Tucker speaks openly about Heavy Machinery's WWE break-up

By Danny Hart
Modified Jul 26, 2021 17:38 IST
Otis had Tucker by his side during his 2020 Money in the Bank reign
Otis had Tucker by his side during his 2020 Money in the Bank reign

Levi Cooper (f.k.a. Tucker) has spoken about his disappointment at WWE’s decision to separate him from Otis in the 2020 WWE Draft.

Otis and Tucker were known as Heavy Machinery between July 2016 and October 2020. Although they never held the NXT, RAW or SmackDown Tag Team Championships, Heavy Machinery were among the most popular duos in WWE during that time.

Speaking to The Angle Podcast’s Joey Karni, Tucker questioned why WWE separated him from his tag team partner of over four years:

“I was p****d, man, I was p****d, I was super p****d about it,” Tucker said. “I was p****d, I was disappointed. I didn’t understand it either, you know. There’s kind of two layers to it. I love Otis and we have a legitimate shoot brotherhood. I talk to this guy every single week. I’m so happy that he’s still being successful. I want nothing but the best for this guy. We really have a very good little brother, big brother kind of dynamic.”

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Tucker recently discussed his WWE release and plans for the future with Dr. Chris Featherstone on Sportskeeda Wrestling’s UnSKripted series. The full interview can be found in the video above.

Tucker knew he was in trouble after Heavy Machinery’s break-up

Otis and Tucker initially made their names in NXT
Otis and Tucker initially made their names in NXT

While Otis remained on SmackDown in the WWE Draft in October 2020, Tucker moved to RAW as a singles competitor. Later that month, Tucker turned heel when he hit Otis with the Money in the Bank briefcase at WWE Hell in a Cell.

From a storyline perspective, Tucker sensed WWE had no plans for him when his heel turn on Otis occurred with both men on different brands:

“On the professional layer, particularly after I turn on him and then I don’t do anything immediately, I kind of know like, ‘Hmm, I’m in trouble here, guys,’” Tucker said. “It’s probably not good for my career. When they have someone turn and they wanna use them, they usually have them make an impact right after they turn, so it’s probably not good for me.”

Tucker added that he found out about his break-up from Otis an hour before they were separated on WWE Network show Talking Smack. Although he is not fully sure, he thinks WWE had plans for him on RAW Underground before the concept was scrapped.

Please credit The Angle Podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.