Big Vito Says He Wouldn’t Change His Dress Gimmick, Wishes It Lasted Longer

– Big Vito spoke with Wrestling Inc and discussed his cross-dressing gimmick from WWE, his advice for wrestling talent today and more. You can check out some highlights below:

On his cross-dressing gimmick: “When you are a good worker or a great wrestler…I was polished, I had the experience and I had the know-how. Maybe people can understand this: When Dusty Rhodes was given the common man, they put him in polka dots and said it was a rig. So, they put Vito in a dress and some say it was a rig. Dusty made it the best gimmick ever and I made [the dress] one of the best gimmicks ever.”

On where the idea came from: “It was Stephanie and Vince that came up to me after a TV taping and said we have an idea for you: what do you think of wearing a dress? I said if that’s what you want me to do, I’ll do it. They said, ‘Do you think you could pull it off and wear it every day?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ It was probably one of the last kayfabe gimmicks that ever was done in the WWE. I wore it. I went out in it. I traveled in it. I became the most recognizable pro athlete in sports as everywhere I went, everyone knew who I was. I posed in Playgirl. I did a lot of great things and did TV openings and talk [shows]. That gimmick was ahead of its time because it stood for a lot of things.”

On the gimmick connecting with fans in surprising ways: “It was a soul-searching thing that taught me a lot about life in general. You learn about yourself as a man and a human being. I wouldn’t change it for the world and I wished it lasted for a couple more years. Probably the most discouraging thing about it was when I was supposed to have a championship match with King Booker and they substituted me for The Undertaker and nobody could understand. I had so much going for me and was undefeated. If we would have meshed and knocked heads, wouldn’t it have been worthy to having a man wearing a dress as the heavyweight champion of WWE?”

On the current WWE product: “I watch the product but I have to turn it off because it’s unwatchable. The only believable guy I get a kick out of watching is Brock Lesnar. This is not to insult anybody there because you are all working hard, but you are handcuffed because you can’t go out there and be who you want to be.”

On Kevin Owens: “Kevin Owens is an interesting guy. As a part of a group with Jericho – phenomenal. When he did his thing with The New Day, even though it was short, I thought it was a great stint. When he did his thing with Sami Zayn, that wasn’t too bad. But putting him as a singles, they didn’t use him to his potential. Now they’re starting to make him do this CM Punk thing and speaking his mind, but once they get tired of it they are gonna bury him again.”

On wrestlers moving into movies and TV: “The wrestling business has changed so much and it’s more entertainment. You see more and more wrestlers trying to get into the movie business and trying to get action films. It only helps you prepare for your future. Today, with the way the industry is set up, wrestling is not gonna last forever whereas back in my day you were gonna wrestle until you were 100. But the entertainment business has evolved to where it includes movies, commercials and doing other aspects in the industry which helps you prepare for life after wrestling which is a great thing.”

On his advice for wrestling talent: “If it’s AEW, WWE or any of the organizations, my advice would be to venture out while you do your wrestling career. Everybody gets so caught up in their wrestling that they forget about Part II and III. I would suggest that everybody start to look at II and III and see what you can get outside the business to help enhance your growth as not only an entrepreneur but as a human being and as a businessman.”