Teddy Long believes wrestling has plenty of talent in 2026, but he still thinks WWE needs Vince McMahon back in the picture.
While speaking to Inside The Ring, Long said today’s wrestlers are heavily affected by creative direction. He argued that one bad segment can damage someone’s career, especially when the wrong people are in charge.
“Got a lot of talent out there now, you know, and some guys are doing great and some guys are not. And it’s based on the creative people, the people that are in charge of what you do out on that TV. That’s how your career is based. You can go out there and do something one night, and it will kill you. That’ll kill your whole career.”
Long then claimed some people in power hurt talent because they can, not because the talent lacks ability. That led him to say WWE needs McMahon back to get fans fully on board again.
“So a lot of guys that are in charge—they don’t do it because you can’t do the job. They’ll mess with you because they’ve got the power. They know that they can. So, you know, it’s changing a little bit now, but I think what we’ve got to do—we’ve got to get Vince McMahon back so we can do this thing right and get the fans back on board, man.”
Teddy Long said he does not believe Vince McMahon’s chapter in wrestling is truly closed. From his experience, McMahon lived and breathed the business.
“I don’t think the chapter has ever closed with him. I think Vince—you know, the way that I—like I said, I don’t know what happened or any of that stuff, but to me, in my knowing him, this was his life. He loved this. This was his life.”
Long recalled riding on a plane with McMahon and said Vince talked about wrestling the entire flight. He also remembered seeing McMahon naturally directing people during a birthday party rehearsal.
“I had a chance to ride on the plane with him, and one night we were on the plane, and as soon as we took off, he talked about wrestling until we landed. I watched him at his birthday party during the rehearsal. They had a band and some singers there, a choir, and they were rehearsing before they got ready to go. And I saw him, and he had his headsets on, and Kevin Dunn was there. Kevin has always been his right-hand man, and he’s looking at Kevin—‘Kevin, get him over there.’ He’s doing his thing, you know what I mean? He’s at home.”
Long also credited McMahon with toughening him up during his WWE run: “One thing I’ll tell you what he did do for me—he made a man out of me. Because Vince was like this—he’d get right in your ass, brother. You didn’t have a chance.”
Teddy Long clearly believes McMahon’s passion for wrestling is unmatched, and he feels WWE would benefit from having him involved again. Whether fans agree or not, Long sees Vince as someone who still understands the business at its core.
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