During a question-and-answer segment on Road Trip After Hours, host Mac Davis posed a hypothetical scenario to WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long. Davis asked, “You get to erase one moment in your wrestling career, any moment. What is it and why?”.
Long responded by identifying a specific period of his career defined by his working relationship with John Laurinaitis, the former Head of Talent Relations for WWE.
“I’d like to erase ever having to work under the guidance of John Laurinaitis,” Long stated. “Erase that completely out of my life… He was the worst”.
Long indicated that while there were other individuals he had difficulties with, Laurinaitis stood out as the primary figure he would choose to remove from his history. “There’s some other people too I’d like to erase too, but I ain’t going in all that. But he was, he was the worst,” Long reiterated.
Corroborating Accounts
Mac Davis noted that Long’s sentiments regarding Laurinaitis are not unique, citing other accounts from within the industry. “You’ve seen enough stories other people saying very similar things… there’s no mistake in my mind that something wasn’t right backstage,” Davis commented.
Long referenced a recent interview featuring former WWE referee Mike Chioda on Maven’s podcast as further evidence of the difficulties talent faced under Laurinaitis.
“Let Mike Chioda tell you what Laurinaitis did to him, a guy that’s been in this business over 30 some years and didn’t want to give him a raise,” Long said. “I’d rather let you watch, and let Mike Chioda tell you himself”.
The Brad Maddox Firing
The podcast also addressed a listener question regarding the firing of former WWE talent Brad Maddox. Maddox was released from the company after using the word “pricks” to address the audience during a dark match promo. Long explained the rationale behind such a dismissal within the context of the WWE corporate environment.
“It’s real simple. Nobody told him to go out there and say that,” Long explained. “Vince McMahon has a billion dollar operation going here. One word can cause everything to to collapse”.
Long emphasized the necessity of trust between management and talent when a live microphone is involved. “The man’s got to be able to trust people. When you walk out there on that live TV with a microphone in your hand… especially when you don’t know that they’re going to say that,” Long said.
He confirmed that strict adherence to the approved script was standard procedure during his tenure. “You didn’t go outside of that script without approval first… That’s the way it was,” Long concluded.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Road Trip After Hours with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
