Bruce Prichard Denies That Randy Savage Left WWE Because He Wanted To Wrestle

On the latest episode of Something To Wrestle With, Bruce Prichard talked about the long-standing narrative that Randy Savage left WWE for WCW because Vince McMahon forced him into a commentary role. Savage departed WWE in late 1994, jumping to World Championship Wrestling, where he resumed his in-ring career and captured the World Heavyweight Championship multiple times.

Part of the narrative was the belief that Savage still wanted to wrestle, but WWE management believed his time in the ring was over. You can check out some highlights below:

On Savage’s Departure:

“Going back to the whole Randy Savage thing — you know, that is a narrative that has been out there for a long time. ‘Oh, Randy wanted to work and we didn’t want him to work.’ I am telling you from 100% personal experience with Randy Savage, from Randy’s own mouth, ‘I don’t want to take any more bumps. I want to work behind the scenes. I want to be over here, doing this. I want my career to last.’

“He did want his career to last. [he] Didn’t want to take bumps anymore. He didn’t want to work anymore. At least that is what he was telling us. And by us [I mean] me, Vince Pat. Those were his words, not a narrative that he may have told them down there. It’s like, ‘Oh, they won’t let me work. They won’t do this.’”

On Savage’s Role:

“If someone got injured, who do you send? You send Randy as a replacement, because you’re not going to get a much better replacement than Randy Savage if the top babyface is injured on the card. So Savage — going in, and he went, ‘Oh yeah, you need the old timer, huh? Dust off his boots and come in. Well, you know, not what I want to be doing.’ So while he may have fed that narrative to some people I am telling you for a fact, he did not sell that narrative to us. And to us — myself, to Pat and to Vince.

“He wanted to work behind the scenes, he liked his gig, or at least he told us that he liked his gig as a commentator, and he liked doing the things behind the scenes. He’d moved to Stanford so that he could be in the office, so that he could be there every day. That doesn’t sound like a guy that wants to go out on the road and work all the time. He made the move. He got an apartment, he was living up here. So again when I hear that narrative, it makes me bristle because he wasn’t completely honest with us or he wasn’t completely honest with them. Nonetheless, for whatever reasons that only Randy knows, he left.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Something To Wrestle With an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.