10 Things We Learned From The Stone Cold Podcast With Al Snow
6. Al Expected To Get Over As A Heel In ECW
During the first part of his interview with Austin, Al said he expected to get over as a heel when developing the Al Snow persona in ECW. The new gimmick's unpredictable antics were meant to make ECW's faithful cheer anyone who opposed him. For those keeping score, this was influenced by both Lancaster's guidance and The Original Sheik.
By adding a mannequin head to his act (inspired by Mick Foley and several lengthy car journeys talking about it), Snow reasoned he'd have a built-in weapon that would allow him to get heat by cheating. Then, he'd explain using 'Head' as relying on his best friend.
The childish nature of the character didn't make people boo Al. Instead, ECW fans lapped it up and the gimmick caught on. Even though Al had been sent to ECW because the WWF had nothing for him, he managed to get himself over and catch the attention of management back in his parent promotion.
The whole thing was an accident, according to Al.