"Are you freaking nuts" - Vince McMahon's reaction to former AEW wrestler's appearance in WWE (Exclusive)

AEW has several members on its roster who have spent time in WWE. Jon Moxley, Chris Jericho, and Bryan Danielson all became household names in the promotion formerly led by Vince McMahon. However, there is one name that has been with AEW since its early days that had a relatively unknown spell in the sports entertainment juggernaut.

The person in question is none other than the current AEW Head of Talent Relations, Christopher Daniels. The 55-year-old had a short spell in Vince McMahon's company in the late 90s before going on to carve a career for himself in TNA and Ring of Honor.

Speaking about Daniels on Sportskeeda Wrestling's The Wrestling Outlaws, former WWE head writer, Vince Russo, revealed why it didn't work for him in the company. He said that he brought Daniels in to be the 'higher power' character back during the Attitude Era, but that was immediately shot down by Vince McMahon.

"First of all, Chris Daniels was a nobody. I brought him in to be the higher power. Okay. And Vince McMahon looked at Chris Daniels and said, Vince, are you freaking nuts? And he never got the opportunity. Then Chris at TNA, I put him in an angle with Sting and all my colleagues [said], Vince, are you nuts? You can't, he's at a totally different level than Sting, you can't put them in an angle. And I'm like, bro, we got to try to elevate them. Sting will elevate him. Boom. He fell flat on his face," Russo said. [1:40 onwards]

Christopher Daniels was one of the first wrestlers to sign with AEW. He competed as a wrestler for some time in the All Elite promotion before announcing his in-ring retirement following a Texas Deathmatch against Hangman Adam Page in January 2025.

About the author

Faiz is a WWE writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He is a BBA graduate who is passionate about sports and wants to make a career in that field. This passion led to a postgraduate degree in Journalism, which helped him pivot into becoming a sports writer. When writing, he puts the utmost importance on accuracy and thorough research.

Faiz has six years of work experience across four companies. He started his career with Zomato and then moved to Amazon. He shifted to becoming a football writer at TV9 Digital and is now with Sportskeeda. He covered the Wrestling Xtreme Mania event in Gurgaon in 2025, where he had the opportunity to interview Raj The Maharaja, fka Jinder Mahal. At the same event, he also got quick interviews with former WWE Superstar Dijak and Japanese Joshi legend Emi Sakura.

When it comes to his favourite wrestlers, Faiz has two names in mind. He loved to watch Triple H before the current WWE CCO retired, and he is a huge fan of Roman Reigns. Being a loyal fan since the Tribal Chief's SHIELD days, Faiz credits Roman's mic skills and unmatched in-ring storytelling for his mega success. When he was young, one in-ring story left a lasting impression on his mind and eventually got him hooked on WWE. That match was Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24. Apart from that, he is also a fan of RAW.

When Faiz is not writing for Sportskeeda, he loves to keep up with other sports. He is an avid cricket and football fan, a huge gamer, and loves playing some RPGs on the PlayStation.

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Edited by Brandon Nell