MVP recalled leaving WWE in 2010 and Vince McMahon’s reaction to his decision while doing an interview with Lillian Garcia.
Here is what he had to say:
“Because my dream was to wrestle in Japan. Yeah, when I started professional wrestling, I was first introduced to Japanese wrestling. Norman Smiley, he introduced me to Japanese wrestling. He wrestled in Japan for some time. And I was like, ‘Woah, that’s intense. Wow!’ So, I had a dream that I wanted to wrestle in the Tokyo Dome. I wanted to wrestle in New Japan Pro Wrestling. And I had a year left on my deal. And I asked Vince McMahon — actually, I asked Johnny Ace at the time because we used to talk. A lot of people don’t know Johnny Ace made his career in Japan for All Japan. So, there would be times where me and John would drink a beer, and we’d talk about pro wrestling. And I would just sit there, and I would drink up all of his stories about Japan and the guys I used to watch on VHS tapes that he worked with.
“And I had a year left on my deal, and they were trying to get me to re-sign a five-year deal. And I just, I didn’t want to at the time. My inner flame was kind of flickering, you know. And Japan was calling me. I needed that fire again, I needed that motivation.”
“I will always say this. Love Vince McMahon or hate Vince McMahon, no matter what you feel about him he has always treated me well. He gave me an opportunity when no one else would. When I said I wanted to leave to go fulfill a dream, he didn’t have to let me out of my contract. He could’ve said no. He said, ‘Okay. Come back, door’s open for you to come back. Come back in a year, two years. You’ll be a bigger star when you come back.’ And Johnny Ace was like, ‘You’ll only get better. So you’ll came back, you’ll be better and it’ll be ‘Oh, MVP’s back!” And it took me 10 years to get back.”
H/T to 411 Mania
