Teddy Long says one of his former WWE colleagues wanted him gone during his long run as an on-screen authority figure, naming John Laurinaitis as someone who “really hated” him. The WWE Hall of Famer covered that and much more during an appearance on TMZ’s Inside the Ring.
“He really hated me and wanted me out of there”
Asked whether he had crossed paths with Laurinaitis recently, given Laurinaitis’ return to the wrestling world, Long said he had not, and did not hold back on their history. “I really don’t have nothing to really say about him,” Long said. “All I can say is, though, he was one of the guys that I know really hated me and wanted me out of there. I know that, so that’s basically all I can say.”
Long, who was a babyface authority figure opposite Laurinaitis during WWE’s People Power era, said he never understood the animosity given that he was simply doing his job. “How can a person be mad at me for doing my job? I’m doing nothing wrong when Vince is happy,” he said. “You think Vince McMahon would have kept me the face of his TV for nine years if I wasn’t doing my job?”
“I wished it would be under the whims of Vince McMahon”
Long, who still holds a WWE legends deal, made clear where his loyalty lies and said he hopes Vince McMahon returns to the company. “I don’t think the chapter is ever closed with him,” Long said, describing wrestling as McMahon’s life. He recalled a flight where McMahon “talked about wrestling until we landed,” and seeing him in his element running rehearsals at his birthday party.
While Long said he is willing to work whenever WWE calls, he admitted a return would mean the most under the old regime. “I’ll do what I’m told, you know what I have to do, but if I had to go back, I wished it would be under the whims of Vince McMahon,” he said. He credited McMahon with shaping his career and his character, recalling that McMahon told him to his face, “Teddy Long, they wasted you down south,” and later, “I can’t believe I’ve had you right here under my nose all this time.”
Long also said McMahon wrote some of his most memorable material, including his “White Boy Challenge” promos, and understood Long would keep it within the bounds of entertainment.
A bust of Vince’s head, and the origin of the dance
Long said his most prized piece of memorabilia is a bust of McMahon’s head that McMahon gave out to a select group at his most recent birthday party, an event Long said was attended by The Undertaker, The Godfather, Booker T, JBL, Bruce Prichard, and Jay Briscoe.
He also shared the real origin of his famous SmackDown dance, revealing it started at home with his young grandson, who would bop along in his walker whenever Long’s segments aired. Long said he did the dance on TV thinking of his grandson, and McMahon loved it so much that he was “screaming” at Long to do it again the following week.
Long explained that his iconic suits trace back to his upbringing. “I came up in a family where there were pimps and hustlers,” he said, adding that he later took that style to television.
High praise for The Undertaker
Long, who managed The Undertaker going back to his days as Mean Mark Callous in WCW, called him “one of the nicest guys that you could ever meet” and praised his work ethic in helping young talent unprompted. With The Undertaker now in a backstage role, Long said the company is fortunate to have him. “What a great guy to have in charge, because he ain’t gonna be yelling and cussing, he’s gonna treat you like a human being,” Long said, contrasting it with the old-school approach.
He also revealed that the storyline where The Undertaker kidnapped him and put him in a coffin was planned by only three people: himself, The Undertaker, and McMahon, recalling McMahon’s approval of his idea to crack the lid with his finger for air.
On the current product and who he’d manage
Long said he still watches WWE but is sometimes turned off by storylines that go nowhere. He believes WWE is missing strong heel managers beyond Paul Heyman and floated himself as a foil.
Long reflected on his own difficult path into the business, from setting up rings and refereeing to managing, and on navigating racism early in his career. “You had to always learn to keep your mouth shut and keep your ears open,” he said, noting he rode for two years with creative minds Eddie Gilbert and Kevin Sullivan and absorbed everything while letting others underestimate him. Now, he said, he hopes to pass that knowledge to the next generation.
At 30-plus years into a fitness routine, Long said he remains committed to cardio, recalling a bet with CM Punk and Kane that he could not do two hours on the machine, which he promptly did in two one-hour sessions.
