.'"
Towards the end of his run in WWE, Estrada still traveled with the company, but was rarely used.
"I was still traveling every week to the television week and I was always being told you are going to start again next week. During that time we switched writers. Unfortunately, I got lost in the mix. There were 10 heels on ECW and five babyfaces." Of course, he was then let go.
Unfortunately for him, WWE owns the name "Armando Estrada," even though he created it in Ohio Valley Wrestling. "The original Armando I came up with it was my creation, my brainchild. My name to my short laugh, every catch phrase, every mannerism, breaking the cigar, I came up with 'Samoan Bulldozer.' Unfortunately, even though it is my name, I can't use it."
