Vince McMahon Sacked ‘Special’ WWE Star on the Spot for Using Word He Hates
The former WWE chairman was known to hate one particular word
Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: WWE, Vince McMahon, Wrestling
James Taylor
Topics: WWE, Vince McMahon, Wrestling
Vince McMahon once sacked one of WWE's rising stars on the spot after they used the one word the former chairman hates more than any other.
During his time as the chairman and CEO, McMahon transformed WWE into the dominant force within professional wrestling.
The 80-year-old is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the sport's history.
He bought the company from his father in the 1980s and built it into a brand worth billions, creating what many consider to be a monopoly within the wrestling world.
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WWE has also been the launch pad for several wrestlers, who went on to become household names, including Hulk Hogan, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and John Cena.
But in the mid-2010s, one rising talent saw his WWE career end in an instant after using one word.
After a run in WWE's developmental system, Brad Maddox was promoted to the main roster for the first time in 2012, initially as a referee.
The following year, he took on a more prominent on-screen role as the Raw General Manager, before he was used more sporadically in 2014.
Then in November 2015, WWE released him after he called the audience p****s during a non-televised dark match.
Now, former wrestler and commentator John 'Bradshaw' Layfield has revealed just how highly McMahon thought of Maddox before sacking him.
He explained: "Vince told me one day he goes: 'That kid is special.'
"It's the first time I ever heard him say that. He's said nicer things about people but the way he said it, like 'that kid has got it', you don't hear that from Vince very much.
"Vince really liked Maddox.
"I'm sat there before a pre-show, waiting to go out with Michael Cole, and that's when Maddox called the fans 'a bunch of p****s' or something.
"He comes back and Vince fired him. Vince hated that word."
Bradshaw himself competed in the WWE for years, capturing the WWE Championship in June 2004, and holding it for 280 days.
He started to move into commentary in 2006, before becoming a full-time commentator between 2012 and 2017.
Although he is no longer a regular, he continues to appear for special shows and major events.
JBL also admitted that he had found himself in trouble with McMahon over his language in the past.
"I told you before, that's one of the few times I got in trouble," he continued.
"All the stuff I've said on commentary, all the stuff I've said on promos, one of the few times I ever got in trouble was when I called someone a selfish p***k or egotistical p***k or something like that.
"Vince pulled me aside and told me: 'We've got sponsors here, we've got all these people here, you can't use language like that.'
"Something about that word that Vince hated, but that was the word that got Maddox fired."