WWE Hall of Famer Sgt. Slaughter has revealed a controversial opinion during a recent interview – that he thinks Vince McMahon is still running the WWE from behind the scenes. The former Chairman of the WWE was forced to step down from his position earlier this year due to credible claims of sexual misconduct, after decades at the helm of wrestling in the United States.
He had made countless stars over the years and moulded pro-wrestling in his own image since the Death of WCW in 2001. His purchase of WCW and ECW meant WWF (now WWE) was the only major company in the country, although smaller ones like TNA and ROH would later pop up and try to take on the titan.
Triple H is now in charge of WWE creative, with Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan taking control of the business side of the business. It must have been difficult to let go of the reigns after 40 years at the helm, something which the former WWE Champion Sgt. Slaughter thinks McMahon has failed to.
During an interview with Sportskeeda, Sgt Slaughter revealed he thinks Vince McMahon is “Still there” and running his business from the shadows, despite him publicly stepping down from the promotion he purchased from his father back in 1982.
“I feel that he’s [Vince McMahon] still there and there’s no way to keep him away as far as his knowledge of the business [goes]. If it wasn’t for his knowledge, a lot of us wouldn’t be doing the things we’re doing today.”
“I wish him all the best. He’s always been a good friend to me. And then he became a boss and then he became a friend again. To me, he was part of my life and is the reason I’m sitting here talking to you, along with Harley Race.”
Slaughter became one of the most popular stars in wrestling in the 1980s, with his feud with The Iron Sheik launching him into superstardom. He would later appear in multiple TV shows, most notably GI Joe, which would cause legal issues that stopped him appearing at Wrestlemania for a number of years.
It took five years for Slaughter to return and he ended up main eventing WrestleMania with Hulk Hogan, after a heel turn turned him into an incredibly controversial Iraqi sympathiser.
Later in that interview, Sgt Slaughter revealed how Vince McMahon spoke to him and how he managed to convince him to return to the WWE after his deal with Hasbro expired.
“I got the call from Vince McMahon, I watched WrestleMania 6 – [Hulk] Hogan and [The Ultimate] Warrior. And I had stopped watching the WWE at that point because I was so angry because they couldn’t work things out with Hasbro and I so I could be at WrestleMania 2, 3, and so on. I had to miss the first 6 WrestleManias, so it made me anti-WWE.”
“I put a big P-U on that and sent it off to him. Two weeks later, I get a call on a Sunday afternoon. I’m watching a NASCAR race, kind of dozing off, ‘Hello?’ [As Vince,] ‘Sarge?’ ‘Yes?’ ‘Vince!’ Well, there’s only one Vince. There’s only one Sarge.”
“He says, ‘I got your note. I appreciate the feedback on the production. Yeah, we’ve been working hard on it, and I appreciate someone like you seeing how well it’s going. You’re right, the match was a P-U. Are you ready to go back to work?’ I said, ‘Funny you should mention that you want to ask me.’ He said, ‘Well you’re done with Hasbro right?’ I said, ‘How would you know that?’ He said, ‘I’m Vince McMahon, that’s what I do.’
Sgt. Slaugher went on to appear in the WWE for decades and was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2004.