Saturday Night Live

Host: The Rock
“WWE Promo Shoot”
Season 40, Episode 16
3/29/2015

It only took him four tries, but finally… The Rock did an actual wrestling-related sketch on Saturday Night Live. And it was pretty damn good. Hell, the entire episode was pretty damn good and hilarious. It also didn’t hurt that the promo had WWE logos all over and was pretty much an ad for WrestleMania 31 “Press Play”.

It was a nice little behind-the-scenes parody of wrestlers prepping for their biggest selling point: The Promo. Where they talk crap and hype the upcoming event. The Rock plays Koko WatchOut, a Rikishi-Koko B. Ware hybrid who is, deep down, a monster. Taran Killam does his best Mean Gene impression. And the always awesome, Bobby Moynihan plays the unsuspecting Trashyard Mutt. A potential offspring of Yapopotsky. As soon as the camera’s red light shines, Koko reveals the most intimate of Trashyard Mutt’s secrets in an effort to break him down psychologically.

Mutt quickly goes from being embarrassed to mentally broken. Then again, Mutt did tell Koko to let him have it before filming the promo. Which Koko definitely did. He not only announced to the millions… and millions of Koko’s fans that the Mutt suffered from a terrible case of the most herpes a doctor has ever seen, but he also revealed that the Mutt likes watching Family Guy porn. Specifically, Lois having sex with Brian, the dog.

What proceeds is a telling of the most elaborate wrestling storyline ever conceived. More on par with Chikara or Lucha Underground, than anything the WWE has ever put out. After finding out that being catfished by Koko is the least disturbing part of his promo, a sickly Trashyard Mutt trudges away all while dry-heaving, no doubt contemplating his future. Not as a professional wrestler, but as a traumatized human being in need of mental health services.

I dug the 80’s inspired look of the wrestlers despite this sketch clearly being set in 2015. Bobby Moynihan is one of the best SNL cast members and I’m still amazed that this guy is not in more movies or TV shows. His look of distress produces some of the funniest faces captured on video. The Trashyard Mutt’s visible mental anguish was easily my favorite part of the whole sketch.

It’s safe to say nobody can touch Koko WatchOut when it comes to mind games. Not even The Undertaker. Now I wish The Rock had shown up as his new alter ego and instead of having Ronda Rousey hurt Triple H and Stephanie McMahon at WrestleMania, just simply reduce the power couple to tears and self reflection.