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Steve Keirn, formerly known as Skinner in WWE, recently explained why he went against The Ultimate Warrior's instructions before they faced each other.
Warrior defeated Keirn on the May 2, 1992, episode of WWE Superstars. Keirn's Skinner character often spat chewing tobacco on the face of his opponents, although the substance was actually black licorice.
On the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast, Keirn recalled how he spat at Warrior even though the WWE legend asked him not to:
"He told me before the match, 'Whatever you do, don't spit that licorice in my face,' because he had face paint on, and that was like telling me don't do something, which was kinda hard for me to accept at the time, so I did [spit licorice in Warrior's face]." [39:05 – 39:22]
WWE Superstars usually thank each other once they return backstage after a match, but that was not the case following Warrior's win over Keirn.
"It wasn't like he was afraid of me, but he didn't come to me after the match, [which] is what we always do," Keirn continued. "We come to each other, thank each other for not getting hurt, but he didn't come to me and thank me for putting him over because he was mad that I spit the licorice in his face." [39:42 – 39:56]
Keirn is best known to WWE fans for his portrayal of Doink the Clown and Skinner. He also ran the Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) developmental system before WWE's Performance Center opened in 2013.
Why Steve Keirn ignored The Ultimate Warrior's request
It is well known that The Ultimate Warrior could be difficult to deal with backstage at times once he became one of WWE's top stars.
Steve Keirn felt that Warrior came across as disrespectful because he had his own dressing room and rarely interacted with others:
"When people don't do that, then it's almost like rude or a slap in the face. So, audiences and fans, they don't get to see the whole picture, they only get to see a small picture. 'Well, Steve Keirn told a story where he spit in The Ultimate Warrior's face. I don't like Steve Keirn.' Okay, I get it, but do you know the whole story? Do you know the whole reason that I just didn't feel like being cooperative?" [41:28 – 41:54]
Keirn also spoke about the "big mistake" he once made when he asked Vince McMahon to change his character.
What are your thoughts on The Ultimate Warrior? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
