Article By WrestlingHeadlines.com Guest Author Harry Terjanian
Impact Wrestling Creative Director David Sahadi says there is no chance he will ever return to WWE due to how cruelly the company treated his father. In a recent appearance on the Man School 202 podcast, Sahadi lamented that he was “burnt-out” from the full-time schedule as a director/producer and informed WWE that he needed to step away from the company. But what was initially intended as a break, became permanent when according to Sahadi, the WWE fired his father, Lou Sahadi, out of revenge.
David Sahadi started with the WWE (then WWF) in 1992. During his tenure through 2003, he was responsible for creating several memorable promotional videos, vignettes, and commercials throughout the company’s booming late 90’s “Attitude Era.” But the hectic work pace of WWE left David Sahadi feeling “exhausted” with a desire to step away from the company to recuperate.
When he informed WWE Executive Producer Kevin Dunn about his decision, Dunn suggested a three-month sabbatical. David Sahadi declined, not wanting to set a solid time table for a return. “I told him, ‘No, I can’t because then I’ll be counting down the days.’” With that, Sahadi was, for the first time in over a decade, no longer a WWE employee.
According to David Sahadi, the company tried, on numerous occasions, including in-person meetings with owner Vince McMahon, to coax a return. “They offered me four or five different jobs (working directly under McMahon). Everything was full-time. I told him ‘I don’t want to work full-time just yet. I don’t want to do 70-hour work weeks.’ They said, it was either full-time or nothing.” Sahadi chose to continue his sabbatical.
Nine months later, Impact Wrestling (then TNA), a smaller wrestling company formed in 2002, reached out to David Sahadi for assistance in launching their first PPV event, “Victory Road.” He accepted the one-off assignment, unaware of the resentment it would create within the WWE.
“I was basically crucified by them. They [the WWE] told the entire staff that nobody was allowed to have contact or communication with me,” said David Sahadi.
While he was surprised by the reaction, the biggest insult was the pain they inflicted upon his father, Lou Sahadi. Lou Sahadi, a retired author, sports-writer and editor of Wrestling World Magazine, had a working relationship with Vince McMahon and his father Vince McMahon, Sr., dating back to the 1970’s. He served as a “middle man,” booking athletes and celebrities, including Mike Tyson and Lawrence Taylor, to make appearances at WWE events. He would also write articles and assist in gathering the company press coverage. As part of the working arrangement, Lou Sahadi had been under a monthly $3000 “Legend’s Contract” with the WWE.
“Sure enough…I’m at my dad’s house, and he gets a phone call from Kevin Dunn saying, ‘Lou, I hate to give bad news to good people, but we’re trying to cut back, so the legend’s check is going to stop.’”
The move drove David Sahadi to join Impact Wrestling full time. “That hurt me and angered me so much that I’m like ‘Fuck that! I’m calling [Impact founder] Jeff Jarrett tomorrow…to come back.’”
For David Sahadi, any chance of a reunion with WWE was eradicated. “That codified my desire to go back there…you fuck with my dad, that’s my sore point.”
The acrimonious end with the WWE became a huge gain for Impact Wrestling where David Sahadi has been a fixture since 2004. “It was first out of anger,” said David Sahadi. “Then it was helping this company grow and becoming bigger.” In making Impact Wrestling become a viable alternative to the colossal WWE, David Sahadi also finds himself more at peace personally and professionally. “I make less money here, but I have my time and freedom. And that is priceless.” David Sahadi often uses that time and freedom to travel and visit with his father Lou Sahadi, now 91 years old.
–Harry Terjanian is a broadcaster, and writer from New York City and co-hosts the Man School 202 podcast, which drops every Tuesday.
You can see the full clip of the interview segment here:
