Speaking with Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Heidenreich discussed the infamous moment, stating it remains unsettling even after all these years.
It’ll always be disturbing, there’s no doubt about it. I mean, it was brought to me, I don’t remember particulars, but I do remember thinking, man, this is really off the wall. When you’re training to do vignettes and practicing in Louisville, you don’t practice for a vignette like that.
Heidenreich elaborated on the original pitch for the segment, which involved abducting Cole, bringing him backstage to a room, and acting as if he was watching him. He was told he would say, “I’ve been watching you, I know what you want, and I’m gonna give it to you,” before delivering a poem, a line Heidenreich understood to contain innuendo.
Well, I mean, they said I was gonna abduct him, and bring him to the back, and then put him in a room. Then I think it was like you’re gonna act like you were like watching him, and you’re going one place with it. It’s like you’re going like it, and then you say, I’m gonna give you a poem. But it sounds like I’m gonna give him something other than a poem. I don’t know if it’s innuendos and stuff when you say it, ‘I’ve been watching you, I know what you want, and I’m gonna give it to you.’ But I look back and all the things that have been said about all these years, it’s kind of made me infamous, more than famous. But it’s disturbing still, and it’s weird.
Despite the controversial nature, Heidenreich understood the innuendo and explained his professional approach to WWE's creative ideas, noting he would not say no to what was presented to him.
I mean, when they bring it to you, I’m not gonna say no. Like when they said you’re gonna be with Legion of Doom, I’m like, all right. Whatever they bring to you, that’s where I was. If they told me to do a backstage thing or do this, and not like killing somebody or something, where you have to go to jail. I would do it, I’m gonna do it the best I can.
Regarding Michael Cole’s reaction, Heidenreich believed Cole found the segment “weird” and was “joking around” but was not “off-put or not wanting to do it.” He observed that Cole was “down for whatever” and described Cole as “whimpering” during the scene. Heidenreich stated he would have never conceived such a disturbing, weird, and bizarre segment on his own.
I guess he was kind of like, this is weird, and joking around. But he wasn’t like I didn’t like it, off-put or not wanting to do it. I mean, I could tell he was down for whatever. It’s like we’re working together, right? It’s a scene, and we’re building a story. He was whimpering. I mean, even though it was disturbing and weird and bizarre, I would have never come up with that on my own. I think it helped. That thing made me more memorable. People will never forget that.
Heidenreich has no regrets about the segment, believing it helped make him more memorable and that he delivered the best performance he could. He liked how the segment concluded, with him telling Cole, “You’re going to thank me? It was a poem by Heidenreich.” He later referred to his poems as “disaster pieces” instead of masterpieces, adding that he liked the Heidenreich character.
No. I think I did the best performance, I guess. I liked it the way it ended. He was about to leave, I said, “You’re going to thank me? It was a poem by Heidenreich. I thought it was cool. I ended up calling them disaster pieces after a while, because I figured they’re so bad instead of masterpieces, but yeah, I mean, I like the character Heidenreich.
During this period, Heidenreich feuded with The Undertaker, a rivalry that effectively concluded after Heidenreich lost to The Undertaker in a casket match at WWE Royal Rumble.
