'It's not personal, it's business': Vince McMahon defends WWE's mass release

Vince McMahon has explained and defended WWE’s decision to release close to 200 wrestlers over the last two years.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, WWE has released well over 200 wrestlers and behind-the-scenes staff.

The releases have impacted wrestlers from up-and-down the WWE roster, with the likes of Bray Wyatt, Braun Strowman, Keith Lee, Samoa Joe, Nia Jax and others being let go.

Now, in a rare interview with Pat McAfee, Vince McMahon has explained why so many wrestlers were let go.

McMahon told the former NFL star that the decisions he makes on who cuts released are not personal, but are purely based on what’s best for business.

“It’s not personal, it’s business. Once I took the company public, it helped me be a better businessman because prior to that, I was running the business, with my head, but mostly my heart.

The WWE Chairman said that the decisions were incredibly tough to make because of the different situations that people have, but he had to make the decisions that were best for WWE.

These decisions are so damn tough when you do that. You don’t know who has kids, someone has cancer in the family, all that is in your head.

When you’re a public company, you go, ‘stockholders.’ It is the business end. You have to make an easier and better business decision. My heart, there is still some of it in there, there is.

At the same time, it’s business. There’s nothing personal about it in terms of whether I like somebody or don’t like someone or whatever.

McMahon did say that people often blame WWE and him for their releases, but rarely look in the mirror and question if they’re to blame for things not going their way:

Sometimes, athletes, maybe more so in our type of business, are not