Al Snow Reflects On Kennel From Hell Match With Big Boss Man

Written by Gary Cassidy • Published 15th March 2022
Al Snow

WWE and ECW legend Al Snow has recalled his iconic storyline with Big Boss Man which resulted in the universally panned Kennel From Hell Match.

Inside The Ropes’ Lead Writer Gary Cassidy spoke with Al Snow for his 20 Questions feature in Issue 19 of Inside The Ropes Magazine, which you can pre-order here, and asked about his rivalry Big Boss Man for an ITRWrestling.com exclusive story.

Snow opened up by saying he loved Big Boss Man, and how he enjoyed working with the late Hall of Famer.

“I loved Big Boss Man, and Ray was was a blessing to get to work with. Such a great guy and such a great talent. I really enjoyed it and he became a great friend.”

The ECW legend added that he was thankful for the opportunity, but was disappointed that all parties – including himself – dropped the ball.

“I was very thankful and appreciative of the opportunity. I just was disappointed because they WWE, or WWF, and to a lesser degree Boss Man and myself dropped the ball.”

“The number one rule in wrestling is to take s*** and make shoe polish. No excuses, no ifs, ands or buts. You take the circumstances and you make the best of them as you can. Because the show has to always go on. You always have to be worthy of the time, money and effort that an audience invests in wanting to watch you.

Al Snow said he initially had no reservations about the Kennel From Hell Match, as he was assured that the animals would be trained to execute the original idea.

“It just was disappointing because, from day one, very first time, I was approached about the idea, I had no reservations.

“I had no reservations about the idea. I just said, ‘We need trained animals. Let’s make sure we have very highly trained animals,’ because I envisioned the trainers on the outside of that of the cell and then verbally directing and commanding all of the animals, and that it was going to be like we were surrounded by a pit of sharks but they were four-legged sharks.”

Snow remembered the day where he showed up and had the stark realisation that things wouldn’t go to plan.

The day came and I showed up in North Carolina, Charlotte, and walked in and there were ten or 12 different dogs with ten or 12 different owners, and all they had done was that day they called a veterinarian clinic and got a list of names of owners, and ONE dog had some obedience training.”

The former WWE European Champion discussed how the dogs couldn’t even be filmed due to their behaviour, stating that he takes responsibility for the failure of the match himself.

“So you built the entire crux of the story around these dogs and then we couldn’t utilise them in the match in any way, simply because of the fact that they were, quite honestly, they were urinating, defecating and fornicating on the floor to the point where you couldn’t show them on TV. You couldn’t show them on the pay per view, you know?”

“And rightfully so, I’ve caught a lot of grief over the match, I take responsibility because it was, ultimately, like I said, you’ve got to take s*** and shoe polish but, boy, what a way to hamstring you to where your your opportunity for success is very… It’s hard. It’s like p***ing up a rope.”

While the pay-off may have underwhelmed, Al Snow remains happy with the build-up, which saw a controversial moment where it appeared that his pet dog was kicked due to clever camera trickery.

“The buildup was great, but we needed highly-trained animals from one kennel, one training school, and where they would be able to take verbal direction from people outside of the cage that would be stationed outside of the Cell. When you put you say ‘attack’ they should be slathering, trying everything they can to get through and get at us.”

“That wasn’t the case. So what do you do? I mean, people were laughing at the dogs and the owners are on leashes with them inside the cage. There’s no threat there. It was a good idea, but it was poorly executed because they didn’t take the steps to to ensure the success of it – and it is what it is.”

You can read our 20 Questions With . . . Al Snow interview in Issue 19 of Inside The Ropes Magazine, which is available to pre-order now!