Vince McMahon rejected veteran's one-off WWE return after 13+ years, JBL recalls

Vince McMahon was heavily involved with the WWE Network after the streaming service launched in 2014. In a recent podcast episode, John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) revealed how the former WWE Chairman did not want Vince Russo to appear on the platform.

Russo was WWE's head writer in the late 1990s before leaving the company to join WCW. In 2015, Layfield debuted the Legends with JBL interview series on the WWE Network. Former WCW President Eric Bischoff criticized Russo during an episode, prompting the veteran writer to ask if he could appear on the show.

On the Something to Wrestle podcast, Layfield said he was willing to interview Russo. However, Vince McMahon immediately dismissed the suggestion after hearing a summary of Russo's text message to Layfield.

"I said, 'Here's what he said in the text,' and I said, 'Would you want to do a show with Vince Russo?' I said, 'I'm happy to interview him.' And Vince [McMahon] said, 'No. Nope. Not giving him any press whatsoever. Nope, not doing it.' And that was it," JBL said. [1:22:42 – 1:22:57]

In 1999, Russo abruptly left WWE after McMahon advised him to focus on work and hire a nanny to look after his children. The one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion briefly returned in 2002 as a creative consultant before leaving again.

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JBL on Vince McMahon's possible view of Vince Russo

John Bradshaw Layfield hosted 15 episodes of Legends with JBL between 2015 and 2017. Several big names appeared on the show, including Booker T, Bruno Sammartino, and Sting.

Layfield speculated that Vince Russo's outspoken views about the WWE product might have influenced Vince McMahon's decision to ban him from the series:

"I don't know if Vince [McMahon] had animosity toward him or if Vince was [thinking], 'This guy, who is out there saying something negative about our product, I don't wanna give him press, as far as prestige, as far as putting him on a WWE show.' I don't know what Vince's motive was behind saying unequivocally, 'No, this is not gonna happen,' so I don't know what Vince was thinking." [1:22:57 – 1:23:19]

Russo analyzes current WWE storylines alongside Sportskeeda Wrestling host Dr. Chris Featherstone. He recently explained why the company missed a major opportunity with Big E following his removal from The New Day.

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Please credit Something to Wrestle and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.