A WWE storyline made ex-SmackDown GM Teddy Long's wife cry (Exclusive)

Teddy Long is one of the greatest General Managers in WWE history. He was heavily involved on-screen and he recently revealed that one storyline made his late wife cry.

On the latest episode of The Wrestling Time Machine, host Mac Davis asked legend Bill Apter and WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long about the possible Jey Uso-Rhea Ripley storyline. Apter stated his opinion that Jey is better off going to NXT than being in a romantic angle.

Teddy Long gave his two cents on Rikishi's frustration with the Jey Uso-Rhea Ripley angle and revealed that his on-screen marriage to Kristal Marshall in 2007 led to his wife crying thinking they were getting divorced. He revealed that his late wife never "smartened up" to the scripted nature of the wrestling business:

"Well let me speak on that. I can understand Rikishi's [concern]. You're right, everyone in that batch right there [Jey Uso, Rhea Ripley] is married. You should know that this is TV. I had the same problem when I was doing the thing with Kristal Marshall when I was marrying her [on SmackDown]. My wife, god rest her soul, she's crying all over the place. So I'm like 'What's wrong? What's the problem?' and the next thing I hear out of her mouth 'All my friends are calling me, they said we're getting a divorce. They saw you kissing this girl on TV. We're getting a divorce. And my wife was like...I don't care if you open up her head and pour all the smartness in, she'd never smarten up. Never smartened up. She was with me for 37 years and the only thing that helped her with that is in SmackDown I had her there so she was sitting in the front row." (2:46-3:47)

Kristal Marshall revealed her regret with how the story played out in 2007. She blamed the situation on "too many cooks" in the creative department. She also blamed her inexperience in handling the situation and admitted that women tend to take the fall in such situations. Miscommunication between her and the writers led to Kristal being labeled as "difficult to work with" - an infamous tag in WWE associated with backstage politics.

You can watch the full video below:

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Teddy Long also revealed why he never said no to anything Vince McMahon asked of him

Teddy Long, for his part, remained a team player for his entire time in WWE, which is perhaps why he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017.

He has stated a few times before that he truly believed Vince McMahon would never make someone do something he wasn't willing to do himself - which is why he never said no to him. He said the same thing on this week's episode of The Wrestling Time Machine:

"Well, no, you couldn't have done that. You already know it's not real. So why would you say you'll not do it. In my philosophy, I always told you - I always did what was asked of me because if I didn't, Vince [McMahon] would do it." (4:06-4:28)

While not a perfect run by any stretch and without its bumps, Teddy Long had a memorable WWE career.

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