Tyson Kidd Recalls Asking Vince McMahon To Clear Him For The Royal Rumble, His Reaction to Being Told No

Speaking on The New Day’s Feel the Power, Tyson Kidd discussed how he tried to get cleared for the Royal Rumble in 2019 and how he reacted when Vince McMahon said no. Kidd, of course, is no longer an in-ring competitor due to the neck injury he suffered in 2015. But four years later, he was feeling much better and he said he got the idea that he might conceivable be able to have a final appearance in the ring after he showed Finn Balor how to take an elimination during the Royal Rumble. He discussed his attempt to get Vince McMahon to clear him to return and more; you can check highlights and the audio below.

On talking to Vince McMahon to try and get cleared: “I kind of did. I wanted to at5 least write the final page on that book of me being an in-ring performer. And I thought, ‘What better way than the Royal Rumble,’ in terms of I wouldn’t have to get slammed. I already showed Finn how to get eliminated. And I remember talking to Vince about it, he said, ‘Do you need an answer today or can you give me time to think about it?’ I said, ‘Of course, take your time. Take as much time as you need. It’s not a rush. I can even do –‘ like, when I was presenting it to him, I said, ‘I can even do next year’s Rumble. It doesn’t have to be four weeks. It can be any time.’

“And he called me one day and just said that he’d put a lot of thought into it, and that we would try to control everything in or end. But what if something outside of our realm were to happen and it were to undo all the good that has happened over the last two years in terms of me being a producer. And physically I do feel very, very good. And his thought were, ‘Why risk that if it’s –‘ Don’t ask me why but in my mind, the visual that played out when he was saying this to me was, imagine that I’m standing on the steps about to come into the ring, and some crazy stuff like a fan jumps the railing and pushes me from behind, and it whiplashes me and my neck’s super messed up.”

On his reaction to McMahon’s conversation: “And so I remember thinking, ‘Okay. I offered this to Vince. He gave two or three weeks solid thought to it. And this was his answer.’ And like I said, then I had that visual, this visual in my mind of a guy coming and pushing me. Three months later, what happens at the Hall of Fame? Some dude slides in and takes Bret and Nattie down. And I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is almost like what I envisioned happening to me.’ And I remember thinking that almost as a sign of, ‘Okay, you know what? I am doing what I’m supposed to be doing. Yes, it would be cool if I could write the final page of my in ring career, that chapter? But I can’t, I don’t think.'”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE’s Feel the Power with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.