Vince finally said he would let me go, but he wanted me to sign
a release agreement. This time, I thought it would probably be a
good idea to have my lawyer look at the document before I signed
it. I was sitting in a hotel somewhere when I got the release from
Vince, and I faxed it to my lawyer in Minneapolis. He called me,
said he would look at it, and then would fax back a marked-up
copy to discuss with me.
But I got impatient. I just wanted out. I never intended to
compete with Vince and WWE, and I didn’t care if Vince’s
agreement said I couldn’t. So before my attorney even had a
chance to comment, I signed Vince’s release. I thought it would be
quick and easy, I would get my WrestleMania payday, and I’d be
done with pro wrestling forever. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
What I didn’t know, because I didn’t wait to hear back from my
lawyer, is that while my WWE contract had a one-year
noncompete clause, the release I signed was much different.
Just to avoid the hassles of lawyers negotiating and everything
that happens when you’re leaving, I signed a release that stated I
couldn’t appear for any wrestling, ultimate fighting, or “sports
entertainment” companies, anywhere in the world, until mid-2010.
With one stroke of the pen, I royally screwed myself over.