During a recent appearance on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” Shotzi Blackheart discussed her early days in WWE and the criticism she faced from Vince McMahon regarding elements of her gimmick, such as her tank, helmet, and howling. She said,
“I mean, I don’t know (why my tank was removed from my presentation for a portion of my main roster run). Hunter loved it. When I went to NXT, he was all for it. I showed him a video of my little tiny tank that I got at Walmart… No (I did not get the one from WWE TV at Walmart). That’s the upgrade. That’s the Hunter version. He hooked it up. But, I started with a tiny tank that I got at Walmart. It’s for children. It was a little two-seater for children and I showed him a video and he’s like, ‘Can you get it to TV this week?’ And I ordered an Uber XL, got that little tank in there and brought it to Full Sail and yeah, he was just so into it, and then when I got to the main roster, Vince (McMahon) was not on the same page. No, he didn’t like it. But you know what? I was ready for the change and I totally understood where he was coming from. He was just like, ‘Look, you got so much going on. You got the green hair and all the tattoos. You’re really, really cool-looking and then you muddy it up with the helmet, the tank and the howl. I just wanna know who Shotzi is.’ He wanted me to be more real. I agree, I agree (the tank was great). But I was ready for the challenge. I’m a company woman. If there needs to be changes, I can do it. So I was fully game. I was a little sad to see it all go because I worked so hard to create this cool character and I was very happy with it. But I’m always down for a challenge.”
Shotzi also expressed her desire to use her tank on the independent wrestling scene and is working on retrieving it. She added,
“I would love to (show up to an independent show with the tank). I’m still in the process of trying to get my tank back… The souped-up tank. I’m trying to get that back. Technically, it’s half mine, half WWE’s, because when they made that tank, they cut my tank in half and put it on top of a… They built it around an eclectic wheelchair. So, I would love, if possible, to have it back. I did (ask). They were like, ‘Oh, we’ll find out for you.’ But, I was like, ‘I will drive to Connecticut right now and get it…’ Yes (I’ll buy it from them if that’s what I have to do to get it back). In. Immediately. Yes, I love that thing so much. I would want it just to even just have it to keep in my garage or whatever. It means a lot to me.”
