Oh, come on. Dave was ripping on him way too hard for it to have been serious. Even Paul Schaffer was in on the gag and scoring some laughs.

''im sorry you couldnt be here tonight'' / ''im still here''

I think Dave's ripping on him hard because to a guy who came up through the real craziness of the late 70s, this is small time. Some kid playing dress-ups in public and insisting everyone call him Frankenstein or Steve Austin. Real or Fake it's lame. Dave nailed it.

I'm pretty sure early on around the 2:40 mark he almost breaks character and smiles at the audiences laughter