When WWE began hinting at the return of Lacey Evans back in December of 2022, fans noted a very interesting similarity between her presentation and that of WWE Hall of Famer Sgt. Slaughter.

On paper, the comparison made plenty of sense, as both leaned into the Marine aesthetic – Evans was actually a Marine, whereas Slaughter just played one on GI Joe – were firmly heels, and both finished off their opponents with the very same maneuver, the Cobra Clutch, a move neither technically created but have used to exceptional effect. Heck, Evans even started coming out wearing a hat featuring a cobra on it, leaning into the aesthetic the man born Robert Rudolph Remus utilized in WWF/WWE for the last 40 years off and on.

And yet, when discussing Evan's character and the prospects of helping her reach her full potential as a member of the SmackDown roster on WrestleBinge, Slaughter noted that, though he was approached about managing the 33-year-old Georgia native, WWE didn't offer the sort of deal that made it worth his time. No, while Slaughter admitted that he would help Evans out if the offer was right, he wishes she would have kept her Southern Belle gimmick, as her current schtick is an “insult” to his legacy.

“They came to me, offered this deal, and it was to make less money than I'm making now. Why should I give up making what I'm making and go get her trained and make her a star, and there I am, dangling out there and owned by the WWE. It didn't look so favorable for me, so I just said, ‘I'm gonna stay with what I'm doing.' But if they want to come up with the right deal, if they want to come up with the right scenario or whatever they want to do, I'd love to come back and manage her, and show her what to do,” Slaughter said via Fightful.

“If they would like me to come back, I have no qualms about sitting down and talking about it. But to offer me something like they did was a slap in my face. It was utterly ridiculous, what they offered me. I was making more money when I left there than they were offering me to come back and make her a star. She's been fumbling and stumbling, and I don't know why she ever gave up the Southern Gal [character]. To me, that was the hottest thing that was going. I just wish that we could hook up together. I'd like to talk to her about it, but I quit watching it because it was kind of an insult to me, what they did, and the way they did it. It was like, ‘We don't care about Sarge, we don't care about this, we don't care about that.' But I care about them. I've always been loyal to the WWE.”

For a time, Evans genuinely was one of the more popular performers in WWE, as her gimmick had her in line to potentially become a world champion one day. But between missing time due to pregnancy and the ever-changing landscape of the WWE woman's division, she now finds herself seemingly incapable of appearing on more than one show per month if she's lucky.

Sgt. Slaughter's daughter doesn't appreciate Lacy Evans' imitation.

Discussing Lacy Evans' character change over the past few months further on WrestleBinge, Sgt. Slaughter noted that his daughter, Slaughter Daughter, got upset with WWE's decision to effectively give away her father's gimmick, especially when they aren't even pushing her particularly hard.

“I had given some thought about maybe helping her out and maybe becoming her manager or her drill instructor and putting her through Camp Slaughter, and possibly, my daughter, Slaughter Daughter, is a big fixture in Spartan Racing. It's like obstacle courses, and she does one almost every other weekend. She's in tip-top shape, she can kick some butt. I know, I trained her. She got a little upset with the WWE [because] of her coming out and using the move that I used,” Slaughter said. “I just didn't understand why they didn't come to say, ‘Is it okay?' I would have said, ‘Yeah, it'd be a blessing if you want to use my move.' Imitation's the biggest form of flattery, but I wish she would use it right. Don't just use it to put it on somebody. Put it on to win your match, and not do it for a high spot or something like that. It's been a move that's so recognizable in the business, like a Camel Clutch. It's something that few people can imitate. So I just would like to have had the opportunity to take her and make her a world champion. That's the only way I would do it. She'd have to go all the way with it. So I kind of just dropped it.”

Should WWE have been a bit more upfront with Sgt. Slaughter? Most definitely, as having him support the gimmick instead of dogging it would be a positive for his future. But then again, it's not like Evans gets used all that often, leading one to wonder if, should her booking change, maybe Sgt. Slaughter's involvement will change too.