Jimmy Wang Yang Talks About Vince McMahon’s Pitch For His WWE Character, Undertaker’s Court, Lying To WCW & More

Former WWE Superstar Jimmy Wang Yang recently appeared on The Velvet Ropes with SoCal Val, where he opened up about a whole host of things related to his pro wrestling career.

After performing in WCW from 1999 to 2001, Jimmy Wang Yang joined WWE in March 2001, only to be released in December of that year. He returned to the global juggernaut in 2003 as Akio, competing primarily in the cruiserweight division before being let go in July 2005. His second return to the company happened in 2006, when he debuted the Jimmy Wang Yang gimmick. This stint ended in April 2010.

The 44-year-old returned to the company as a backstage producer in October 2021 but was again let go two months later.

Here are some highlights from Jimmy Wang Yang’s interview (via WrestlingNews.co)

On his reaction to Vince McMahon pitching the Jimmy Wang Yang character:

“I was just trying to get laid one night, and there was a pay-per-view close by… I was just trying to get tickets… It was just me and Vince McMahon in a room, just me and him. He’s like, ‘This time, I’m gonna turn a positive out of a negative; I’m gonna make you the Asian redneck.’ I’m sitting there like, ‘Man, this is weird!’ It’s like Wang Yang. That rhymes. Your name will be Jimmy Wang Yang, the Korean redneck. I was like, ‘Cool, as long as that check comes every Monday, I’ll do whatever you want.'”

On a rumor claiming that Tajiri spoke fluent English:

“I’ve seen all those guys drop the act. Nobody’s looking… I just say they’re not… they don’t have perfect English. But, like, they know what’s going on. Tajiri, Kaz, Asuka, Ultimo Dragon… they all speak, like, five different languages. Like, it’s surprising because they all know Spanish, they know Japanese, English. I hate to break kayfabe to people like, ‘Oh, like, a lot of them do.”‘

On The Undertaker’s Court:

“He was definitely the leader of the locker room. He was the head judge of the wrestlers’ court. But those things are just so ridiculous, just like backstage drama… mostly times they would get out of everything; they would just bring Undertaker a bottle of Jack Daniels, and, ‘Okay, well, court’s dismissed!'”

On lying to WCW and becoming the youngest-ever wrestler to be signed by the company:

“When Chris Canyon came to scout that WCW tryout, man, like, they asked me how old I was. I was only 17, but I lied… I received that first contract in June of 1999. I turned 18 in May of 1999, so I became the youngest wrestler ever to sign with WCW.”

Jimmy Wang Yang on his daughter, Jazzy Yang:

“She’s way better than me at. She’s 22 now. She’s, like, so much smarter than me. She’s a lot more business mindset than I was. She’s athletic, and she knows the psychology… I think it’s just a matter of time. Even last year, you know, she’s started doing all the extra work with WWE. She’s killing it.”

On an incident involving Justin Roberts in Europe:

“I remember being in Europe, and they took Justin Roberts his passport before the flight. We’re in London, actually at the airport, and they take [SIC] his passport. He was stuck there for, like, two or three days. Like, they took his passport back to the States.”

On Amy Zidian (his valet) not knowing who Stephanie McMahon was:

“Stephanie’s walking down, so I’m like, ‘Oh, hey, Stephanie, how you doing?’ Amy reaches over and like, ‘Hey, who are you?’ And then Stephanie kind of no-sold it and said, ‘Oh, well, I’m Stephanie. I’m gonna be your producer and produce this segment.’ I understand her not knowing who Stephanie was before wrestling, but when you’re getting in this company and knowing who the McMahons are… it’s kind of like, ‘You should know this.”‘

Check out the conversation below: