Luke Gallows has confessed that his character Freakin’ Deacon was unusual, during his time in Deep South Wrestling. During a recent episode of his podcast “Talk’n Shop,” he disclosed Stephanie McMahon’s response to the peculiar persona when she first encountered it.
Gallows spoke of his attempts at creating unique gimmicks in Deep South Wrestling, saying “I wanted to create a character that forced people to pay attention to me. This led me to experiment with all kinds of eccentric stuff. From spiking my thinning hair out as per John Laurinaitis’s advice, to introducing a pet tarantula as my character’s unique element – a creature that would reportedly converse with me, leading to a display of split personalities.”
He described how he introduced a tarantula to his act and joked about the pet biting him when he first brought it home. Gallows added that he created a complex character of a formidable wrestler who had schizophrenic episodes, during which the spider would supposedly speak through him. During these ‘dialogues,’ he would deliver high-pitched weird promos and switch back to his intimidating persona with a slap on his face.
Stephanie McMahon’s initial response to this unique persona, as relayed by Gallows, was one of fascination as much as confusion. According to Gallows, she told him, “You are really, really weird,” but encouraged him to embrace that uniqueness fully.
In a different context, WWE NXT star Kelani Jordan humorously proposed the idea of a dedicated reality show on the brand, during her guest appearance on the “Casual Conversations with The Classic” podcast. Talking about the various real-life relationships on the NXT brand, Jordan recommended a romantic reality show, revealing that her boyfriend Carmelo Hayes was hugely supportive of her title win, and is her biggest fan.