Sgt. Slaughter has revealed there’s one reason and one reason only why he won’t watch WWE SmackDown.
The WWE Hall of Famer was back in the news recently when Lacey Evans returned to SmackDown wearing ring gear inspired by her time in the military and using Sgt. Slaughter’s Cobra Clutch. While the appearance initially passed without incident among fans, Sgt. Slaughter’s daughter called out Evans for stealing her father’s gimmick, this is despite Evans having a well-documented genuine military background.
Speaking in a new interview with Bill Apter for Sportskeeda, Slaughter discussed modern wrestling and what he enjoys watching. The veteran said that while he still watches Raw, he refuses to watch SmackDown because Evans is on it.
“I don’t watch [WWE] as much as I did. I watch Raw because SmackDown has Lacey on it. It doesn’t upset me because I know she can’t put a Cobra Clutch on like I do but it’s just the thought that she’s using a move without — at least I would think the writers or somebody would call me up and say, ‘you mind if we use the Cobra Clutch?’ or maybe call it something else because DiBiase brought it in when I was gone with G.I. Joe and he used it as the Million Dollar Dream.
She could have maybe come up with another name of it but just to call it the Cobra Clutch, I had to end up using the Camel Clutch when I came back [in 1990] because DiBiase was using my hold. I asked Khosrow [Iron Sheik]. I said is it okay if I use your move?”Slaughter continued, “That’s the way the business was. You respect your talent and the people that you worked with.”
Sgt. Slaughter Turned Down Chance To Work With Lacey Evans
Following the controversy it was reported that WWE had actually contacted Slaughter about appearing in vignettes for Evans when she was initially repackaged earlier in the year. However, despite the offer, it was claimed that Slaughter turned the company down. The vignettes would have reportedly seen Slaughter “teaching” Evans the Cobra Clutch.
H/t to WrestlingNews.Co