Teddy Long On Being Fired From WWE By John Laurinaitis

Teddy Long experienced the highest of highs when he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017. However, it wasn't always smooth sailing for the referee who ultimately turned into one of the more memorable on-screen authority figures they've had. 

Appearing as a guest on the "Wrestling Time Machine" with Sportskeeda Wrestling, Long spoke of how he got started with WWE, as well as the time he was fired for an apparent screw-up while officiating.

"I just got a call one day from Jim Ross ... He said, 'Well, you know you're gonna have to go all the way back to the bottom,'" he recalled. That meant they were going to bring him in as a referee.

This worked for Long as he initially began his career as a referee, and took it as a test. Plus, he was already familiar with a handful of the superstars he'd be working with. But one day, John Laurinaitis sent him to Hawaii where he was to referee a match between Christian and Test. That's when things went wrong.

"What I did, I went and made the count, 1-2- you know ... One of the guys didn't kick out, so I went on down to 3, so they tried to say that I screwed the finish up, so Johnny fired me," Long continued. Years later, he'd learn it was a set-up.

"I had the opportunity to see Test before he died, and he said, 'Hey man, they set you up. I didn't know that they were trying to get me to help them to fire you,'" he continued. A short time later, Laurinaitis called and invited Long back. "He wasn't real thrilled ... And he said they wanted to bring me back to come in as a manager."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Wrestling Time Machine" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.