Hall of Famer says Stephanie McMahon apologized to him over WWE booking
Stephanie McMahon worked in a variety of roles during her time in WWE, including being part of the creative team. In a recent interview, Teddy Long recalled how Vince McMahon's daughter once apologized to him after she booked him in a match.
On June 7, 2003, Long teamed up with Chris Nowinski and Rodney Mack in a losing effort against Bubba Ray, D-Von, and Spike Dudley. Stephanie McMahon booked the six-man tag team bout, which took place at the Insurrextion event in Newcastle, England.
Long, a villainous on-screen manager at the time, revealed to James Romero of WSI that Vince McMahon did not approve of his daughter's creative decision. Stephanie McMahon later apologized for putting the Hall of Famer in a match.
"Them beating me up or putting their hands on me, then that's gonna take my heat immediately," Long said. "He [Vince] was really hot about that. He really didn't like that. I think he talked to Stephanie about it. I remember Stephanie coming to me and apologizing to me about doing that. She said, 'My daddy didn't like that,' so that's how that went down." [2:37 – 2:57]
Although he does not know for sure, Long thinks Bubba Ray Dudley gave WWE's former Chairwoman the idea to book him in the match.
What happened when Stephanie McMahon booked Teddy Long to wrestle?
The finish to the nine-minute match saw Rodney Mack inadvertently catch Teddy Long in the face with a forearm, knocking him to the mat. Spike Dudley then quickly covered the veteran manager to secure the win for his team.
Long, who was 55 years old at the time, had no problem getting involved in physical altercations:
"Well, it didn't bother me at all. At that time, I was at a younger age, so I didn't mind taking bumps. I was having fun, man. It didn't bother me whatsoever." [3:04 – 3:13]
In a separate interview, Long recently told Sportskeeda Wrestling about the racial discrimination he faced in WWE.
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Please credit WSI and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.