‘You Understand I’m Not Scottish Right?’ – Former WWE Star Recalls Being Scripted To Say ‘Wee’ During Promo

WWE

A former WWE star has recalled being scripted to say the word “wee” during his first promo on Friday Night SmackDown in 2021.

In late 2021, former WWE star Luke Menzies (Ridge Holland) was called up from NXT to SmackDown, with the English star quickly aligning himself with Sheamus.

The team eventually added Pete Dunne (repackaged as Butch) to their group and they became known as the Brawling Brutes.

While the trio did work in some high profile feuds, none more prominent than their feud with The Bloodline in late 2022, they disbanded by November 2023 when Menzies returned to NXT.

Speaking with Sports Jedi Network, Menzies discussed the challenges he, Sheamus and Dunne faced with the Brawling Brutes, with the 38-year-old believing that they were creatively handcuffed in certain ways:

“It was hard because we didn’t really know what ideas they had for the group. We didn’t know what direction we were going in. We didn’t know what they wanted. I was going to just do what I always do and be aggressive and try make my stuff look as real as possible and see what happens. Sheamus was kind of steering the ship when it came to the pitches and the creative idea. We were just basically his lackeys really. 

“It was great, lads from Europe, lads from England and Ireland. I think we could have taken it a lot further with how we would act but a lot of the time when you get into certain vernacular and the things we say in the UK it can kind of get lost over here in the States so we were handcuffed in certain ways.”

Giving an example of WWE’s “ignorance” regarding the UK, Menzies recalled being asked to say the word “wee” during his first live promo on SmackDown, leading to Menzies having to point out that he wasn’t Scottish:

“I remember I was cutting one promo, it was a live promo actually, my first ever promo on SmackDown and it was terrible.

“They gave me the script and one of the scripts (said) ‘When I was a wee lad.’ Wee is what people in Scotland say. And I went ‘You understand I’m not Scottish right? I’m English’ and they couldn’t differentiate between the accents.

“So it goes to show that there’s a little bit of ignorance there. I think we were just behind the eight ball because people didn’t understand how to present us. But if we had been American you know?”

Menzies would then use Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu’s similarities to WWE legend Umaga as an example of the company following an established framework with characters, but struggling to create something “totally new”:

“WWE always has a way, for instance if you look at Solo or Jacob Fatu, it’s like ‘Ok, we’re gonna make them Umaga, because they know that Umaga worked in the past, so they already have a recipe there that works.

“But if it’s something they have to create something that’s totally new, they might shy away from it because they don’t know that it might not work. It’s a lot easier to stay safe and say ‘Well, this recipe works.’

“With us there was no reference point for booking. Pete was in a new character, he wasn’t The Brusierweight he was Butch. Sheamus that was fine, Hall of Fame career by that point. For us it was kind of like we’ll just turn up to work, do what we’re told, do it to the best of our ability, and hopefully it works out.”

If you use this transcription or any portion of it please credit WrestleTalk.com and link to this page.

To make sure you stay up to date with all the biggest wrestling and WrestleTalk news, follow us on Threads by clicking this link!

• Ridge Holland
• luke menzies
• wwe

Share this article with friends