SoCal Val recently sat down with Kevin Fertig (fka Mordecai/Kevin Thorn) for the latest episode of The Velvet Ropes.
During the interview, Kevin reveals the Mordecai character was originally designed to lead to a WrestleMania feud with The Undertaker, details the nerve-wracking meeting where he pitched the character directly to Vince McMahon, confirms he spent thousands of his own money on white suits to live the gimmick 24/7, explains how the Hade Vansen promos were originally his work with Dusty Rhodes, shares the emotional story of how WWE’s rehab program saved his life, and discusses his successful transition into real estate.
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Here are some of the highlights:
Kevin Fertig reveals the Mordecai character was built to feud with The Undertaker at WrestleMania: “He was a big, big part of the Mordecai character. When all that first got pitched and everything else like that, it was really to wrestle him, eventually, in WrestleMania.”
On the nerve-wracking meeting where he pitched the Mordecai character directly to Vince McMahon: “I go and sit down in front of Vince, and he’s got his readers on, and he’s just staring a hole through me. And I was like, all right, I’m not looking away from this guy. I’m gonna try to stare back as hard as I can. I know that he’s already reached my soul somehow, and he’s ripped it out. And he’s like, okay, what do you see yourself here? And I’m like, well, me and Tomko are doing this, and I think we could do this. And he goes, no. He goes, I don’t want tag teams. I want singles wrestlers.”
On spending thousands of his own money on white suits to live the Mordecai gimmick 24/7: “I went above and beyond of wearing white to the point where anything that I could find was white. I had white tracksuits to go to the gym. I spent thousands on white anything, white suit, that I could possibly wear. It was a cleaning nightmare too, because I am not the cleanest person to eat and walk around. I wanted to portray the gimmick and live the gimmick. I was always a huge fan of The Undertaker growing up. Pretty much every time you saw him out in public, he was pretty much all in black, had his band. He looked like The Undertaker, and it just looked cool. So to me, I wanted to have that image out there too.”
On Hade Vansen’s promos originally being his work with Dusty Rhodes: “Hade Vansen comes on TV, starts doing the promos I’d already done. And I remember texting every writer I knew, like, what the f*** that was my promo? I know it was my promo because I have it written right here. And it was him talking doing the dark walk or whatever he’s doing. So I drove up there and I show up. They’re like, what are you doing here? I’m like, I’m still trying to figure out why my promo that I did with Dusty, that was sent to The Undertaker because we talked about it, is now being said by another person on TV.”
On WWE’s rehab program saving his life: “I spent probably 15 years pissed off, hated WWE, depressed and all this stuff. I made a phone call to them, and I went in the rehab program, and they saved my life. So everything with that is, as much as I hate them, as much resentment as I had for them, they saved my life, and I wouldn’t be here today. A lot of it was me, and I’ve come to figure that out, and I’m a lot better off from that. They sent me, got me cleaned up and got me back better than I ever have been.”
On quitting WWE in Baltimore: “I pretty much went in and quit in Baltimore. Not a lot of people know that. I went into Johnny’s office and said I’d had enough. I worked my ass off to get back within the amount of time, I did all this stuff, and then now here we are again. And out of frustration, I went in and asked for my release.”
On who impresses him most in today’s wrestling: “Logan Paul’s probably the one that’s impressing me the most right now, because he goes out there and looks like a seasoned vet every time he’s out there.”
On the dream match he never got: “Eddie Guerrero. Eddie would have been the one, and I was supposed to wrestle him as Mordecai. It just never happened. I think Eddie would have been fun. Eddie would have been a lot of fun.”
Kevin Fertig Talks Mordecai, Feud with Undertaker, WWE Rehab
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