A WWE Hall of Famer has spoken about how a single word got a performer fired by Vince McMahon.
During an episode of Something To Wrestle, JBL shared the story of how one word led to Brad Maddox’s sudden release from WWE back in 2015. According to JBL, Vince McMahon had once seen potential in Maddox.
“Vince told me one day, he goes, ‘That kid’s special.’ And man, you don’t hear that from Vince very much,” JBL recalled.
That perception changed quickly after Maddox referred to the audience as “pricks” during an unaired pre-show promo.
“He called the fans a bunch of pricks or something. He comes back and Vince fired him. Vince hated that word. He thought it was classless,” JBL said.
JBL added that McMahon had previously reprimanded him for using the same word on television, showing how seriously the former Chairman viewed such language in the company.
When Did Brad Maddox Join The WWE Main Roster?
Brad Maddox joined the main roster as a referee after wrestling in developmental territories, OVW and FCW, and he became the Raw General Manager in 2013 and was released shortly after the incident in 2015, ending his WWE run.



