SUMMARY
- On January 25, 2024, Janel Grant filed a lawsuit against Vince McMahon for s*xual harassment.
- Amid all the scandal, a former 40-year-old WWE star recalls his experience working with Mr. McMahon.
On January 25, 2024, Janel Grant filed a lawsuit against Vince McMahon for s*xual harassment and trafficking. Later on, Vince had to resign from his position on the Board of Directors of TKO. Amid all the drama, a former 40-year-old WWE star recalls his experience working with Mr. McMahon.
Heath Slater was one of the most creative superstars in the history of the WWE. He had several runs with the company and was seemingly over with the crowd as well. Things took a turn for the former 24/7 Champion when he debuted on the main roster of the villainous stable, The Nexus. Slater was a sure-shot heel during that time and was a formidable part of the stable.
Shortly after being disbanded from the stable, Heath would focus on singles competition and establish himself as a heel. During 2012, he had a gimmick that involved him, and various WWE Legends had several impromptu matches in the build-up to RAW 1000. During an interview with Steve Fall, Slater talked about the angle and how he convinced Vince McMahon to do so.
Slater talked about how he was shocked upon knowing that he was in a match against Vader. Upon knowing that he was facing Vader, he talked to Mr.McMahon about making a storyline out of this. “I literally just went and I knocked on Vince’s door. I walked in and Vince was like, ‘Hey, come on in.’ I’m like, I see that I’m working with Vader. Can I have that every week with these legends?” said Slater.
Heath further explained his idea to McMahon, which he liked and gave a thumbs up for. Slater stated how he explained, quoting, “Let me be like an anti-legend. Like, You old dudes get the hell out. It’s my time to shine, the young kids’ time to shine.” McMahon was surprised to know it and asked Heat whether he was willing to do it or not.
“He was like, ‘Are you willing to do that?’ I said, ‘Damn right. I am.’ He’s like, ‘Okay,'” said the former Tag Team Champion. The storyline that followed was one to remember, as a lot of legends would appear each week. After Heath would boast about himself and his accolades, a legend would interrupt him and have an instant match with him.
10 years ago today, July 23, 2012, it was the 1,000th episode of Raw! @AmyDumas defeated Heath Slater. This was Lita’s first WWE match in 6 years. pic.twitter.com/YSPNfzGVlD
— William Wesley Elm (@Mr_WWE_2023) July 24, 2022
Legends like Lita, Doink The Clown, Psycho Sid, Diamond Dallas Page, and many more Hall of Famers made their appearances. The ultimate match was at RAW 1000, where Lita returned for one night only. JBL and Farooq would also return as the APA and take out Slater during his match with Lita. All the legends he faced during this time would appear at last and lay out Slater on RAW 1000.
Heath Slater was released from WWE in 2020
After being thrashed by several legends on RAW 1000 in 2012, Heath Slater was a part of several stables and tag teams. He was a part of the 3MB, along with Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal, from 2012-2014. He was then a part of the Social Outcasts alongside Curtis Axel, Adam Rose, and Bo Dallas throughout 2016. Heath would then team up with Rhyno and win the SmackDown Tag Team Championships twice.
Also Heath Slater and Rhyno became the inaugural smackdown tag team champs pic.twitter.com/E2gFghYyeR
— ᭙𝓲ꪶꪶ ☠︎︎ (@HeelBalor) September 11, 2019
In 2020, Slater was released from the WWE due to budget cuts. He then made his appearance at Impact Wrestling under the name Heath. He would reunite with Rhyno and win the Impact Tag Team Championships with him. In 2023, his contract with Impact Wrestling expired, and he has wrestled in several independent wrestling promotions since then.