NXT commentator Vic Joseph said he was “completely caught off guard” when his wife, McKenzie Mitchell, was released.
Joseph was talking to Adam Silverstein on the Getting Over podcast.
However, he praised Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Michael Cole for reaching out to them on “a personal level.”
Silverstein noted that a lot of fans had celebrated when Mitchell showed up at TNA wrestling, but added, “A lot of us were pretty bummed and frankly surprised when she was released by WWE.”
The host continued, “I know this is a fine line to walk. I get it. But did it come as much of a shock to you guys as it did to us?”
Joseph noted that the news had come at a bad time, not long after the death of his father. He said:
I’ll be honest about it. I was completely caught off guard. I remember the morning. And what was interesting is my father passed away in October. She was fired the first week of December. So it was like boom, boom, you know. So, yeah, it completely caught me off guard. It completely caught her off guard, and caught some people in the company off guard as well.
However, he added that he and his wife understood that a business decision had been made and that there was no ill will. He also noted that the working relationship between NXT and TNA meant that there were always possibilities.
Joseph said:
The only thing we could do is go about it with grace. And now she’s back in TNA; she’s back home to the promotion she wanted to go back to.
I’m so proud of her. And I go back to three people — I go back to Triple H, I go back to Shawn Michaels and I go back to Michael Cole. All three reached out. All three talked to us. All three talked to us on a personal level. I don’t want to share those conversations, obviously. But that is why, to me, WWE is home for me. And it’s different. It’s a different vibe. It’s a different feel.
For her, she said in interviews that she understood. You know, it is what it is. She still loves everybody here. She still talks to Shawn. Every time I see Hunter, he goes, “Hey, how’s she doing?”
As for the future, Joseph added:
Anything can happen a year from now. And there’s no ill will towards anybody from her towards WWE. She even just told me today, she goes, “Hey, I’d love to make it to Stand and Deliver when I’m out in Vegas just to say hi to Shawn and give him a hug. You know, that’s great. I don’t know how many other corporate places have that sort of emotional connection.
