The Patriot Del Wilkes Praises Vince McMahon, Says He Enjoyed Working for Him, Calls Him ‘a Creative and Loyal Guy’

– WrestlingInc.com recently interviewed former WWE Superstar The Patriot, aka Del Wilkes, for the WINCLY podcast. The Patriot discussed his time in WWE and what he thought about working for Vince McMahon. Below are some highlights from WrestlingInc.com.

Del Wilkes on his initial conversation with Vince McMahon: “I think in some ways it turned out to be that way. My initial conversations with Vince – he was open to anything I had to say – but we had different ideas on what I wanted to do and where he saw the character going. He felt that at that time a masked character couldn’t get over so he was focused on something different than The Patriot.”

Wilkes on how his character started getting over: “After seeing the reaction I was getting from the fans night after night, Vince said, ‘Del, you’re right. It is still a very popular character. This is what we’re gonna do – we’re gonna pair you up with Bret who’s just turned heel and built this anti-American slant.’ It worked good but initially Vince wasn’t convinced that it would be that way.”

Wilkes on working for Vince McMahon: “I liked working for Vince. He is unbelievable and has an unbelievable mind for the business in the ways he’s changed the business. I think a lot of wrestling fans see Vince on TV and get one image of Vince, but Vince is a good guy to work for. He’s a creative and loyal guy. Vince is a great guy to work for. I enjoyed working for him.”

Wilkes on how he will celebrate the Fourth of July: “I’ll probably do what a lot of people will do but this is what the Wilkes family will do. We’re gonna get together with some other family members. I’m having some work done in my kitchen…so we’re not gonna be able to cook and I just got rid of my grill. So we’re gonna head to our favoritie BBQ restaurant and eat all of the pulled pork, fried chicken, mac ‘n’ cheese, creamed corn, coleslaw and have a good time. Then that night we’ll shoot some fireworks. We’re gonna enjoy a wonderful day and be thankful that we live in the greatest country that has ever existed.”

Wilkes on indie wrestlers who knock off the Patriot gimmick: “I don’t have a high opinion of them at all. I realize that wrestling is sort of a copycat business, but there’s one particular guy who literally claims he is me. If you wanna call yourself “The American” whatever, but to present yourself as me and sell my pictures and my action figures… The best thing to ever happen to this guy is me. I think it’s a testament on his lack of creativity and lack of work ethic. I think he’s lazy and it’s a horribly lazy way of doing things to just ride on somebody’s coattails and tell them you are that person. I just think it’s just scum bag.”