As they say, “The third time’s the charm,” and according to former WWE star Jimmy Wang Yang (James Yun), former WWE CEO and Chairman Vince McMahon was unaware of Yang’s second release from his promotion. In his interview on “Insight with Chris Van Vliet,” the former cruiserweight competitor recalled who informed him at first that he was going to be rehired in 2006.
“So, [‘WWE] SmackDown’ is in Cincinnati…in my hometown…I walk into ‘SmackDown,’ and John Laurinaitis pulls me aside and says, ‘Hey, Jim, come here. We’re going to hire you again.’ [I said], ‘Oh, really? Cool!’ This is my third run with WWE…I want to go thank Vince,” Yang said.
Later that day, Yang privately spoke with Mr. McMahon, who revealed in his own special way how he was uninformed that this was the third time Yang was on the WWE roster. That said, in this one-on-one meeting, McMahon instructed Yang of his new character, which included several guffaw laughs in between telling him of his new assigned role. Yang imitated each and every single laugh in the second part of his story.
“So, I go down to his office, knock on the door, ‘Hey, Vince, it’s Jimmy.’ [He said], ‘Oh, Jimmy! Come on. Come on [imitates a deep belly laugh by the former chairman]. You know, I didn’t even know you were fired.’ I was like, ‘Really?'” Yang mentioned. “[Then he said] ‘I got this idea. You know, last time I didn’t let you talk because you’re this Korean dude from Georgia. You know, you had a southern accent…This time…I’m going to turn you into the Asian redneck [imitates another McMahon-like laugh]…That’s funny!’ It was just me and him in the room, and I’m like, ‘Man, this is f**king weird. Like, oh my God, this is out there.’ [McMahon says] ‘Your name is going to be Jimmy Wang Yang, because it rhymes [does the laugh again]. That’s hilarious!’ I’m like, ‘Cool, Vince. As long as that check comes every Monday, I’ll do whatever you want.'”
The comedic boot scootin’ cowboy would remain on the main roster until April 22, 2010, when he was released for the third time. He would briefly return for the fourth time in 2021 as a backstage producer, but that run ended months after was hired back on. In this interview, Yang mentioned his new memoir that recounts all his runs in the WWE, and where his career went after.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Insight with Chris Van Vliet” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
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