Summary

Levi Cooper says Heavy Machinery nearly arrived on WWE's main roster with different ring names.

Speaking during a virtual signing, Cooper recalled that he and Otis pitched a switch to Tank and Dozer when the team moved up from NXT in 2019. The idea was turned down, and the duo instead continued on television as Heavy Machinery with the names Tucker and Otis.

Heavy Machinery spent several years together in NXT before joining the main roster, where the act became a regular part of WWE's tag team mix. The team later split when Cooper turned on Otis and cost him the Money in the Bank briefcase in 2020.

Quote from Levi Cooper

"Yes (I've heard of Hank & Tank). We actually tried to pitch, when we went up, to change our names to Tank and Dozer, Heavy Machinery, and it got rejected, which was a bummer... Would have been good, right? They took our last names from us anyways. Tank and Dozer's much better than Tucker and Otis, for Heavy Machinery names I think."

The Heavy Machinery Pitch Before The Main Roster Call-Up

Cooper's comment offers a small look at how closely Heavy Machinery's presentation was tied to its branding. Tank and Dozer would have leaned even harder into the act's blue-collar machine theme, especially once WWE had already shortened both wrestlers' names for the main roster run.

The remark also fits with how Cooper still talks about that team years later. In a separate recent comment, he said an Otis reunion in Japan is the one scenario that could make him consider wrestling again.

What It Says About Otis And Tucker In WWE

For WWE fans, the interesting part is not that the pitch was rejected, but that Heavy Machinery were still looking for ways to sharpen the act just before the main roster move. A change to Tank and Dozer might not have altered the team's long-term direction, but it would have pushed the gimmick further and made the branding even more distinct.

It also underlines how much of Cooper's public reflection on his WWE run still comes back to Otis and Heavy Machinery, not to his singles stretch after the split.

Sources

Levi Cooper on K & S WrestleFest