"I hate to see you go" - WWE legend on Vince McMahon's reaction when he gave his two-week notice
B. Brian Blair says he left WWE in 1988 after Vince McMahon repeatedly went back on his promise to give him a title reign.
Blair worked alongside Jim Brunzell in the Killer Bees tag team in WWE between 1985 and 1988. McMahon told the duo three times that he planned to make them WWE Tag Team Champions, but the idea never materialized.
Speaking on The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast, Blair recalled how McMahon attempted to convince him to stay:
“He tried to talk me out of it... He said, ‘Talk about it for a minute.’ Vince is a good worker too, so you never know if he’s shooting. When I said that, he just kind of gave me a smile and he hesitated, a little smile, because I said, ‘Can I give you my two-week notice?’ He said, ‘Can you give me a month?’ He goes, ‘I really hate to see you go, Brian.’”
The Killer Bees feuded with some of the most high-profile tag teams in WWE in the mid-to-late 1980s, including Demolition and The Hart Foundation.
B. Brian Blair also told Vince McMahon he was burnt out
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Due to WWE’s busy schedule, B. Brian Blair spent 67 days away from home shortly before he asked to leave Vince McMahon’s company.
The WWE Chairman offered to give Blair some more time off, but the former superstar had already decided he wanted to leave:
“I said, ‘Vince, I see the writing on the wall – you’ve promised us the belts three times.’ He goes, ‘Well, maybe we can create a new scenario and you could possibly make more money.’ I said, ‘Well, it’s not just that, Vince. It’s burnout, we just worked 67 days in a row a couple of months ago. We haven’t had much time off.’”
Blair continued to wrestle for promotions around the world, including the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He went on to own four Gold’s Gym fitness centers with another wrestler, Steve Keirn.
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