>>13298127WWF was dying at the time too.
Vince was taking out loans to cover payroll by the summer of 97 and cutting back on overhead as much as possible. There is a famous story that he took out the water coolers in Stamford just to save a few hundred a month. According to Prichard, by the fall of 97, he was entertaining the thought of making the WWF a regional show to save on travel costs as much as possible. Vince basically forced him out but didn't feel bad because he knew Bret was going to make a shit ton of money elsewhere, even though that's not really want Bret wanted to do.