AEW Commentator hints that Vince McMahon's management style is why he left WWE

The history of professional wrestling is fascinating, to say the least, and Vince McMahon is often at the center of that. McMahon is probably the most successful promoter in all of pro wrestling history. But as many wrestling fans are aware, that success has come with McMahon being a part of every facet of his organization.

It's also a well-known fact that he communicates with commentators and providing him direction and sometimes guiding them toward certain things to say. On the AEW Unrestricted Podcast, Taz recounted his time in WWE before departing in 2009. At the time, he felt that McMahon was overbearing as he was micromanaging him on commentary. He said:

"“I would sit in the rent-a-car in show prep. I didn’t want to be in the building. I didn’t want to be around any of them...I just didn’t want to go. This went on for, no lie, at least three months. I just didn’t want to go, I didn’t want to be there, I didn’t want to hear Vince in my ear. F**k, I know it’s a leap frog dude. I know it’s a dropkick. You don’t have to tell me it’s a bulldog. Yeah, no shit. How many bulldogs have you taken? How many have I taken? Shut up.”

“That kind of s**t, the micromanaging, got to a point where he was not just in my ear, but the play-by play-guys were getting it a lot worse than the color commentators, and still do. That was a big part of it...I didn’t want to be around anybody named McMahon at that time. They were f**king annoying. The pompous, the arrogance...the disposition of that elitist attitude, it got to the point where it’s like, you know what, f**k off, I’m out.” H/T Cagesideseats

This is not unlike others who have dealt with Vince McMahon over the years. Taz had an exciting career in professional wrestling, having wrestled for both WWE and ECW. He goes down in history as one of the ECW Originals and his exploits have stood the test of time. He was a 2-time ECW World Champion and was painted with a 'tough guy' persona who was a beast in the ring.

While he was one of the biggest stars in ECW at the time, things didn't work out for him in WWE. If anything, it was the opposite of that. Even though he did become a 3-time WWE Hardcore Champion and also won the WWE Tag Team Championships with Spike Dudley, he became just another one of the midcarders in the company.

He did start in the WWE with a bang, defeating Kurt Angle at the Royal Rumble 2000 at Madison Square Garden. With that said, Taz knew that his time with WWE might not work out. When he debuted in that arena, it was to a huge pop. But the problem was that the crowd going crazy when he came through the curtains was based on his ECW exploits. He said:

"When I wrestled Kurt [Angle] at the Garden, when I came out, when I heard that pop, I knew I was f**ked. I knew I was doomed. I knew it....It was a legit surprise and a legit pop in the world’s most famous arena. The reason why I knew I was doomed is because that pop did not come from WWE. I was a made guy before I got to WWE, and WWE at that time, they never would admit it then, and they won’t admit it now, they didn’t want made guys." H/T Cagesideseats

IIt's interesting to think how his WWE career would have been different had things worked out differently when he first debuted with the company. The Human Suplex Machine was booked to lose to Triple H and had a feud with Jerry Lawler at the time.

As Taz continued moving forward, his injuries kept mounting. This led to becoming a commentator on the SmackDown brand and eventually on the relaunched ECW brand. This continued till 2009 when Taz's WWE Contract expired. He then went on to TNA and is now back with AEW.

With that said, Taz revealed on the AEW Unrestricted Podcast, that the McMahon family did do a lot for him, and he was grateful for his time there. Moreover, he was able to leave on his terms.

Right now, Taz is excited about working in AEW with more freedom than he did have in WWE. He left the business for quite a while, and the company played a role in him returning to professional wrestling. Considering that he is now working with Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur, Alex Marvez, and others, AEW Dynamite is a better show for him being part of the crew.