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Wrestling legend Teddy Long recently looked back at joining WWE as a referee in 1998 after receiving a call from Jim Ross.
After over a decade in the wrestling business, Long was finally granted the opportunity to join the global juggernaut in 1998. After serving as a referee for years, the higher-ups soon recognized his potential and promoted him to become an on-screen authority figure, a role he thrived in. Teddy Long's various stints as SmackDown's GM between 2004-2012 are still fondly remembered by fans.
On Sportskeeda Wrestling's The Wrestling Time Machine podcast, Teddy Long recalled that he was without a job for a while after leaving WCW. Long added that a few months later, he received a call from the then-Talent Relations Manager of WWE, Jim Ross, who offered him a role as a referee in the company.
"Well, I left WCW, and I came home for a while. I guess I may have been home for five or six months or something like that, and I just got a call one day from Jim Ross. Jim Ross was already in WWE, and he was in charge of Talent Relations. And so Jim Ross called me up and said they wanted to bring me up. And he said, 'You'll have to go all the way to the bottom. We are going to bring you as a referee,'" said Teddy Long.
The WWE veteran added that he had no qualms about going back to a refereeing role as long as he received a healthy paycheck.
"I said I don't care about doing all that because I had managed so many big stars. Taker and Doom, all those guys. So it was like a step down, but that's part of the test. It's all about the check," said Long. [0:50 - 1:36]
Check out the full video below:
WWE legend Teddy Long's advice to wrestling veterans
On a previous episode of Wrestling Time Machine, Teddy Long advised his fellow wrestling veterans and colleagues to keep their health in check. Long explained that they need to frequent the gym and remain in their best physical condition even if they are done with wrestling and not appearing on TV anymore.
"Listen, these guys have to get out and get in the gym and take care of themselves. You got to change their eating habits. I drank so much alcohol back in the day, I'd looked like walking bomb. I did everything under the sun, A to Z. But you have to come to reality and come to your senses. It ain't about getting into the gym just because you're on TV; you need to get in there just for your own purpose," said Teddy Long.
The former SmackDown GM's last WWE appearance came during the 2023 Draft, where he appeared alongside JBL.
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