JBL on Vince McMahon’s decision to continue on through the COVID-19 pandemic

JBL shared how Vince McMahon made bold and decisive moves to save WWE during the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite overwhelming opposition and uncertainty. During this time, McMahon personally called JBL to return, saying, “‘During COVID, Vince called me and he said, ‘I need an old voice on television. Are you coming?’ ‘You know I am.’ I said, ‘Where are you?’ He goes, ‘We’re in Orlando. We got no audience. I need an old voice, the old commentary, somebody that people recognize.’”

JBL explained that McMahon’s decision to continue running shows, even without an audience, was part of a strategy to maintain continuity and provide comfort to viewers. Reflecting on the eerie atmosphere of the pandemic, JBL said, “There was nobody in the airport… Everybody was sitting up front, first class. I said, ‘I think I’m gonna sit in the back,’ like 15 seats on both sides of you because you didn’t know what was going to happen back then. You didn’t know if the whole world is going to die or you’re going to get it and die.” He added, “Everybody thinks they’re going to die?”

Despite the fear and near-universal criticism, McMahon pressed forward. JBL revealed, “I can tell you, almost everybody in the company was against Vince running. Everybody was against it. All the press was against it. Everything, it was, ‘This is horrible. How dare he do this?’” But McMahon saw the stakes clearly: “He said, ‘If I don’t, I will lose all my TV contracts.’”

The decision to fulfill the TV contracts, even without live audiences, was a turning point. JBL explained, “Those TV contracts of live events became worth exponentially more. You thought they’re gonna be worth exponentially less, is what you thought during COVID, because we didn’t know if the world was ending or not. Everybody wanted out of those TV contracts.” He emphasized, “But because he did that, he got these billion-dollar TV contracts out of it. He saved the freaking company with that.”

JBL concluded with admiration for McMahon’s leadership: “It was unbelievable what he did by doing all that. Vince, his entire life, has constantly been one step ahead of everything and everybody else in wrestling.”

Source: Something To Wrestle With John Layfield