"Extremely irate" - Jim Ross explains why Vince McMahon reacted furiously to his tweet
WWE legend and current AEW commentator Jim Ross recently recalled how he angered Vince McMahon by announcing Chief Jay Strongbow’s death on Twitter.
Strongbow wrestled for 40 years between 1947 and 1987 before becoming a road agent for WWE. He passed away at the age of 83 on April 3, 2012.
On the latest episode of his Grilling JR podcast, Ross was asked to discuss the “worst chewing out” he received from Vince McMahon. The former WWE executive responded by reflecting on a tweet he sent about Strongbow’s passing.
“I tweeted out the death of Jay Strongbow, and Vince got extremely irate about that because Strongbow and Vince were long-time buddies, very close, and he wanted to be the one to do it,” Ross said.
Remembering Chief Jay Strongbow, who would have turned 90 today. https://t.co/dDKknP04Cd
Ross' tweet said he was “sad to hear of the passing this morning of WWE HOF’er Chief Jay Strongbow, a beloved member of [the] WWE family.” The post can no longer be found on Twitter, meaning he almost certainly deleted it.
Jim Ross “felt very bad” after speaking to Vince McMahon
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Chief Jay Strongbow held the WWE Tag Team Championship four times. Following his retirement, the wrestling legend was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1994.
Elaborating on Vince McMahon’s reaction to his tweet, Jim Ross said he knew he was in trouble as soon as the WWE Chairman called.
“Of course the phone says the name VKM [Vincent Kennedy McMahon]… oh s***,” Ross said. “And, man, he gave me no chance to say I’m sorry. He was very hurt and I felt very badly that I did that. I didn’t know it was gonna have that kind of an impact, so that was the strongest [negative reaction] I ever got.”
Ross added that Vince McMahon was “emotional and angry” during the phone call. Later that day, WWE posted its own tweet announcing Strongbow's death.
Please credit Grilling JR and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.