Vickie Guerrero Speaks Out – ‘Excuse Me’ Gimmick, Future, More

Jul 1, 2014

In an interview with Bleacher Report, Vickie Guerrero revealed how she came up with “Excuse Me” as a catchphrase. Here are highlights:

Bleacher Report: That was quite a moment. Your final RAW. And, of course, it was no ordinary night. When did you know that it was going to involve a “mud” bath?

Vickie Guerrero: About an hour before doors (opened). (Laughs.) Of course everyone is deciding what kind of show we’re going to have that night, and the writers are still finishing the show. We find out around five o’clock. I’ve been in worse. Having a pudding match, it turns out, wasn’t that bad after all. (Laughs.)

B/R: You have to say this for the McMahon family—they aren’t going to ask the wrestlers to do anything they aren’t willing to do themselves. Stephanie was right in there with you!

Guerrero: Anything the McMahons had me do, they believed in me. I always gave them 100 percent. It meant a lot, and I was honored that Stephanie wanted to be involved in my last night.

For her to go into the pudding was an honor, and I’m happy she was involved in it. She’s always been my mentor, and I got to learn so much from her throughout the years. It was just the perfect way to end my career.

B/R: At the end of the segment you paid tribute to Eddie Guerrero. I’ll admit, it got a little misty in my house. Did you ever imagine, when you first married Eddie, that one day it would be you basking in the cheers and boos?

Guerrero: No. It was agreed between Eddie and I that I would stay home and take care of the kids while he was on the road. And I was OK with that. (Laughs.) But things progressed, and my girls are talented. For them to do some things with Eddie and to not be nervous, it was kind of scary. Eddie was like “Oh gosh, what have I started?”

I know he would have been proud for me to continue with WWE. Because when we did work together we always had a great time.

B/R: Was “excuse me” born as a catchphrase? Or was it something that happened organically? How did that become your signature phrase?

Guerrero: Excuse me was not planned at all. It was a night I was in the wheelchair, and I had this page-and-a-half promo that was written about an hour before I was supposed to go out there. And I wasn’t prepared at all and I felt overwhelmed.

Sure enough, in the middle of the promo I forgot what I was supposed to say. I kind of stood there like a deer in the headlights and the fans knew that something was wrong. I didn’t know what to do. I just started saying “Excuse me” to regroup and figure out where I was mentally in the promo.

When I did that, they just lashed out even louder at me. So I said it again. The hate that came, and just watching the facials of the people in the front row, I thought “At least that bought me some time.”

B/R: I don’t know exactly what to expect from your WWE Network special, but it’s been quite an amazing run. Some of my personal highlights were you arguing with Miss Piggy, getting Tombstoned by The Undertaker, LayCool, your NXT segments with Kaitlyn and your infamous “excuse me” panties. So many memories. What stands out for you?

Guerrero: I’m so blessed with all the fun things I’ve gotten to do. Just to have WWE have the confidence to send me out there—at first I was like “you’ve got to be kidding me?” But to sit back and look at everything that I’ve done, it’s been an amazing ride.

I thank God. This was a big plan he had for me, one we never expected. I’m blessed. Some of the things I got to do, with The Rock singing to me. He always manipulated me, bringing me out to the stage. And of course my character wants to flirt back with him because he’s gorgeous. For him to turn that switch and sing this horrible song.

Speaking of Vickie Guerrero, here is a new promo video for tonight’s ‘A Cougar Countdown’ special on the WWE Network: