wrestling / News

Teddy Long Recalls Feuding With Drew McIntyre, WrestleMania Going On

March 30, 2020 | Posted by Jeremy Lambert
Teddy Long Image Credit: WWE

– Teddy Long was a recent guest on Wrestling INC’s Daily podcast where he discussed his feud with Drew McIntyre before WrestleMania 26 and more.

On WWE deciding to hold WrestleMania 36: “WWE is making a decision they have to make. This is gonna cost a lot of people a lot of money, not only WWE but a lot of decisions all over the world. WWE is making the right decision, I believe, to go ahead and do what they gotta do. There’s a lot of fans that spent money on tickets that are not gonna even be able to come to see it. So, you’ve gotta give the people what they want and I’m pretty sure that the people will really appreciate what WWE is doing. That’s all they can do and they’re gonna try to make everybody happy and I wish them all the success. I hope this thing works out for everybody.”

On performing with no crowd: “It’s a different reaction to perform with no people but when you’re a professional – that’s what I consider myself a professional – I’m able to get out there and get in the zone and see people when there are no people. I know how to perform when there’s nobody and that’s where I learned,” said Long who then noted how he’s done indie shows for just 20 people before. I was taught by Vince McMahon that you perform for 100 people just like you would for 1,000 people. So, that’s my concept of it. I look like it like the people are there and I’ve got a job to do and I just want to make everybody happy.”

On his feud with Drew McIntyre: “I’ve always seen the potential in Drew. I’ve known him a long time and me and him became real good friends. The storyline that he and I had back when he was supposed to be Vince McMahon’s ‘The Chosen One’, he had me doing a lot of stuff that I couldn’t do nothing about because he was Vince’s guy. But we did great with that. Vince loved it and the fans loved it. It went all the way to a PPV and he was working with Kofi there. I was the referee and they thought I was gonna count ‘Three’ but I didn’t but that was great. Like I said, I’ve known Drew a long time and he’s gonna do real good. He’s just been needing the opportunity to really prove himself. He did that and moved over to TNA and did okay. Right now, I’m glad he’s back in the spotlight and God bless him and good for him.”

On Kofi Kingston winning the WWE Title at WrestleMania 35: “I think what WWE saw in Kofi was they wanted something different. That was a fresh storyline and they tried to tease it before they really did it. They saw that people got behind it and that’s what Vince is – he’s all about the dollar. If Kofi can put some people in the seats and sell some PPVs, then that’s what Vince is gonna go with,” said Long. “I think everybody was happy to see that and you saw the reaction that Kofi got once he got that title. That is what the people wanted. Vince is a smart man – he knows this business and that’s what he did. I’m glad to see him hold that title but Mark Henry also had the opportunity to do that too. He was the World Heavyweight Champion too and I had the chance to manage Mark Henry when he was there. Also back in the day I was there with Ron Simmons when he became the first African American champion and I was there when Ron Simmons and Butch Reed became the first African American tag team champions. It’s just an honor to see the brothers moving up. I’ve known Kofi for a long time and I’ve known him since he first broke in. He was coming out of Deep South and I watched him train and I said, ‘Man, you’re gonna go places. Just do the right thing and Vince is gonna use you.’ That’s exactly what happened and I’m proud of what he’s done in the business. He’s been a great athlete and a great guy and great friend all around

article topics :

Teddy Long, WWE, Jeremy Lambert