WWE News: Hall Of Famer Says Vince McMahon Denied Him A Day Off Because Of Kevin Federline
Jim Ross was a loyal WWE employee for decades, and he rarely ever missed a show during his tenure there. However, on the latest edition of the Grillin’ JR podcast, the Hall of Famer recalled the only time he ever asked Vince McMahon for a day off, only to be rejected because of a match involving Kevin Federline.
According to Ross, by way of Wrestling Inc, he wanted to go to an Oklahoma Sooners football game. However, McMahon had a match planned between John Cena and the rapper, who was Britney Spears’ husband at the time.
“I never asked in 26 years for a day off in WWE but one time. Normally I would’ve been on the sidelines cheering my Sooners on and supporting my buddy Bob Stoops. I asked for that time off and Vince gave me an emphatic no, you can’t be off. Why? ‘We’re doing counter programming JR don’t you understand? We’re counter programming the football game. There’s going to be more sizzle and Hollywood.'”
Ross went on to say how he reacted negatively to the situation. In addition to not being granted a day off to go see his favorite football team in action, he had to watch a match involving a celebrity with “no athletic skills” or formal wrestling training. While Ross praised Cena for making the match passable, he wasn’t happy to be at the television taping.
The Hall of Famer described the match as a “gimmick” and claimed that he’d have accepted McMahon rejecting his request if Cena fought a stronger competitor. However, the legendary announcer also said that not being granted the time off was probably for the best, as his team lost that night.
However, Ross also said that the Federline deal was well handled by the company, and suggested that the match wasn’t harmful to the product as the rapper only made a handful of appearances for WWE.
The Hall of Famer compared Federline’s appearances to Rob Gronkowski’s recent involvement with the company, noting how neither celebrity is interested in a full-time wrestling career. It’s not uncommon for celebrities to have matches in WWE, however, and in some cases, they’ve helped boost ratings.
Federline debuted in WWE back in 2006, just before he filed for divorce from Spears. He went on to make seven appearances for the company in an effort to promote his Playing with Fire album, which remains his only record at the time of this writing.
