>>10583871The Savage / Steph rumors started on the old wrestling message boards. I even remember the story being shared there and changing a little each time. I want to say the rumors started around 97ish, maybe even a year or two later. Definitely not right after he left though. Savage was not really there at the same time Steph would have been, at least not long enough. And it's absurd to think Vince would just fire him rather than put him in jail or have him killed, which frankly Vince is capable of.
Vince was actually close friends with Randy. They would work out together too. Randy had the Slim Jim contract but of course it helped WWF immensely. In 94, the WWF was struggling and Turner's WCW was bringing in a lot of stars, including Hulk Hogan. Savage agreed to be a commentator but later reneged and signed a big money deal with WCW to keep wrestling, without taking the offer to Vince first to see if he would give a better deal.
Vince saw this as a huge betrayal, both professionally and personally. That's all there was to it. Vince is insanely petty so of course he held a grudge. That's typical for him. Randy is so proud that he never reached out to work for Vince. He wanted Vince to do that. And Vince was too proud to make the first move too. They really were a lot alike.
