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Regular followers of backstage WWE stories will no doubt be aware that Vince McMahon has personally fired several WWE Superstars over the years.
A modern-day example of this came in 2018 when Big Cass made a series of mistakes during the time of his rivalry with Daniel Bryan on SmackDown. Cass held a 40-minute meeting with Vince McMahon, who made the decision to fire the 7-footer.
Long-term WWE fans will also be familiar with the time when Vince McMahon fired Jeff Jarrett in 2001. The WWE Chairman had just completed his purchase of WCW and he made it clear during a live simulcast between RAW and Nitro that “J-E, Double F” would be “Capital G, Double O, Double N, Double E” after the show.
Now, while Vince McMahon went through with his decision to fire those high-profile names, did you know that he has put pressure on other performers by implying that they could lose their jobs?
In this article, let’s take a look at five times that Vince McMahon threatened to fire WWE Superstars if they did not do as they were asked.
#5 Vince McMahon threatened to fire Kenny Dykstra and Ric Flair
Kenny Dykstra was once told by Vince McMahon that both he and Ric Flair would be fired if they executed a certain move in one of their matches.
Dykstra and Flair were involved in a storyline in late 2006/early 2007, which saw the former Spirit Squad member defeat the two-time WWE Hall of Famer in three consecutive matches on television.
Speaking on Pancakes and Powerslams in 2020, Dykstra revealed that Vince McMahon warned both him and Flair that they were not allowed to perform Flair’s usual throw from the top rope.
“That same match, right before we went out, Vince took his headset off, and he said, 'If you throw [Flair] off the top rope, you're both fired. So, don't do it.' I was like, 'Okay, but that's kinda his spot.’ Like, everybody throws him off the top rope. And Flair was like, 'Don't worry, we'll figure it out, out there.'” [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
Flair threatened to risk the wrath of Vince McMahon by climbing to the top rope during the match. However, he then poked his opponent in the eye and they did not go through with the spot that Vince McMahon asked them not to do.
Dykstra added that Vince McMahon probably did not want them to execute the move simply because Flair used to do it in every match.
#4 Vince McMahon threatened to fire The Nexus
The Nexus made one of the most impactful debuts in WWE history when they attacked John Cena and dismantled the ring on a June 2010 episode of RAW.
One of the original members of The Nexus, Darren Young, appeared on WWE show The Bump in June 2020 to reflect on the 10-year anniversary of the villainous group’s debut.
Asked which legends he enjoyed working with during that time, Young namechecked Bret Hart and Rickie Steamboat before discussing the moment that saw The Nexus attack Vince McMahon on RAW.
Young revealed that Vince McMahon told the faction before the attack that they would be fired if the segment did not go according to plan.
“Vince McMahon, you know, we attacked him. The OG. The owner of WWE. We had fun attacking him, and I remember his words, ‘You guys better deliver. And if everything looks not good, you’re going to be fired.’”
Fortunately for Young and his fellow Nexus members, Vince McMahon was happy with the segment and nobody received their release. Except Daniel Bryan, of course, but that segment took place two weeks earlier.
#3 Vince McMahon threatened to fire Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho became one of the most decorated Superstars in WWE history during his 19-year association with the company, but he initially had to work hard to win Vince McMahon over.
Speaking on Sean Waltman’s 1,2,360 podcast in 2018, Jericho said it can take a while for some Superstars to adjust to working in Vince McMahon’s company. However, using Daniel Bryan and himself as examples, he believes most people can succeed in WWE if they have been successful elsewhere first.
The nine-time WWE Intercontinental Champion added that Vince McMahon told him at the start of his WWE career that, despite his previous success in ECW and WCW, he would be fired if he failed to have a good match with Waltman (aka X-Pac).
“What Vince told me was, ‘You’re working with X-Pac tonight. If you don’t have a good match, you’re fired.’ Which was a guillotine over my head… and then afterwards Vince was super cool, he pat me on the back, ‘Hey pal, give me a call tomorrow and oh, by the way, every match that you have from now on, run it past Sean Waltman first and make sure that it makes sense.’” [H/T Still Real To Us]
Jericho explained that Vince McMahon wanted new Superstars to face Waltman because the D-Generation X member had a good grasp of how to work the WWE style.
#2 Vince McMahon threatened to fire Jesse Ventura
Speaking on his Something to Wrestle With podcast, WWE director Bruce Prichard once summed up Vince McMahon and Jesse Ventura’s relationship by simply saying, “They got along and they didn’t get along.”
On-screen, Vince McMahon had fantastic chemistry with Ventura – a respected WWE commentator in the 1980s and 1990s – but they had a difference of opinion on numerous topics behind the scenes.
Ventura, who served as the Governor of Minnesota from 1999-2003, tried to set up a union for wrestlers in 1986, just two weeks before WWE’s WrestleMania 2 event.
As he explained on The Steve Austin Show podcast, Ventura gave a speech to the WWE locker room and encouraged everybody to join forces, not only with their colleagues but with their rivals in Jim Crockett Promotions, to form a union.
“I gave this big speech, I left it there, I went home. The next night, I got a phone call from Vince who basically threatened to fire me if I ever brought it up again and read me the riot act.” [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
Ventura briefly departed WWE after WrestleMania 2 and he became a member of the Screen Actors Guild following his appearance in the movie Predator.
Upon returning to WWE, he informed Vince McMahon that he was part of an actors’ union and he would never bring up the idea of a union for wrestlers again.
#1 Vince McMahon threatened to fire anyone who ruined WrestleMania 36
Vince McMahon was forced to drastically change WWE’s plans for WrestleMania 36 due to COVID-19 social distancing regulations.
Instead of the event being held in front of over 70,000 fans at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, WrestleMania took place without any fans in attendance at WWE’s Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
As a result, WrestleMania was filmed two weeks in advance and Vince McMahon had to trust that match outcomes would not be leaked by anyone before the event.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Justin Barrasso, Vince McMahon was even prepared to fire people who gave out spoilers.
“Leaking information is a fireable offense, Sports Illustrated has learned. Along with Vince McMahon, Kevin Dunn, Paul Heyman and Bruce Prichard, there are only a finite number of people present for each filming session.
“The majority of the agents are not present for the matches. The agents that are local to Florida include Adam Pearce, 'Road Dogg' Jesse James, Jamie Noble, and Shawn Michaels—and they are the unlikeliest of candidates to leak match results.
“Lead broadcaster Michael Cole gets no benefit from leaking results, nor do any of the other members of the broadcast team.”
Luckily for Vince McMahon and the rest of WWE’s higher-ups, no match results were leaked and fans were able to enjoy two spoiler-free nights of WrestleMania 36.
