Vince McMahon was told "to get rid" of a top WWE Superstar but refused, reveals veteran (Exclusive)
After being away from the pro wrestling world and WWE for months, Vince McMahon's name is again trending everywhere. Vince Russo recently shared a story about how McMahon rejected firing Shawn Michaels despite the latter becoming problematic backstage in WWE.
The latest episode of Writing with Russo revolved around Vince McMahon orchestrating the WWE-UFC merger and what it means for the likes of Triple H, Nick Khan, and many others. Russo briefly shared an old incident to provide insight into Vince McMahon's philosophy.
Having worked under McMahon during a largely successful period in the 1990s, Vince Russo was aware of how the 77-year-old veteran did business and revealed how McMahon refrained from getting rid of Shawn Michaels many decades ago.
HBK developed a reputation for being tough to work with during the Attitude Era, and Vince Russo admitted to being done with the superstar's tantrums. Russo admitted that he advised Vince McMahon to release Michaels back then and got a fascinating response from the boss, as he revealed below on Sportskeeda's WrestleBinge YouTube channel:
"I had enough of Shawn that I literally turned to Vince McMahon and said, it was just the two of us, 'Why don't you just get rid of him?' And Vince looked at me, and he said to me, 'Vince, I'm going to tell you something my father taught me. When you want to get rid of somebody, when you want to fire somebody, you do it on your time.' So, in other words, what Vince was saying to me was there was still money for me to make in Shawn Michaels, and when that time comes, I'll know it's here; he is gone. So, this, to me, was very, very similar." [From 5:20 onwards]
Vince Russo says he was one of Shawn Michaels' biggest advocates in WWE
Shawn Michaels is a changed man these days and is doing a pretty fine job as the head of WWE NXT. However, The Heartbreak Kid was reportedly very tough to deal with as a talent during the late 1990s, with Vince Russo terming Michaels a "nightmare."
Russo revealed that he was one of Michaels' biggest supporters behind the scenes and was quite patient with the former WWE Champion for a long time.
The former WCW Champion, though, got "fed up" with Michaels' demeanor and decided to speak to Vince McMahon about him, as noted above. Russo added that Shawn Michaels eventually turned on him even though he always backed the then-troubled superstar during his tough times.
"I worked with Vince McMahon. I know Vince McMahon. I'll never forget the one thing he said to me; I'll never forget this. Remember that time period prior to WrestleMania 14? 14 was Austin and Shawn, right? During that time, Shawn Michaels was a nightmare," Russo continued. "And I remember, bro, I was Shawn's biggest advocate, but I got to a point where I got so fed up with Shawn, and I think it was because I was always his biggest advocate, and then towards the end, he kind of turned on me." [4:38 - 5:19]
Following his recent return to power in WWE, could Vince McMahon fire a huge name by 2025? Find out more about that story right here.
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