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WWE legend Teddy Long recently blasted John Laurinaitis for his alleged racist behavior against him during their time in the global juggernaut.
Long is counted among the greatest managers in wrestling history, thanks to his close to a decade-long tenure as the SmackDown GM from 2004-2012. While the 76-year-old was one of the funniest and most entertaining performers on TV, it wasn't easy for him when it came to dealing with backstage politics.
On the latest episode of Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Time Machine podcast hosted by Mac Davis, Teddy Long tore into John Laurinaitis for his racist behavior. The WWE Hall of Famer recalled that Vince McMahon once almost sent his private plane to pick him up, but Laurinaitis canceled it at the last moment.
"When you did the interview with Tony Atlas, he told you that Vince was gonna send a private plane. Let me correct you. Vince was not gonna send a private plane; he was gonna send his plane to pick me up. But John Laurinaitis blocked it. He made me drive. That's the true story of it. Is that about racism for you?" said Teddy Long. [16:56 - 17:19]
Check out the full video below:
Teddy Long on John Laurinaitis stopping WWE from making his action figures
On a previous episode of The Wrestling Time Machine podcast, Teddy Long revealed how John Laurinaitis suggested WWE not make the former SmackDown GM's action figures and merchandise due to lack of demand.
Long added Laurinaitis directly told him that no one would be interested in buying his action figures.
"If a man tells you that they ain’t gonna make an action figure of you because the people won’t buy it, why would they make a T-shirt? They ain’t gonna buy the action figure, they ain’t gonna buy nothing else. So that’s what John Laurinaitis said you know that they won’t buy you. He told me this to my face so I guarantee you, if he had anything to do with them making many T-shirts, he was probably the guy that stopped it."
John Laurinaitis was officially shown the door by WWE in August 2022 after spending close to 21 years in the global juggernaut.
If you take any quotes from the first half of this article, please embed the YouTube video and credit Sportskeeda Wrestling.
