For many, former WWE star Chris Masters is a tale of what might have been, never quite reaching the promise many thought he had when he first debuted in WWE during the mid-2000s. But despite that, many still remember Masters fondly thanks to his early days in WWE as the heelish “Masterpiece,” a more modern take on Lex Luger’s “Narcissist” gimmick that put people down with The Masterlock and briefly flirted with the WWE Championship scene.

Appearing on “Insight with Chris Van Vliet” to talk about his career, Masters admitted that he enjoyed the challenge of playing heel throughout his career, even though he feels it goes against his true nature out of the ring.

“I think most guys do [prefer playing the heel],” Masters said. “But for me, it’s because…you know, I feel more naturally, probably a babyface. This is just me evaluating me. And you know, if you’ve ever heard this actually, most of the guys who are heels in the business are actually babyfaces in real life, and vice versa.”

Masters gave two reasons for why he preferred being a heel. The first was because it allowed him to play against his real life personality, while allowing him to overcome any insecurities he may have had outside the ring. More importantly though, being a heel offered more freedom.

“When you’re heel, it kind of takes the handcuffs off a little bit,” Masters said. “As a babyface, there’s a lot of things you’ve gotta kind of avoid, like little things…like even just stomping a guy in the ring is not really babyface, unless you’re Steve Austin…but that’s just one thing of many. I just think it’s a little more freeing as a heel. And, like, you can have f**k up, and it’s always kind of okay if you’re a heel. Like LA Knight’s botch would’ve been actually okay if he was a heel. But as a babyface, it doesn’t help very much.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Insight with Chris Van Vliet” and provide an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription