5 WWE Superstars who defied Vince McMahon (and what the consequences were)

#1 Sgt. Slaughter defied Vince McMahon

In 1985, Sgt. Slaughter informed Vince McMahon that he had struck a deal with Hasbro to become part of the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero franchise.

Slaughter recalled on Prime Time with Sean Mooney in 2018 that Vince McMahon thought the deal was great but he could not sanction it because WWE had a separate agreement with another toy company, LJN.

“At the time, I gave him my notice. He said, ‘You’re not leaving. You can’t leave.’ I said, ‘I’ve got to leave. I’ve got to go.’ I said, ‘I can always be a wrestler, Vince, but I can’t always be a G.I. Joe.’” [H/T Wrestle Zone]

How did Vince McMahon react?

The consequences of the deal turned out to be severe for Sgt. Slaughter, who missed the first six WrestleMania events because Vince McMahon thought the toy deal would be a conflict of interests.

During this time, Slaughter stopped watching WWE and he did not speak to Vince McMahon for six years. Then, once the Hasbro deal ended, he got back in touch with the WWE Chairman and he soon became a prominent Superstar on WWE television again.