MVP says things got ugly behind the scenes in TNA when a drunken John Gaburick mouthed off to Samoa Joe, and he believes incidents involving the former TNA executive helped drive major talent out of the company.
Speaking on Marking Out with MVP and Dwayne Sees, MVP was discussing the management problems he witnessed during his TNA run when he brought up a specific incident involving Gaburick and Samoa Joe. MVP referred to Gaburick by his nickname during the story and said he was personally there when it happened. According to MVP, Gaburick was drunk when he said something to Joe that immediately changed the situation.
“I was there when Red was drunk and popped off out the mouth to Samoa Joe, and Samoa Joe said, ‘Got you. I’m out.’”
MVP then brought up another drunken incident involving Gaburick and Bobby Roode following a TNA show at Wembley. He said Gaburick had been drinking wine and was running his mouth enough to get a reaction out of Roode, someone MVP described as one of the coolest and most even-keeled people in wrestling.
“I was there when, you know, again, Red was drunk. It was after the Wembley show. Was drinking wine and he bald, looking like Santa Claus with a cherry face and big old belly, and popping off slick. And Bobby Roode, one of the coolest, even-keeled guys in the world, he got hot.”
For MVP, these weren’t just harmless drunken stories from the road. He claimed he watched Gaburick’s behavior contribute to serious backstage problems and ultimately cost TNA major talent.
“I watched some bad business go down, and some really big talents left because of that guy.”
The story came as MVP was ripping into TNA management during that era. Earlier in the conversation, he accused Gaburick of having no clue what he was doing and claimed he had lied about his qualifications to get his position with the company.
MVP clearly still has strong feelings about what he witnessed during his TNA run, and his story about a drunken Gaburick getting into it with Samoa Joe is one of his strongest examples. In MVP’s telling, bad management wasn’t simply hurting the product on television — it was creating problems serious enough that top wrestlers wanted out.
What do you make of MVP’s story about John Gaburick being drunk and mouthing off to Samoa Joe? How much do you think management issues contributed to major names leaving TNA during that period? Let us know what you think and leave your feedback in the comments.
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