Jimmy Wang Yang recalls his initial reaction to being pitched an outlandish WWE gimmick.
Speaking on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, Yang said WWE initially only told him that he would portray an “Asian redneck” character on SmackDown.
According to Yang, he was excited about the idea because he viewed it as a comedic role similar to Doink the Clown. He explained that, as a Korean kid growing up in Georgia, he drew inspiration from people he knew in real life and exaggerated those traits to make the gimmick more entertaining.
“No. So all I was told was you’re being an Asian redneck coming to SmackDown. I was like, cool. When they pitched the character to me at that time, I was like, sweet. I’m gonna be the new Doink the Clown, comedy character kind of thing. That will be cool to have. As a Korean kid in Georgia, I got my material a lot from the people I knew, and I just made it as ridiculous as possible,” Jimmy Wang Yang said.
Jimmy Wang Yang was caught offguard about the reaction to his WWE gimmick
He added that once he debuted and started wrestling matches, the reaction quickly became much bigger than he expected. Yang recalled being surprised by how popular the character became almost immediately. He noted that fans would recognize and swarm him at airports, especially whenever he wore a cowboy hat.
“So then the debut, and then having a match. All of a sudden, it was this switch of being kind of like a celebrity. I didn’t know how that would take off so well. Because I just remember after debuting, and then, like, I’m going to the airport and wear my goofy ass cowboy hat, I get mobbed by everybody. I’m like, holy crap. This really took off. I was kind of surprised how well that took off.”
READ MORE: Former WWE Star Says Vince McMahon Forgot He Fired Him Before WWE Return
