"I was Vince McMahon's little pet" - Reason why released superstar didn't win a singles title in WWE
Former WWE Superstar Fandango, aka Dirty Dango, was close to winning the Intercontinental Championship in 2013 but fell victim to a series of unfortunate events.
Fandango faced The Great Khali a couple weeks before the title match, which would have given him his first singles title in WWE. Unfortunately, he suffered a concussion during that bout but decided against informing anyone backstage.
King of the indies
He fell unconscious during his match against former WWE Superstar Zack Ryder and was forced to reveal that he had previously sustained a concussion. He was eventually taken off television, and Curtis Axel ended up winning the Intercontinental Championship.
Fandango recalled the details during his latest conversation with Chris Van Vliet on Insight. He also revealed that he made a huge mistake by not making the most of his opportunity. He took accountability for not working enough after graduating from WWE Developmental. Fandango labeled himself as Vince McMahon's "little pet" before admitting that he stopped putting in the required effort.
"They were going to put the IC Title on me, and I got concussed working with Great Khali," said Fandango. "I didn't tell them I was concussed; it was like a week or two before. I worked Khali a couple of weeks out from a pay-per-view, and we worked like a week before the pay-per-view. If you get concussed and you go out and get hit again, it's a lot easier to get concussed. (...) I was concussed and I kept performing and didn't tell anybody. I think I was wrestling Zack Ryder in Long Island and I took a shoulder tackle, and I was completely out. We got through the rest of the match, got to the back, and I thought I just wrestled Khali because your brain just goes back to where you originally got f''d up. Then I just said it, 'I thought I worked Khali, I got knocked out.' I stooged myself off."
He continued, "To the company's protocol, I was completely wrong. You should definitely tell them when you're hurt because they don't want any athlete to get seriously injured. I grew up in the wrestling business, and if someone is going to put the IC Title you on you, you don't take yourself out of the game. (...) They took me off TV for a couple of weeks. I think Curtis Axel won the title. It derailed me. I was partying a lot at that time, too—I kind of let up. I was in developmental for so long, and in my mind, I got to the finish line and I made it. You don't just make it. You have to keep grinding after you get there even harder. I take full accountability for that. I kind of got there, I thought I was Vince's little pet and I let up. That's on me." (h/t Fightful)
Let’s get weird @nwa
Fandango eventually went on to win one title in WWE. He held the NXT Tag Team Championship alongside Tyler Breeze on the black and gold brand.
Fandango's release from WWE
Fandango spent 15 years in WWE before his release earlier this year. The company let him go alongside his tag team partner Tyler Breeze on June 25th.
Following his release, Fandango revealed that he was open to the idea of working with his former WWE colleagues in AEW or Impact. However, he said that neither of the two companies approached him after his exit from Vince McMahon's promotion.
As Dirty Dango, he returned to competing on the Independent Circuit and made his debut on NWA earlier this month at the Hard Times 2 pay-per-view.
Would you like to see Fandango return to WWE at some point? Let us know in the comments section below.