Lio Rush: I Drew Inspiration From Kevin Hart For My ‘Short’ And ‘Snappy’ Character In WWE

Lio Rush says he drew inspiration from Kevin Hart during his run as Bobby Lashley’s manager in WWE.

Lio Rush says he drew inspiration from Kevin Hart during his run as Bobby Lashley’s manager in WWE.

Rush signed with WWE in 2017, and after he spent some time on NXT and 205 Live, he moved up to the main roster in 2018. He aligned with Bobby Lashley and became his hype man. During this period, he helped Lashley win the WWE Intercontinental Championship. Rush’s heel character throughout this run was quite memorable, as he delivered passionate promos and showcased his confident persona. Rush’s pairing with Lashley came to an end in 2019, and he laer returned to NXT before his release in 2020.

In an interview with Alistair McGeorge of Metro, Rush recalled how he drew from Hart for his “short” and “snappy” character, and he wanted to have the same vibe as the popular comedian and actor. He emphasized that he wanted to be snappy, confident, and funny.

“I drew a lot from – I got a bunch of jokes on this, but I never said it in an interview, but I drew a lot of my inspiration from Kevin Hart. What I was looking at with Kevin was, he was so short – [laughs] he’s gonna hear this one day, I know he is! He was a shorter guy but he was so fired, he was so snappy. That was the biggest character trait with him that really stuck out to me, and I wanted to have that with my character. I wanted to look small in stature, but when you talk to me I wanted to be snappy and confident and funny,” Rush said.

Rush went on to describe how his time with Lashley was the “most fun” he’s ever had in his wrestling career. He noted that he hit his stride and found himself within the character. Rushm also stated that he had fun playing the character and tapping into his comedic side.

“That was the most fun I’ve had in my wrestling career. Even if it was something that I didn’t necessarily want to do – that wasn’t my first choice, to be a manager – but that was for sure the most fun that I’ve had. I was figuring it out, I was learning as time went on – and I did figure it out, i feel like I did catch a stride and find myself within the character. I found what worked for me, what got certain reactions, what was funny, what was gonna grab people’s attention the most. I had a lot of fun doing that character, overall,” Rush said.

Since his release, Rush has competed on the independent scene, and he has wrestled for GCW, RevPro, and MLW. He also had a brief run in AEW before his departure in February 2022.

In recent months, he has frequently competed for NJPW. He won the 2022 Super Junior Tag League alongside YOH, and the duo will challenge Catch 2/2 (TJP & Francesco Akira) for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17. More information is available here.

Rush recently discussed his run in NJPW. Check out his comments here.