Vince McMahon Fired WWE Star For Requesting A Raise
A former WWE star recalled how he was fired by Vince McMahon because he asked for a raise. The star in question is Rico.
Rico is known for his time in the WWE from 2000 to 2004. During his tenure in the company, Rico held the tag team championship twice. However, he could only go so far during his time there before eventually getting released in 2004.
Rico continued to wrestle in Japan following his WWE departure, but has not wrestled since 2005. Meanwhile, Rico opened up on why he was fired by Vince McMahon back then.
Rico on Vince McMahon firing him for asking for a raise
During his interview with Chris Van Vliet, Rico recalled that he was surprised by his WWE release, as he had asked Vince McMahon for a raise:
Yeah, and I went and asked Vince for a raise because I had already fulfilled my three-year rookie contract. I’ve held the tag titles twice, once with Rikishi, once with Haas. I was going to almost every show and on TV. I said I want $1,000 a week.”
Rico further revealed that he was paid $75,000 but wanted a $52,000 raise on top of that, but Vince refused:
Minimum, which was $75,000 a year,” Rico revealed what he was being paid. “No, I wanted a $52,000 raise on top of the $75k. I thought I was worth it, and Charlie and I and Jackie were about to come out on the SmackDown magazine front cover, and he told me I wasn’t popular.”
Rico concluded that asking for a raise is what led to his release from WWE, but Vince McMahon didn’t want him there from the beginning due to his age. Rico also went through his background of helping the law:
Yeah. Vince didn’t like me because of my age in the beginning, he was forced to put me there. And if anybody out there looks at my background, I’m an Action Man. I’m a straight to law enforcement. I’ve been to two police academies, graduated number one in both of them, I’ve got life-saving awards.
I was voted one of the officers of the year by Crime Stoppers for catching a person who was escaping her parole, who led me to a person who was wanted for murder, and I caught a homicide suspect and shipped them back to LA. So I’m that type of guy. EMT, paramedic, people running this way, I’m running to trouble
I want to help people. So here Vince gives me this style in some feminine character, they may be hoping I fail. Well, I turned it around.” [H/T chrisvanvliet.com]
Also read: Huge Last-Minute Vince McMahon Decision Revealed By Ex-WWE Star