Paul London made the error of beaming with delight, just before watching Vince McMahon explode into a million pieces.
When you put it that way, it seems ridiculous. However, this is the WWE. Ridiculousness has been their forte since the days of Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior.
But this was different. This absolutely ridiculous situation was meant to be a sombre situation. McMahon was, unbeknownst to him (but actually completely beknownst) walking to his own death, live on TV.
Putting it that way, it seems obvious why Paul London was fired.
Paul London Was Fired For Grinning Before Vince McMahon’s Death
Paul London was fired by the WWE in late 2008, after a successful run as a tag team champion in the WWE.
Alongside Brian Kendrick, the creatively named “London & Kendrick” were one of the best tag teams in the WWE in the mid 2000s. The duo won both the World and WWE Tag Team Championships in the WWE, holding the belts on Smackdown in a legendary, year long reign.
However, the team were split up with the 2008 WWE draft, with the company wanting Brian Kendrick to have a solo run in the WWE.
This left London out in the cold, and he left the WWE later that year. He wrestled for a number of independent promotions over the years, but never wrestled full-time for a major company again.
He was rarely featured after splitting up with Kendrick. This was due to a few reasons, but the biggest was a segment of Raw when he, in the eyes of the company, ruined a crucial segment.
On the June 11th 2007 episode of Monday Night Raw, Vince McMahon died.
Well, not really.
His character, the evil Mr McMahon, walked solemnly past a host of WWE Superstars as he left the arena. He entered his limousine in the parking lot, taking one final look at the empire he created.
But as the door slammed shut, the car exploded in a huge fireball. McMahon was presumed dead, and the most shocking moment in Raw history ended that episode of Raw.
Everybody was shocked, although they knew something was up. As McMahon left the arena, the faces he walked past all looked on with a quiet sadness.
That was, except for Paul London, who had a huge smile plastered on his face. This was hilarious, although not to the WWE, who used this as an excuse to fire him months later.
However, this was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. London has admitted in the past that he was burnt out working in the WWE, sick of the travel and backstage culture in the company.
Paul London was released from the WWE on the 7th of November, 2008. This was five months after the event, but it did have a contribution to his firing. He only wrestled twice on Raw after McMahon’s “death”, in back-to-back losses to Chris Jericho and Lance Cade.
His appearances were limited to live events and dark matches. The company shoved him out after the McMahon incident, and Paul London has never appeared in WWE since.
Vince sure can hold a grudge on something that was made literally irrelevant a week later.
Paul London Wants A Million Dollars To Return To The WWE
While fans have been clamouring for a Paul London return to the WWE for years, it seems very unlikely to happen. London has not been seen in a WWE ring since 2008, and with Brian Kendrick’s recent controversies, their team is unlikely to be seen again in wrestling.
Paul London himself has spoken about his outrageous demands he would need WWE to meet for him to make a return to the company
Speaking to former WWE superstar Renee Dupree on his podcast, Cafe De Rene, and revealed that it would take $1 million to get Paul London to appear in the Royal Rumble match.
He also noted that he wanted it “upfront, in cash” and called Vince McMahon a very derogatory name during the tirade.
“A million dollars and I want it upfront in cash. All of it Vince, you piece of sh*t. Unmarked bill in a briefcase handcuffed to my wrist. All of it. Yeah, that’s the only way I’d do it.”
