WWE Ruthless Aggression Era wrestler Zach Gowen was recently interviewed by MLive, where he spoke about his WWE debut on the May 15th 2003 episode of ‘SmackDown!’ as a planted fan who was sitting in the audience, who jumped in to help Mr. America (Hulk Hogan under a mask) against an attack by Sean O’Haire & WWF Legend ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper.
Here’s what the ‘One Legged Wonder’ had to say about his first night in WWE:
“It was insane and overwhelming and awesome all at the same time. I get to the arena and I’m sitting in the stands, and I’m just trying to take it all in, at 20 years old, to the best of my ability.
I follow the Producer to the dressing room, I walk in and then to my left I see Vince (McMahon). I introduce myself and I say ‘thank you for the opportunity, it’s amazing to be here’. And then Roddy Piper is to my right. And I said ‘Roddy Piper, I’m such a huge fan and so nice to meet you’.
He was very enthusiastic. And that’s so cool, because sometimes you meet your heroes, and you know they can let you down a little bit. But Roddy Piper is Roddy Piper, and the enthusiasm that you saw from him on television, he lived that.
It was now time to meet Hogan.
He walked out of the shower, wearing only a towel and flip flops, but the towel is not wrapped around his waist. It’s wrapped around his neck. He walks straight up to me, n*ked as the day is long and says ‘How you doing? Nice to meet you, brother’.
And I’m like ‘Thank you for ruining my childhood. Nice to meet you…’ And that was my first hour of being a WWE Superstar.
When I walked through the curtain, I got a standing ovation from Vince and from Bruce Prichard and from all the agents. That segment was great. Not because of me. It was a testament to the greatness of Roddy Piper. Because I don’t think there’s another wrestler alive who could have, pardon the pun, pulled that segment off.
It took about 15 years if I’m being honest with you. I really couldn’t fully process the moment or the gift that was being handed to me.”
Zach Gowen had his left leg amputated at the young age of 8 and became the only one-legged professional wrestler to ever make it to the WWE.
He wrestled for them between May and October of 2003, but also had a few matches for ‘Total Nonstop Action!’ (TNA) in 2003, 2005 & 2006.
