A former WWE star has recalled a bizarre backstage interaction with Vince McMahon that unexpectedly led to his return to the company.
Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Jimmy Wang Yang revealed that Vince McMahon once approached him backstage at a WWE event, seemingly unaware that he had already fired him months earlier.
Yang originally joined WWE in 2003 under the ring name Akio, teaming with Yoshihiro Tajiri and Ryan Sakoda before later moving into the Cruiserweight division. He was released in 2005 after competing regularly on WWE Velocity.
According to Yang, he later attended a WWE show simply as a guest while trying to impress a girl on a date. After receiving backstage access through a friend, he began greeting former coworkers when McMahon suddenly approached him.
“Jimmy, where the hell you’ve been?” McMahon reportedly asked.
Jimmy Wang Yang Had To Remind Vince McMahon That He Had Fired Him From WWE
Jimmy Wang Yang said he was stunned by the question and reminded Vince McMahon that he had already been released by the company.
“I was like, ‘You fired me,’” Yang recalled. “‘What? I did? Oh, we got to talk about it.’”
Yang then claimed McMahon told him to remain backstage while he handled other business, admitting he seemingly had no recollection of firing him in the first place.
That awkward encounter unexpectedly opened the door for Yang’s WWE return. While remaining backstage, he was later asked to participate in a segment involving DX and the Spirit Squad, which quickly led to additional appearances on Raw and SmackDown.
Yang said former WWE executive John Laurinaitis eventually informed him the company wanted to bring him back full-time, beginning his second WWE run between 2006 and 2010. During that period, Yang became known for his “Asian Redneck” cowboy persona and regularly competed in the Cruiserweight division against stars such as Chavo Guerrero and Gregory Helms.
He also teamed with Shannon Moore in “The Redneck and the Reject,” with the duo challenging John Morrison and The Miz for the WWE Tag Team Championships. Yang’s second WWE run ended in 2010, followed by later appearances on the independent scene and in TNA Wrestling. He briefly returned to WWE in 2021 as a backstage producer for Raw.
