• Vince McMahon Fired Brad Maddox For Using A Classless Word
WWE Hall of Famer JBL recently recalled an interesting story about Vince McMahon’s opinion of former RAW General Manager Brad Maddox, revealing that the former WWE Chairman once saw great potential in Maddox before abruptly firing him over a single word used in a promo.
Speaking on Something To Wrestle, JBL said Vince had high praise for Maddox during his time in WWE until he called the fans “pricks” in a promo.
“I talked with Vince a lot, I flew with Vince a lot, Vince told me one day, he goes, ‘That kid’s special.’ It’s the only time I’ve ever heard him say that. He’s said nicer things about people, but the way he said it, like, ‘That kid’s got it.’ You don’t hear that from Vince very much. Vince really liked Maddox.
And then when he went out there, I’m sitting there waiting for a pre-show, I’m sitting there waiting to go out with Michael Cole, and that’s when Maddox called the fans a bunch of pricks or something.
He comes back and Vince fired him. Vince hated that word, he thought that was a classless word. It’s one of the few times I got in trouble.
All the stuff I’ve said on commentary, all the stuff I’ve said in promos, one of the few times I ever got in trouble was when I called someone a selfish prick, I think is what I called them, or egotistical prick or something like that. Vince pulled me aside and goes, ‘We have sponsors here, we have all these people here, you can’t use language like that.’
There’s something about that word that Vince hated. But yes, that was the word that got Maddox fired.”
Brad Maddox was fired in November 2015 after he used the word during an off-air promo.
• Dolph Ziggler Reveals When He Started Losing Trust In Vince McMahon
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on the Insight podcast, Dolph Ziggler aka Nic Nemeth said one of the biggest reasons for his disillusionment in WWE was Vince McMahon contradicting his own philosophies.
Nemeth explained that much of what he learned about storytelling, psychology, and match structure came directly from Vince. However, in the later years, McMahon started making decisions that went against everything he had previously taught.
“There were moments where Vince told me one thing was wrong years ago – then suddenly said it was right,” Nemeth explained. “At that point, I just did it because the check cleared.”
He said he began to lose trust in McMahon and his creative direction when those inconsistencies became frequent. What used to be clear wrestling logic was now replaced by erratic creative calls that left him and others confused.
Despite his frustration, Nemeth credited Vince for shaping him into a complete performer. He said he still holds respect for McMahon’s business mind but realized that the creative magic wasn’t the same anymore.
