Keith Lee underwent a big transformation before his WWE release as he was rebranded to "Bearcat" Keith Lee.
The gimmick change didn't last too long with "Bearcat" debuting in September and Lee being released in November.
Speaking to Chris Jericho on Talk Is Jericho, Lee detailed his time as "Bearcat."
"What happened is, when I was about to come back, they hit me with the vision for the Bearcat thing. During that time, I was like, 'I don't understand what that is. I'm not sure I'm feeling that.' They brought me back as myself and then, my second match -- first match, lost to (Bobby) Lashley. Second match, lost to (Karrion) Kross -- In the middle of the show, Vince pulls me to a room and wants to have a talk. Vince doesn't leave the show. Middle of Raw, semi and main event coming up and he's like, 'Let's go chat.' 'You're the guy on the headphones, what are you doing?' It was in that conversation that he was basically like, 'I need you to do this and I need you to be this.' 'I work for you. If that's what you want, that's what we're going to do.'" he recalled.
Lee is known for the way he speaks, using a unique cadence to deliver his words. As "Bearcat," he was the "strong and silent" type. The change to be "Bearcat" without any backstory behind it was tough according to him.
"The weird thing, you mentioned the way that I speak; my cadence, the way I seem thoughtful about how I deliver things, my choice of diction, all of those things were something that Vince was not a fan of. To the point where he literally told me, 'You sound too smart for your own good.' I don't understand what that means. He wanted something more grimey. I don't think I delivered that for him. He wanted some intense guy and I think I can be intense, but I need a reason to be intense. It's easy for me to flip a switch, but if it doesn't make sense, it's hard for me to do that. I can't be...I tried...I don't think I'm very good at it and that's something that facilitated that. I'm not a big angry grunty yelling guy. I'm not that until someone makes me that and it's usually a match or story that causes that. When there is no competitive match that pushes me or no story that gives me reason for a character to be that, it's something...maybe that's what he means when he says 'I'm too smart,' to me, it's illogical. I like to do my best to make sense of what we're doing," he said.
Lee noted that he's not opposed to playing different characters -- recalling a time where he played a "pretty boy" who snapped when his waves were messed with -- and he has different ideas and directions for characters, but could never make "Bearcat" work.
"That was a difficult time, truly. I did a lot to try, I talked to myself in the mirror, I made faces in the mirror. Grunts, different yells, screams, whatever it took to try and deliver this character. I don't know if I failed, but there were times where that spark was there, but it literally took me asking someone to beat me up backstage before a match in order to enter that mindset," he said.
Many fans thought "Bearcat" was an homage to Bearcat Wright, a wrestler in the late 1950s and 1960s. That was not the case.
"Realistically, that's the first thing I thought. I'm very big on being myself as opposed to trying to be someone else. So, it didn't make sense to me, but this is what I was asked to do. I thought maybe it was an homage to this guy that was making waves back in the day. I feel I've made waves, but if he wants me to make more, 'let's go for it.' I asked about it one day because people were asking me, 'Where did this name come from?' Hell, I don't know, I was told to be it. I couldn't make a story for this. It didn't resonate," said Lee.
When asked if he was given direction, he noted, "The direction was, 'be intense, be angry,' that's it. That's what I tried to facilitate, but then they would want me to cut promos similar to the way I did before. 'You guys have a problem with the way I speak. How would you like this promo delivered?' This is where I would like something delivered for me. I don't normally care for that, I prefer to go off the cuff and feel it, but if this character is so far removed from what I've been doing, I would like something to tell me who and what this character is and why it exists and where it comes from. As much as I tried to make things in terms of story, either it wasn't what was asked for or I was asked to not use it anymore. Bearcat Wright is one of those things. 'Don't reference him.' Alright, so be it."
Lee said it is easy for him to follow directions, but things kept getting changed for him.
"I'm 100% certain that it was some sort of test. 'I wonder if he'll listen to what we say.' It doesn't have to be this complicated. I think it was a test to see if I was trustworthy. I stripped everything. Even when I came back and did Bearcat, it was similar. The double chop I've been known for, they snatched that. They snatched...they didn't want me looking at the crowd at all. It's really hard to say, but I don't know why these things were a thing. There was no interaction with me that I was allowed to have. Couldn't look at or acknowledge the crowd, I could only look at my opponent. It was 'go, go, go.' This is not professional wrestling," he said.
Jericho noted that the changes can be confusing and a wrestler can lose themselves when they are in the ring.
Lee replied, "There were moments like that, but it's easy for me to follow directions. if I need to give directions in the ring, some people get lost, let's be honest and sometimes we ourselves do and we may need to talk to a ref or opponent, if I help them in delivery directions, that was a problem. If I took a moment to communicate what was necessary so I didn't have to just ragdoll you, that's an easy way for someone to get hurt. I understand and I learned it in my time there, with some of the biggest guys on the planet, that locker room size is much different than here, even amongst that, I am abnormal and I figured it out. Me just selfishly doing what I want to do in the ring is a surefire way for someone to get hurt. That's not a goal of mine. That's not a legacy I want to leave. I try to make sure they know what's coming. That was an issue. If I did that, maybe they thought I was looking at the crowd or maybe they thought I was lost in the moment. No, I'm trying to make sure this guy knows what's going on and give you what you want. If they don't sell in a way that is expected, I need to get them in a position they need to be or do things a certain way. It's part of the job."
Lee wrestled twice on television as "Bearcat," defeating Akira Tozawa and Cedric Alexander.
He is currently signed to AEW and will compete in the Face of the Revolution Ladder match on Sunday at AEW Revolution. You can view the current lineup for the show by clicking here.
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