This Famous WWE Gimmick Was Originally Going To "Be A Stripper"

Vince McMahon had something very different in mind for this ex-WWE star.

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WWE.com

Ex-WWE man Fandango (who now wrestles as Dirty Dango) has revealed that he was originally supposed to "be a stripper" gimmick, not a ballroom dancer.

Dango told WrestlingNews.Co that Vince McMahon sent him to a strip club in Tampa, Florida. The WWE boss wanted him to learn some moves and becoming a real stripper before putting him on TV with that sort of character.

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This spot was initially pencilled in for Tyler Reks and Curt Hawkins, but WWE changed their minds on that and Reks eventually left the promotion anyway. So, Fandango was tasked with learning some moves from "a Colombian girl" at the club - this went on for "about a month or two" before Triple H informed Dango that he'd be doing a different sort of dancing from now on.

'The Game' was the one who told Dango about his new ballroom dancing gimmick, and that was a wrap for the stripper thing. WWE sent the wrestler to Arthur Murray's dance school for months, then introduced the new character once they felt comfortable with his progress.

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Things could've turned out very differently had he been a stripper. That would've been a hard sell during the PG era!

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.