WWE's Shane Helms Calls Pair Of Celebrity Matches 'Coming Out Weekend' As Producer
Various celebrities have stepped into the WWE ring in recent years, including Logan Paul, Bad Bunny, and Johnny Knoxville. During an appearance on the "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" podcast, current WWE backstage producer Shane Helms spoke about producing the Knoxville-Sami Zayn Anything Goes match on the second night of WrestleMania 38.
"The funnest thing I've done in years was the Johnny Knoxville match at WrestleMania [38]," Helms said. "That was fun. I get a lot of the creative matches, a lot of the crazy stuff that goes on ... I knew going in, 'There's gonna be some people that are gonna hate this.' So I just completely ignored those people from day one. I was like, 'There's a certain portion of the audience that's not gonna like this no matter what, so to hell with them, I'm aiming for the audience that I thought would like it.'
"I know being in Gorilla for that, on the headset, just the laughter in Gorilla. Gorilla is popping as loud as anything I've ever heard. It's the most pops I've ever seen in Gorilla."
'I had that match one day and then Knoxville-Sami the next'
Helms has worked as a WWE backstage producer for a few years now, getting his first start behind the curtain in 2019 before having a brief stint away from the promotion after being furloughed during the COVID-19 pandemic. During his conversation with Chris Van Vliet, Helms mentioned that he had produced another celebrity match at WrestleMania 38.
"That same weekend I had my first time coaching Logan [Paul]," Helms said. "Because that was Logan-Miz vs. the Mysterios [Rey and Dominik Mysterio]. I had that match one day and then Knoxville-Sami the next. So that was probably my coming out weekend in terms of, 'Man, we can give this guy anything, he's gonna come through.'"
Helms disclosed that he has been working with Logan Paul since the social media star joined WWE. The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion praised the 28-year-old for all of his hard work since linking up with the Stamford-based promotion.
If you use any quotes in this article, please credit "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.