Former WWE Superstar Al Snow has candidly discussed the difficulties he faced with his original WWE character, known as ‘Avatar,’ during an interview with Wrestling Shoot Interviews.
Reflecting on his first meeting with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon in 1995 to discuss the plans for the gimmick, Snow shared insights into the initial vision for the character and the challenges he encountered.
I signed with WWF, Vince McMahon and I talked, and I knew what Vince was wanting to do. He wanted to capture the popularity of Power Rangers and Mortal Kombat at that time. Masked guys in WWE are not main event guys and don’t have an identity but Vince said ‘well you’re gonna carry the mask to the ring and then put it on to wrestle’, and I was like ‘OK, I don’t know how I’m going to do that’. We’re gonna do all these vignettes to introduce your character and help people understand it.
Despite the intention to introduce the Avatar character through video packages and vignettes, Snow found himself thrust into a live episode of WWE Monday Night Raw without adequate preparation, leading to a less-than-stellar debut. The physical demands of performing in the WWE ring, as opposed to the environment he was accustomed to in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, posed significant challenges, resulting in a disappointing performance during the debut match.
Then all of a sudden out of nowhere he called and said you need to be in Winnipeg, you’re gonna be live on Raw debuting Avatar. The mask didn’t fit right and I had just come from Jim Cornette in Smoky Mountain and was at the height of my physical ability doing flips and stuff. When I get to WWE, it’s real ropes and not cable, it’s very loose and nobody really did anything off the top rope because these were the old rings that were really tight, really stiff and the ropes were just treacherous.
The debut of Avatar on a 1995 edition of WWE Monday Night Raw was marked by a lack of crowd reaction and several missed spots during the match, ultimately culminating in Avatar’s only win on WWE TV. Snow expressed frustration with the lack of direction and clarity surrounding the character, emphasizing the confusion and limitations he faced in portraying the gimmick effectively.
What they don’t tell you is they don’t give you direction, they don’t tell you what they want. You kind of just have to figure it out. So I had a gimmick and if I knew then what I know now, I could have taken and capitalized the opportunity to a much greater degree. Now all of a sudden I’m the babyface who comes out carrying a mask, taking it off, putting it on and what a surprise you’re still the same guy with a very confusing gimmick.
By February 1996, the Avatar character was phased out, and Al Snow would undergo a rebranding as Leif Cassidy of the New Rockers, teaming with Marty Jannetty shortly thereafter.
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