"I had a lot of haters" - Teddy Long discloses what he did to impress Vince McMahon backstage (Exclusive)
Teddy Long had a memorable tenure in WWE and shared a good relationship with Vince McMahon. He is known for his time as the general manager of SmackDown, with many considering him the best authority figure in the history of the blue brand. He has now revealed what he did to impress Vince McMahon, getting himself some heat in the process.
Teddy Long appeared on the latest episode of The Wrestling Time Machine along with host Mac Davis. On behalf of a fan, the latter asked Long about the hardships he faced while working in WWE.
Surprisingly enough, Teddy Long said that he didn't have too many hardships but told the story about the promo sheets that got him some haters:
"Well, there really was no hard part about it. I think a person can only really make their job hard if they put it on themselves. You can make it easier, or you can make it harder. I enjoyed doing my job. Sometimes it was hard a little bit when I had these promos that they'd give that were two pages long. And you'd have to remember all that stuff once you go live, so that was kind of the hard part a little bit."
Long added that he was able to memorize lengthy promos with ease:
"But god blessed me with a good memory, so I was able to get that stuff in my head, and I mean, I was (...) five minutes after I got my promo, I had it. And I used to go out to rehearsals with no paper, and everybody else had papers in their hands, so I know I had a lot of haters." (1:34 - 2:21)
Teddy Long admitted that he rehearsed his promos without referring to the reading material to impress McMahon:
"But I did that to impress Vince [McMahon], to let Vince know that 'Hey, I got this.' And Vince was very secure about Kayfabe. Nobody honors kayfabe anymore now, but Vince always wanted it to be real. So every time I walked out without a paper, you had maintenance people, you had a lot of people in the arena that are watching the rehearsals, and they see everybody else with a paper, then they're going to be like, 'They all had that paper, but Teddy Long didn't, he's real.' So that's another reason why I did it." (2:23 - 2:56)
You can watch the full video below:
Teddy Long thinks Vince McMahon should have never left WWE in the first place
WHAT A MOMENT!❤️
@undertaker @VinceMcMahon
#WWEHOF #WrestleMania #ManiaWithSK https://t.co/6IHw4MckXl
Vince McMahon got a lot of heat following misconduct allegations against him. He eventually stepped down from his corporate positions and retired from the promotion in July 2022.
The former SmackDown general manager, however, doesn't think that was the right move on McMahon's part. Teddy Long defended his former boss and said he doesn't think he should have stepped down from his roles last year.
"This is Vince McMahon's life. He's done this his whole entire life. And to be away, I imagine, that takes away a lot from him. Not being able to involve himself in what he's been involved in all his life. I don't see whether there was any reason for him to step down or go away." (11:37 - 12:12)
Do you agree with Teddy Long's statements about Vince McMahon? Let us know in the comments section below.
If you take any quotes from the article, please embed the YouTube video and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling.