Vince McMahon often fired wrestlers for bizarre reasons, but did Paul London lose his job for simply smiling?
For over a decade, fans have speculated the reason for the former WWE Tag Team Champion’s release from the company.
His WWE exit was perceived to be shortly after the infamous Vince McMahon death storyline, where the WWE Chairman was killed in a limousine explosion on the June 11, 2007 episode of Monday Night Raw.
His grim was unmistakable, as London was the only person smiling when McMahon made the slow, solemn walk to the parking lot before fatally entering the limousine, moments before it exploded.
Many have claimed that it was this that saw London lose his job, being fired soon after when McMahon returned to TV after the death of Chris Benoit the following month.
But was Paul London fired for smiling before Vince McMahon’s death?
Read More: For fans who want to learn more about the real Vince McMahon, check out Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America, an in-depth look on his childhood, early career and the man behind WWE’s most controversial moments.
The Evidence: Paul London was released over a year after Vince McMahon’s limousine explosion
The one, obvious piece of evidence that disproves the claim that Paul London was fired for smiling before Vince McMahon’s death was that he continued working for the company for a year and a half following.
The segment in question took place on June 11, 2007, while London remained employed by WWE until late the following year.
A week after the incident, London and partner Brian Kendrick were drafted to Raw and even became World Tag Team Champions, albeit on an untelevised house show in South Africa in a reign lasting just three days.
They dropped the belts to previous champions Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch, but continued teaming together until Kendrick was drafted to Smackdown in 2008 to pursue a singles career.
London had his own short singles run, facing top stars like Chris Jericho in defeats before being released by WWE on November 7, 2008.
But even though the evidence completely proves the claim false, you don’t need to take my word for it: Paul London shut down the discussion in November 2022 on an episode of Cafe de Rene with Rene Dupree.
“And you know, I didn’t get released for that. I can’t tell you how many times I see this stupidity out there.” London said.
“These people saying, ‘Oh, he got fired for smiling.’ Why was I still there a year and a half after that if that was true?
“I don’t get it. But he got fired. First of all, that’s not true. I don’t want to say this again, but there’s no smiling clause in that contract.”
Verdict: FALSE
No, Paul London was not fired by WWE after being caught smiling before Vince McMahon’s limousine explosion. He continued to wrestle for the company for another year and a half, even becoming a champion during this time.
However, that is not to say the incident did not have any effect on his career.
Paul London admitted the smiling incident affected his career in WWE
While it may not have cost him his job, people in WWE backstage were not happy with London cracking a smile during what was meant to be a sombre moment on Raw.
The former tag team champion had major heat with McMahon following the segment, with one writer telling him that the Chairman refused to book him in segments for a time following London’s infamous smile.
The producers made all the talent do multiple takes of Vince’s walk to the limo, although nobody pointed out until the final take that London’s smile was an issue.
He remained in the dog house, in his words, until the Chris Benoit incident that turned the wrestling world on its head.
You can listen to London’s comments on his heat with McMahon below.
It is not unreasonable for somebody to expect such strange reasons for WWE to fire a wrestler. Vince McMahon once canned Enzo Amore for a rape allegation which turned out to be false, and there are numerous other wrestlers who have been fired by WWE for weird reasons over the years.
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