During an interview with the Gorilla Position podcast ahead of the 2024 Clash at the Castle PLE, Chad Gable discussed the creative decision for him to turn heel after WWE WrestleMania 40.

"The whole idea to turn heel was kind of my idea. I felt like I flatlined as a babyface somewhere around WrestleMania. I came up short against Gunther a few times and against Sami as well. At a certain point, something has to change, or people are not going to buy into you any further.

I had the idea, ‘Let’s do it.’ It just so happened we were going to be in Montreal, Sami’s hometown, the week after Mania when I was having that match. I thought, ‘There could not be a better place to do this thing.’ We made it happen, and the stars aligned. I feel like it’s worked out in our favor. Since then, Otis has been this perfect sympathetic guy that you can’t help but feel bad for. We have everything in our favor working for us."