Vince McMahon would never let 75-year-old join AEW, WWE legend says (Exclusive)

WWE Hall of Famer Tony Atlas recently revealed how much respect Vince McMahon has for fellow legend Teddy Long.

Long has been involved in the wrestling business since 1985. The 75-year-old worked for companies including WCW and WWE in various roles, from on-screen authority figure to referee. In 2017, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

In an interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling Senior Editor Bill Apter, Atlas said McMahon would never allow Long to join a rival promotion like AEW:

"It's gonna be hard for Vince to replace Teddy. That's why Vince keeps bringing Teddy back off and on, because he doesn't want Teddy to go anywhere else and use his ability to develop another company. So, right now if AEW called Teddy and said, 'Teddy, we want you to work [here],' Vince would be on the phone, 'Teddy, you can't go there, you gotta come here.'" [7:53 – 8:11]

Watch the video above to hear Atlas' story about people mistakenly believing that The Rock was a girl.

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WWE legend Tony Atlas is still friends with Teddy Long

In 2010, Tony Atlas was handed his release from WWE shortly after his on-screen alliance with Mark Henry ended.

Atlas added that Long was the only person who frequently kept in touch with him after leaving the company:

"Teddy is very, very loyal. When I left in 2010 after managing Mark Henry, I left the WWE. The only wrestler that kept up with me was Teddy Long. I talked to Mark Henry occasionally, but Teddy Long, we talk on a regular basis. He keeps on calling his friends like that. Teddy is the type of guy, he's not a fake friend. He's real [with] people." [8:17 – 8:42]

Long's expert wrestling opinions can be found every week on Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Time Machine show alongside Bill Apter and Mac Davis.

What are your thoughts on Teddy Long? Let us know in the comments section below.

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