Erick Rowan Supports Horror Icon At Royal Rumble
Erick Rowan appearing on the side of Daniel Bryan was an unexpected surprise at Sunday’s WWE Royal Rumble. The former member of the Wyatt Family wore flannel and a tee shirt with a mysterious face on it which had could easily be mistaken for Frank Zappa or Ian McShane of Deadwood fame, but the face was none other than horror effects legend Tom Savini.
My pal @ERICKROWAN wore my shirt during @WWE Royal Rumble. pic.twitter.com/YLulayuHwL
— Tom Savini (@THETomSavini) January 28, 2019
Savini and colleague Jason Baker have been working with WWE since 2011 doing costume effects for certain wrestlers, including Erick Rowan. All of Rowan’s masks have been made by Savini & Baker and Baker said in a 2017 interview how rewarding it’s been to collaborate with Rowan on certain WWE projects:
“We’ve made all of Erick Rowan’s masks,” Baker told me. “I hadn’t watched wrestling in almost 20 years. So when Erick Rowan contacted us, I had to look him up. But once I did, I was very excited. Rowan is such a unique character, and getting the privilege to help add something to that was a dream come true. Now, I enjoy [wrestling] again.”
“I’ve done two sets of promos with him so far,” Baker explained to me. “[They were] produced by Andy Westfall and Mark Yancey was our D.P. Those were an absolute blast! Erick Rowan has such a presence and he knows horror and what he wants to get across on film. So again, several people aiming towards the same goal.”
“Working with the WWE has been an absolute honor,” Baker added. “Everyone from their corporate headquarters in Stamford, CT to the wrestlers to the traveling staff have been nothing but kind and amazing to work with. They’ve treated Tom and I with nothing but absolute respect and admiration. Tom and I have built some great friendships. So whenever [the wrestlers] come to Pittsburgh, Tom invites them over to the studio to see the monsters or whatever we’re currently working on. Tom is such a blast to work with and so are the wrestlers. They’re very passionate about what they want and we’re very passionate about giving them more than they expected.”
“Whoever needs whatever done, we’re ready to accommodate them.”
Savini has also been credited with making some of Triple H’s entrance attires for a few WrestleManias as well as a mask for Kalisto:
@KalistoWWE new mask that I, @theothercartman and @jasonadams4spfx created for @WrestleMania @WWE https://t.co/zNWqqZeZHD
— Tom Savini (@THETomSavini) April 3, 2017
Read More: Seth Rollins Confronts Brock Lesnar And Pays For It; Receives Multiple F-5s
New Segment Announced For WWE SmackDown Live
The following is a preview for tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown Live, which will feature a tag team celebration… The Best Tag Team Celebration In The World!
There's some celebrating to be had tomorrow on #SDLive! pic.twitter.com/xy50kEhze2
— WWE (@WWE) January 29, 2019
