Subhojeet Mukherjee on June 9, 2024
Chris Harris began his pro wrestling career back in 1994 and was a part of WCW. He eventually made his way to TNA and became a big name there but he ultimately never made his way to WWE.
In case you were not aware, Chris Harris was part of America’s Most Wanted with James Storm and formed a highly successful tag team. Ultimately, Harris would leave TNA Wrestling back on January 11th 2008. Surprisingly, he would end up signing with WWE on January 29th 2008.
While speaking to Steve Fall of Ringside News, Chris Harris opened up about his challenging transition from TNA to WWE, shedding light on the difficulties he faced during this period. He began by discussing his initial experiences in WWE’s developmental system and how he was already a veteran at that point and didn’t feel the need to train to take bumps all day as he was getting older and had to limit the number of bumps he had to take.
“I had a dark match one time and then I started spending the majority of the weeks in Florida, in the developmental system. There’s certainly something you have to go through to learn the style of WWE. I could sit here today and say I don’t know what that is because I never learned it. I wasn’t there long enough. I was willing to go down there, but a lot of that was just training. It’s hard to explain. I didn’t go down there, especially at 35 or 36 years old, and start doing a thousand bumps a day. I was ready to wrestle.“
I’d been in the business 15 years and had my experience with TNA and TV. So, if it’s developmental, let’s develop me for what you have ready for me. Instead, I was just down there beating my body up. At that point, I needed to start counting my bumps. I didn’t know how many I was going to have left and could potentially have the best years right in front of me.”
Harris highlighted the lack of creative direction and preparation for his WWE debut, revealing that the company didn’t really bother to do anything for him at the time. Despite this, he knew that coming from TNA, it was unusual for him to join WWE and retain his name.
“Once something was said about doing TV, I think my first match was with Armando, and we did the vignettes in the back. That was actually the first time I met Bruce, and he just seemed so uninterested. We saw the result of that; it was just a train wreck with those promos. They didn’t have anything ready for me. They had no preparation, they didn’t know what they wanted to do. You asked about the name, and to be honest, I know the name gets shot at a lot, and that’s okay because I feel like that’s coming from my loyal Wildcat Chris Harris fans. But I knew coming from TNA, it just wasn’t normal to come in with your name. So, I assumed going into WWE that Wildcat Chris Harris wasn’t coming with me and that there was going to be a name change.”
Reflecting on his first impression and the lack of a coherent plan, Chris Harris mentioned how his first impression in WWE was terrible because he didn’t know what WWE had in mind for him. He pointed out how despite being a billion-dollar company, they couldn’t come up with better material for his promos.
“It wasn’t like I could make something because I didn’t know what WWE had in mind. Everything I had said Wildcat on it, so it was thrown together that day. A basic black singlet, and when you’re making a first impression, that’s why people don’t forget that. It’s been 15 or 17 years, and people don’t forget that. My first impression was terrible. But I felt like it was important to say that, at the time, it didn’t matter what they were going to throw at me. I just felt like I could get something done. Even the promos have been talked about a lot. My first promo there, Bruce gave me one line, I did it, and then they’d change it up. Let’s do it again, let’s do it again. We did so many takes, and they kept changing the lines to where it was driving me crazy. Just tell me what you want, and I’ll make it work somehow. It’s crazy to think we wound up settling on ‘Knock your brain out.’ Could it get any worse than that? It didn’t come across well.
It was a billion-dollar company with a creative team, and that’s what they came up with. Bruce Pritchard, who I respect for everything he’s done, puts it 100% on me, like I didn’t know how to cut a promo. Anybody that’s watched my work knows that’s not true. He just seemed uninterested in anything going on. All these variables made it a failed experiment. They didn’t have any plan or ideas. I didn’t want to overstep my bounds, but I did throw out some different ideas. I had a meeting with the creative team, and Johnny was my contact, so I was talking to him about some things. Everything that was talked about may have sounded like a great idea at the time, but by the next week, they’d say no, we’re not going to do that. It was a very frustrating time; it wore on me.”
The toll of the experience took a personal and professional toll on Harris, leading him to reevaluate his career path, as he ultimately wanted to leave WWE and just go back to TNA again. Unfortunately, there was no offer on the table for him to return to TNA as the company was still upset over him leaving. Ultimately, Harris believed he took a chance on himself and simply failed.
”It affected me personally, and I felt like my career was going down the toilet. It tore me up. I was about to head into probably the darkest days of my life. When you’re out of that wrestling bubble and trying to figure yourself out, it’s very hard. I wasn’t necessarily ready for anything. I needed to refocus and get myself better. Once I reached out to TNA, I found out they were still p**** off about me leaving. There wasn’t any opportunity on the table. All I wanted to do was go home, and my home was TNA. I wanted to go back there, but they just… It’s funny because so many people switch companies in wrestling. Jeff Jarrett was still in charge, and I almost wanted to say, ‘Jeff, are you kidding me? You, of all people, have switched so many times.’
There was interest there, so I knew that wasn’t it. I thought maybe I’d have to do the Indies or something like that. It really took a toll on me. I felt embarrassed, defeated, like a failure. All the times in my career when I took a chance on myself, it paid off. This was probably one of the first times where I took a chance on myself and just completely failed.”
Despite the setbacks, Harris remained resilient, emphasizing the significance of taking career risks. However, despite his efforts, Chris Harris would eventually be released on August 7, 2008. Many fans believe that this departure was ultimately the best outcome for Harris.
Do you feel Chris Harris deserved a better chance in WWE? What do you think WWE should have done differently for him? Let us know in the comments section below!
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
June 9, 2024 4:28 pm
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