Vince McMahon has been long-rumoured to have some bizarre hiring and firing policies.
Few know what thoughts go through McMahon’s head on a day-to-day basis, which is especially true when it comes to talent acquisitions. WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley has gone on record to state that the only reason he was hired was so McMahon could watch Jim Ross’ heart get broken in real time, having every intention of firing Foley when things didn’t work out. Thankfully, Foley would go on to prove everyone wrong, including McMahon.
Another hiring tactic that McMahon utilised took place in 2019 when the WWE Chairman signed as many Superstars as possible to lucrative multi-year deals to stop them from considering a jump to AEW. Along with active stars, McMahon even extended his offer to announcers who had since departed the company.
AEW announcer and backstage interviewer Tony Schiavone worked for WWE from 1989 to 1990 before departing for WCW. Despite WCW closing down in 2001, Schiavone never made the return to WWE. Taing a lengthy hiatus from professional wrestling, Schiavone worked with MLW from 2017 until 2019 when he received the offer from AEW. However, in 2019, that was not the only company to offer the veteran announcer a new position.
Speaking on the What Happened When podcast, Schiavone was asked what would have happened if he hadn’t left WWE in 1990. The AEW announcer responded that there would be no guarantees that he would have remained with the company back then and confirmed that he was approached in 2019 by WWE but believes that it was under malicious circumstances:
“Who knows with the WWE, how long I would have stayed (in 1990) after that because I could have been fired like I would have been had I taken that job five years ago. I would have been fired almost immediately. There is no question. There is no question, in my mind, that Vince wanted me to come there to fire me. Yeah, I believe that.”
Host Conrad Thompson asked why Schiavone felt that McMahon wanted to hire him just to fire him again. The AEW announcer responded with the belief that he was approached to keep him away from AEW and he would have been among the many rounds of releases that took place throughout the pandemic:
“He wanted to hire me. I feel bad about Bruce [Bruce Prichard] because Bruce is in the middle of this and Bruce is a friend of mine and I believe anything Bruce tells me is legit and sincere. Vince wanted to hire me to keep me away from this upstart company AEW. COVID happened, they cut back, why not cut back on one of the newest guys that just arrived? There is no question I would have been let go.”
Vince McMahon Hired Wrestler Following Comedy Match
A former WWE wrestler and employee recently recounted their experiences of getting hired by Vince McMahon. Back in 2007, Ace Steel would have his debut match for the company while dressed as Donald Trump. While the match itself was heavily criticised, Steel would recount in a 2023 interview how he was hired by Vince McMahon following his portrayal of the former President of the United States.
H/t to Fightful.