Former WWE star Perry Saturn has given a harsh assessment of Val Venis’ recent return to the ring, admitting the footage left him feeling uncomfortable.

Venis recently wrestled his first match in four years, but Saturn believes returning without the presentation fans remember from his WWE career could ultimately damage the legacy of the character.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Saturn explained that maintaining his own physical presentation was always important because he wanted fans to believe in what they were seeing.

“Like if I was him, I wouldn’t want to show the fans less than that to take away from the hard work I did then, you know? It was really important that the fans believed my s was real and believed that I was capable of doing the things. That’s why I always worked out… I would never get in the ring not be able to present that package.”

Saturn stressed that his criticism was not about Venis’ wrestling ability. He praised him as a capable performer, while acknowledging that the Val Venis gimmick was closely connected to his physique and overall presentation.

“Val’s a decent worker, too. Same. He did the whole routine, too. The towel and every…”

The former Radicalz member then took things further, speculating about why Venis might have accepted the booking. Saturn made clear that he has not spoken with Venis in decades and does not know anything about his current circumstances.

“I haven’t talked to Val in decades, so I have no idea what’s going on with him, but… you have to be desperate to go out there, I think. That’s s**** that he’s that desperate… he’s a good guy, easy to work with. But if you need money that bad…I just… I feel horrible for him. You know what I mean? I don’t know. It’s really bad. It really is bad.”

When the relatively modest pay associated with many independent wrestling appearances was raised, Saturn continued his criticism, while again stressing that his comments about Venis’ circumstances were only assumptions.

“Which makes it even worse. This is just an assumption… he’s that desperate that he would embarrass himself for even a small amount of money. That makes it even fing worse. If you got ten grand, then you could go, ‘Well, we got ten grand.’ No, I guarantee that.”

Saturn ultimately said his biggest concern was the lasting impression created by the comeback. After watching the footage, he admitted it had already changed the image that comes to mind when he thinks about Venis.

“Now that’s the image that comes to my mind when I think of Venis. How many fans are going to have that?”