During a recent edition of “The Brand” podcast, former WWF writer Vince Russo, WCW Veteran Disco Inferno and co-host Jeff Lane talked about SmackDown Live wrestlers Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn being sent home from the European tour last week. Below is their discussion:
Jeff: Apparently Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens were both sent home from the European tour for conduct deemed detrimental to the WWE. And the rumor is, there’s one rumor out there that they were supposed to get beat up by New Day after the match, they were supposed to go back into the ring and take a beating and they didn’t do that.
Some people are saying they went into business for themselves. Other people are saying that it was confusion and they didn’t do it on purpose. And another report says that they’ve been difficult to work with backstage and they’ve been unhappy. And another report said that was bullcrap. So there’s tons of stuff out there, but it seems like that at least the sent home part was true.
Disco: If they told them to do something, they didn’t do it then it’s their fault. I think if like real legit top guys did that…. they wouldn’t send someone like Kevin Nash home. That’s Vince…he probably doesn’t like these guys, you know. I don’t know the exact story.
I’ve heard whispers that Sami Zayn is difficult to deal with, but I imagine most guys these days are probably difficult to deal with because that’s the Millennial wrestlers, younger generation. Actually these guys aren’t even really young, but they came in a different generation.
When people on Twitter think you’re good, when people on Social Media think you’re good, it empowers you to behave like you know more than the people that you’re working for. And that happens in a lot of businesses where people tell you that how good you are and everything.
It empowers you to make you feel like you’re bigger than the boss. And I guarantee you that for them to get sent home for something like that, just based on having been in situations where things didn’t go right backstage or in the ring and come backstage and the agents are immediately approaching the guys and say – what the F was that and something.
I can guarantee you that like if they were apologetic and stuff and everything about it….. I guarantee they were probably very defiant, probably letting them know that their way was better. And that’s why they sent them home.
I bet you there was probably an argument and they and that’s that’s what happened out there. But that’s speculation. That would be my guess. If they were apologetic from the get-go, I would doubt they probably got sent home.
Russo: If I had a guess what happened here, this would be my take on it. I cannot believe for a second younger guys…. I’ve seen older guys do it. I’ve seen Shawn Michaels do it. I’ve seen Steve Austin do it. I’ve seen veterans defy Vince McMahon. I saw it, bro. I saw it with my own eyes.
But veterans bro, that made Vince a lot of money and they kind of played that card. But I gotta say that and here’s a guy who doesn’t call things down the middle. I have to say in defense of Zayn and Owens and I want to say they’re younger guys, but they’re really not younger guys.
I cannot believe these NXT guys that go to the WWE when they’re working with Hunter and it’s party atmosphere at NXT, we are family….. I can’t believe that the second they go to the WWE, I can’t believe for a second that they are not scared to death of Vince McMahon. For as long as Owens and Zayn have been in the business, they’ve never worked for someone like Vince McMahon. He is the king.
I can’t believe for a second they would defy Vince and not do what they were told to do. I can’t believe that for a second. Because every one of those guys has fear for Vince….. it’s the fear of God. I don’t care for your Sami Zayn or Enzo or Elias or Baron Corbin, you’re afraid of freaking Vince. Period. End of story. So there was no defiance involved.
I bet here’s what happened, bro. How many times, and not only have we heard it and I’ve heard this from people within but we see it bro, things are constantly being changed up until eight o’clock at night. All day long things are being changed there. I guarantee you that was changed at some point.
I guarantee it was miscommunication. I don’t think there is any way they wouldn’t have done what they were supposed to do. I guarantee you it was miscommunication. An agent didn’t tell somebody or something happened. But the fact that it wasn’t carried out the way it was supposed to be carried out, somebody had to do something.
And that’s why I think it was a matter of just sending these guys home and not suspending them or firing them. Because they’re not gonna defy Vince. I don’t care who you are, you’re not gonna defy Vince…especially if you’re one of these NXT guys coming over. You’re not gonna do it. So that’s what I would think happened.
