Former WWE talent Damien Sandow was a hated heel amongst the audience, who almost always immediately erupted into boos the moment he’d walk into the arena from backstage. Looking back on his character, the man behind the gimmick – Aron Stevens – credited both Dusty Rhodes and Paul “Triple H” Levesque for helping him put together the detestable Damien Sandow.

One of the main attributes of his character was the robe he wore, and according to Stevens, this was all Rhodes’ idea. “There was this one guy who was the liaison between WWE and developmental. This is when I was in Florida, and he goes, ‘Yeah, I think you’re too bland,'” he recalled during an interview with “TMZ’s Inside The Ring” noting that when he conveyed this message to Rhodes, he wasn’t happy. “He said, ‘All right, you want to give him bland? You’re going to give him bland. You’re going to get a robe like Lou Thesz and we’re gonna go from there!'”

Even beyond this, Stevens credited his career to Rhodes, noting that many points in his career only came about because of the ‘American Dream.’ “I would not be where I am today had it not been for him,” he said. When it came to his theme, “Hallelujah,” Stevens claimed he had input but it was something Levesque also had a hand in. “Here’s the thing with music: it’s way easiest to associate the new guy with the song you already know,” he explained. “You want the point of like, where the music hits, you want that reaction from the crowd.” Stevens further explained that since “Hallelujah” is a well-known song, he got the recognition he wanted with half the effort.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “TMZ’s Inside The Ring,” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.