"A lot of bad things happened" - Hall of Famer gets honest about his WWE departure (Exclusive)
Sgt. Slaughter recently spoke about his WWE departure in 1984 when he left the promotion to become a G.I Joe for Hasbro.
Just when he was slowly climbing the ladder in the sports entertainment juggernaut, Sgt. Slaughter was offered a chance to join Hasbro and become a part of the G.I Joe toy line. The WWE legend accepted the offer and left the promotion in 1984.
In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda Wrestling's Bill Apter, Slaughter revealed that he received the opportunity from Hasbro before WrestleMania 1. He stated that while he wanted to work simultaneously for WWE and Hasbro, Vince McMahon disclosed that the promotion had a deal with the rival toy line, LJN.
The wrestling veteran explained that he was in a dilemma and had lots of back and forth with McMahon about his future with the promotion.
"Shortly after me and Sheik ran our course, G.I Joe, Hasbro, contacted me before WrestleMania. So me and Vince went round and round. I asked me him, 'Can we do both? Can I be G.I Joe, and can we do wrestling? He was like, 'I would love it, but I just signed a contract with LJN, and that would be a conflict of interest. So we had to go round and round and round, and finally, I didn't know what to do because I wanted to stay in WWE, and I also wanted to go to Hasbro and be the first living G.I Joe."
Sgt. Slaughter added that it was his wife who put things into perspective for him and convinced him to leave WWE. He also mentioned that the manner of his departure wasn't smooth, and he didn't watch any of the promotion's shows for many years.
"So I was sitting at the table one night with my family, and my wife asked, 'What is wrong with you? You haven't been acting right, and I said, 'I got this problem.' Vince McMahon wants me to stay and continue to help build up WrestleMania, and Hasbro wants me to come there. She said, 'Well, that's a pretty easy solution. 'You can always be a wrestler. You can't always be the first-living G.I Joe.' So I called Vince the next day and off I went. A lot of bad things happened between me leaving and going to G.I Joe that I got so turned off with the WWE that I didn't even watch it, " said Sgt. Slaughter. [0:59 - 2:40]
Check out the full video below:
Sgt. Slaughter allegedly refused to work with Lacey Evans in WWE
Fans rarely get to see the Hall of Famer appear on WWE programming anymore. However, recent rumors suggested that there was a chance for Sgt. Slaughter to work alongside Lacey Evans on SmackDown and appear in a few vignettes, where he would pass on his Cobra Clutch submission maneuver to her.
@Grizzly_Stevens Lacey WHO? https://t.co/ZlRcOvE7Xg
However, the wrestling legend allegedly turned down the offer, and his daughter even got into a war of words with Evans on Twitter for mimicking his style. It remains to be seen whether the legend will change his mind in the coming years.
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