"I quit" – 3-time champion recalls leaving WWE after Vince McMahon talk
Vince McMahon oversaw WWE's creative direction for 40 years before being replaced by his son-in-law Triple H in 2022. PJ Black, fka Justin Gabriel, recently disclosed details about his WWE exit.
Black worked for WWE between 2008 and 2015. The 44-year-old was an original member of the villainous Nexus faction and held the tag title three times with Heath Slater.
On the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast, Black confirmed he asked to be released from his WWE contract due to creative frustrations. He also recalled how Vince McMahon initially wanted him to stay.
"I quit," Black stated. "Like I said, I pitched all these ideas. Hundreds and hundreds of ideas and none of them were even given a second look at. At that time, I was like, 'Man, maybe I'm just not good at this.' I was like, 'I'm good at wrestling, so let me go to the indies and wrestle like wrestling matches,' like ROH [Ring of Honor] or New Japan. Vince even said that to me. He goes, 'Look, I know what you want to do.'" [54:34 – 55:06]
On January 18, 2015, Black defeated Adam Rose at an untelevised live event in his final WWE match.
Why PJ Black declined further talks with Vince McMahon
At first, PJ Black agreed to discuss his future with Vince McMahon at the following week's television tapings. However, he changed his mind after thinking about other options in the wrestling business.
Black added that he contacted WWE's higher-ups and informed them he would not be coming back to work:
"They were like, 'Just go home and think about it, come back to TV next week, and we'll talk.' I was like, 'Okay.' But right before TV I called them and I was like, 'I'm not coming back. I'm sorry. This is just something I have to do. It's a really hard decision, but this is something I wanna do.' I hit the indies immediately. I was like, 'This is great.' That's what I wanted to do." [55:07 – 55:27]
In the same interview, Black said WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H thought one of his creative ideas was better suited to the Attitude Era.
Please credit Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
