"I told you to stop apologizing"- Details on Vince McMahon's first meeting with frustrated former WWE star
Former WWE star Francine has revealed that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon repeatedly told her to stop apologizing during their first meeting.
After a successful run in ECW between 1994 and 2001, Francine joined WWE’s revamped version of ECW in 2006. She struggled to receive television time during her five months on the WWE ECW brand, which led to her requesting her release.
Francine said in a recent interview on The Hannibal TV that she broke down in tears while telling WWE executive John Laurinaitis about her unhappiness.
On the same day, Vince McMahon told Francine he did not know what she could offer as a performer because he did not watch ECW. He also “started hollering” at her due to her repeated apologies:
“He’s like, ‘You have to do something to impress me and let me know,’ blah blah blah,” Francine said. “And I’m like, ‘Vince, I’m here to work, I just wanna work.’ I was like, ‘I’m sorry, sir,’ and he’s like, ‘Stop saying sorry,’ and I said, ‘Sorry.’ He’s like, ‘I told you to stop apologizing.’ He started hollering at me, and I was just like, ‘Okay.’ Then I was afraid to say anything.”
Although she did not expect to last long in WWE, Francine agreed to sign a three-year contract with Vince McMahon’s company in May 2006. She was granted her release in October 2006 after becoming frustrated with her character’s direction.
Vince McMahon wanted Francine to show she cared
Francine also spoke about the unusual tactic that Vince McMahon used in an attempt to make her show how much she wanted to work for WWE.
The WWE Chairman told her in the meeting that he wanted her to “smack [him] on the back” when she next saw him. He also wanted her to interrupt him, regardless of what he was doing, to ask what plans he had for her:
“I saw him at the end of the corridor, he was so far away from me,” Francine added. “He was with a bunch of suits. I ran up to him like an a**hole and I ran and I smacked him on the back. He looked at me and I said, ‘Hey Vince! What do you got for me?’ He kind of looked at me and then he grabbed me and he hugged me, and he was like, ‘That’s my girl,’ and he walked away.”
Francine said she was initially unsure if Vince McMahon’s reaction was good or bad. The next night, she realized his reaction was good when her name was listed next to Balls Mahoney before a WWE ECW taping.
She went on to briefly work as a valet for Mahoney before receiving her release later in 2006.
Please credit The Hannibal TV and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
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