– During a recent interview with The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast, former WWE Superstar Mansoor spoke about concerns about the Maximum Male Model gimmick that it could be perceived as an LGBTQ gimmick by WWE’s partners in Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, LGBTQ activity is prohibited under law.
Mansoor said on the subject (via WrestlingInc.com), “When Vince came back from his retirement, we were getting messages from the creative team like, ‘Hey, we wanted to put you in this backstage segment, but somebody’s a little concerned that the portrayal of the character may offend certain important partners to the company. So I was kinda reading between the lines.”
As previously reported, when working with the duo, Mansoor revealed what Vince McMahon said about their characters, “When Vince McMahon told us that we were doing this male model thing, he was very serious, ‘Listen, it’s not a gay thing. Okay. Not a gay thing. You’re metrosexual.'”
The Maximum Male Model gimmick was essentially dropped last year. Mansoor and Mace were later released by WWE in September 2023.
