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Rene Dupree recently revealed that Triple H “hated” former Spirit Squad member Nick Mitchell behind the scenes in WWE.
The Spirit Squad, a group of male cheerleaders from WWE’s Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) developmental system, appeared on the main roster throughout 2006. They feuded with several legends during that time, including The Big Show, Kane, Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, and D-Generation X (HHH and Shawn Michaels).
Dupree, a WWE Superstar between 2002 and 2007, spoke to former Spirit Squad members Johnny Jeter and Mike Mondo on his Cafe de Rene podcast. He recalled how Mitchell, also known as Mitch, did not endear himself to The Game.
“I remember being on the road and Hunter [Triple H] hated Mitch," said Dupree. "Nick Mitchell, right? He hated him.” [1:42-1:52]
The Spirit Squad consisted of Kenny (Kenny Dykstra), Mikey (Mike Mondo), Johnny (Johnny Jeter), Mitch (Nick Mitchell), and Nicky (Nick Nemeth). While four members of the group did not last long in WWE, Nicky reinvented himself as Dolph Ziggler and is still with the company today.
Why did Triple H dislike Nick Mitchell?
Johnny Jeter added that Nick Mitchell made everyone laugh backstage. However, he thinks his fellow Spirit Squad member may have upset people due to his lack of experience in the wrestling business.
Regardless of their in-ring skill level, Jeter believes nobody in WWE’s developmental territory would have rejected a main-roster spot in The Spirit Squad.
“With Mitch, he didn’t have the experience and so that inherently made people not respect him enough," said Jeter. "He was in a tough spot, right? If WWE says, ‘Hey, we’re gonna sign you, put you in a tag team,’ I don’t care what anyone says, they would do exactly what Mitch did." [2:19-2:37]
The Spirit Squad held the WWE World Tag Team Championship for 216 days between April 2006 and November 2006. The group disbanded after losing a five-on-three handicap match against Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H on the November 27, 2006 episode of RAW.
Please credit Cafe de Rene and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
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