— Vince McMahon celebrated his 80th birthday over the weekend of August 24 with a star-studded gathering that included John Cena, Sheamus, The Undertaker, Drew McIntyre, and several other WWE names.
Former SmackDown General Manager Teddy Long was also in attendance and later shared details of the event in an interview with Bill Apter and Mac Davis of Sportskeeda.
“The first night was a very good night. The opening and stuff. Vince finally came and I had a real good conversation with him. It was nice. Some of the things I won’t repeat because that was between me and him. First thing he said to me was, ‘It’s so nice to see you. It’s so good to see you.’ I thanked him for everything he’s done for me. Saturday night, for the birthday party, I got in and I just go and sit down at a table. They come and got me and said, ‘You’re at Vince’s table.’ Only talent at that table was me and John Cena. That was it, me and Cena. I saw R-Truth come over, he sat down, but he wasn’t at the table.”
When asked about McMahon’s appearance, Long pushed back against speculation about his health. He said,
“He didn’t look bad to me. I don’t understand what people are talking about. His face looked like it might have been a little swole or something like that, but he looked nice to me. He had on a nice suit both nights. He was getting around, moving around — he looked great to me.”
Entertainment for the weekend included Jelly Roll and an all-black choir. Long also confirmed that Triple H was present, though Stephanie McMahon did not attend.
Reflecting on whether McMahon could return to TV, Long noted that he still seemed very much in his element. He said,
“You never know with Vince. I watched him before the birthday party got started. Kevin Dunn was there, and Vince had his headset on, which reminded me of him at TV. He loves this. It was great watching him maneuver and do some of the same things he did at TV — it was like he was back at work, and I think that did a lot for him.”
McMahon’s milestone birthday comes as he remains embroiled in legal troubles. In January 2024, former WWE employee Janel Grant filed a lawsuit against McMahon, WWE, and John Laurinaitis, accusing McMahon of sexual assault and sex trafficking. McMahon resigned from TKO/WWE following the lawsuit, while Laurinaitis has since been dropped from the case. The lawsuit is still ongoing.
— At KnokX Pro’s August 23rd event, Raja Jackson — the son of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson — knocked out independent wrestler Syko Stu in a planned segment that escalated beyond control.
After slamming Stu to the mat and rendering him unconscious, Raja delivered more than 20 legitimate strikes to Stu’s head before fellow wrestler Doug Malo intervened and pulled him away.
The Los Angeles Police Department later confirmed that it was investigating the incident.
On “The Masters of Wrestling” podcast, Malo provided an update on the situation. He said,
“I talked to a detective friend of mine, and he told me the process of everything and how bad they drag their feet, especially LAPD. He’s saying that, because of the all the evidence, the state is going to pick it up. I’ve already talked to a detective who is on the case. It’s not like he’s not going to jail. He’s just not there yet.”
Stu was hospitalized following the attack but, as of August 27th, was awake and speaking.
— During a recent interview with the Boston Herald, Shawn Michaels commented on Kevin Nash and Scott Hall, praising them for being what it meant to be cool during their careers.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On Kevin Nash and Scott Hall’s charisma: “I can describe Kevin and Scott in one word: cool. I had to try very hard and even overcompensate, but they epitomized what it meant to be cool. Even if it doesn’t show now, I was a beautiful young man – but I didn’t have any of that real deep coolness. Whether you saw them on television or backstage, Scott and Kevin had it all the time. They had this bona fide cool bravado – and humor, too. They were so perfect and natural together, and they were able to impress that upon that viewer.”
On the NXT brand preparing stars for the future: “There’s not another brand out there that works so hard to create stars in order to lose them. Everybody else builds stars to be able to draw money and ratings for their show. We do it to then send them off somewhere else. That is unlike any other brand, and it is part of the value NXT brings to the wrestling business as a whole.”
On WWE’s growth: “I’ve been with WWE for almost 40 years, and we continue to break new ground and grow at such a global level that I find unfathomable. WWE is part of mainstream Americana and around the world. That’s amazing to me.”
(h/t – Fightful)
