Vince McMahon gets a lot of heat from the fans online. Any bad ideas or controversial programming elements are blamed on the boss. Pat McAfee thinks one is bound to get some bad ideas while running weekly shows for this long. He believes the boss gets criticism for all the bad things, but he doesn’t get the credit for any of his success.

The former NFL player recently welcomed Randy Orton on his podcast. The two first talked about Orton’s relationship with Mr McMahon. McAfee then explained how the WWE chairman doesn’t get enough credit for his good ideas:

“Vince gets all the heat for all the bad ideas that happen. When you’re going live every single week, two times a week on TV. Both the first longest and the second-longest episodic television series of all time, Raw and Smackdown.” said Pat McAfee, “Those are the two. You’re gonna get some bad ideas in there. Every show you watch, there’s some fucking bad episodes. Every once in a while that’s gonna happen.

He never gets credit for the good stuff though. Whenever you think like, Stone Cold, The Rock, Brock Lesnar. You go through the list of just success. I know there’s a lot more. Randy fucking Orton is on that list. By the way, you should be pumped. You’ve done the business well, and I think Vince should also probably take a victory lap every once in a while and be like, ‘I saw something in this guy and stuck by this guy. A lot of people didn’t and now he is one of the goats at what he does.’ Man, it’s awesome.”

If you use the quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

This article has been edited for clarity

It was revealed back in December that Kevin Owens had re-signed with WWE, a move that surprised some at the time.

After winning the WWE Universal Championship and feuding with John Cena early in his WWE career, Owens slid down the card and hadn’t received the same kind of push since. He seemed like a prime candidate for a change of scenery and a move to AEW.

Then he re-signed with WWE for a lot of money, and now Owens finds himself in a WrestleMania program with none other than Stone Cold Steve Austin. It’s hard to fault him for his decision.

In an interview with ESPN, Owens explained how, ultimately, it was Vince McMahon who convinced him to stay with WWE.

“A big part of it, honestly, was that Vince McMahon made it pretty clear to me that he wanted me to stay,” Owens said. “And, you know, I’ve been in WWE for seven years at this point. You know, I have a lot of friends everywhere else in wrestling, but there is a whole side of WWE that people don’t get to see, whether it’s the production crew, you know, the camera people, the stage manager, the creative team, all these people.

“They’re all very special people and you know, they’re a part of my family. My extended family now. My professional family, if you want to call it that. So that, those were all factors that, that, that led to me, you know, staying put, because Vince made it clear he wanted me to stay. It feels like my home and all those other people there that, you know, if I wasn’t there, I wouldn’t get to see anymore and that was just like, you know, it just seemed like the right move. That’s really all there is to it.”

“Vince made it clear he wanted me to stay.”

Kevin Owens

Despite some comments made by Ronda Rousey during an appearance on Ellen on Tuesday, reports continue to indicate that Kevin Owens and Steve Austin will main event night one of WrestleMania 38 this weekend.

Be sure to check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news. This week’s show features a full preview and predictions for WrestleMania 38: Apple – Spotify – YouTube. 

• ‘The United States of America vs. Vince McMahon’ Series Moving Forward

Plans for “The United States of America vs. Vince McMahon” series are now in full swing.

The Hollywood Reporter brought word that the series will be written by Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue. WWE is working with Blumhouse Television for the project.

Statements On Vince McMahon Series Finding Showrunners

Blumhouse TV president Chris McCumber issued the following statement:

“Blumhouse is thrilled to be partnering with Noah and Micah on this project. Their ability to bring iconic characters to life in a nuanced, dramatic, and fully realized way is the reason they are the perfect fit to tell the story of The United States of America vs. Vince McMahon.”

Harpster and Firzerman-Blue also chimed in, heaping praise on the WWE Chairman.

“Vince McMahon is a living legend. We are thrilled to tell his larger-than-life story with our partners at Blumhouse and WWE.”

The series is set in the 1990s and will focus on the infamous federal court case against Vince McMahon back in 1994. The case was brought about on suspicion that Vince was supplying illegal anabolic steroids to talent. McMahon was found not guilty.

At this time, the series doesn’t have an outlet. “The United States of America vs. Vince McMahon” was announced back in the summer of 2021.

Austin Theory has shared what he believes is the biggest misconception about Vince McMahon.

Theory has aligned with Vince on WWE TV. He’s scheduled to wrestle Pat McAfee on night two (April 3) of WrestleMania 38.

Misconceptions

During an interview with TV Insider, Austin Theory discussed what he believes people get wrong about the WWE Chairman.

“For me, there has always been the stigma of Vince McMahon that he is not nice or one-way about stuff. That it’s his way or no way. From what I’ve seen and my experience, he is on another level. All the hats he wears.

“He is so invested in everybody and somehow makes everything work. I think that’s so crazy to see him doing it for that long and staying that sharp. If I have a question or see anybody have a question, and they want to talk to him, they always get an answer. They always get a conversation.

“I think that is so cool to really see the passion he still has for what he does. It hasn’t left him at all. For me personally, it is cool to know this man’s a billionaire and still working like he has a grand in his bank account.”

What Austin Theory Learned From Vince

Theory also discussed what he’s been able to learn from Vince McMahon. He claims to have learned “respectful aggressiveness” thanks to Vince’s guidance. Theory says it has allowed him to get ahead as a WWE performer.

“I’m in a position that anyone who aspired to do anything in WWE would be so honored to have. I understand just how big a deal the position I am in is. Just how crazy it is for me as a lifelong fan who grew up watching Mr. McMahon and the crazy things he did.

“It’s cool to be put in a position to perform live television with him. The one thing I’ve learned from him is this respectful aggressiveness. Showing you have that respect, but if you have an idea and are passionate about something, you have to use that aggressiveness to go after it.

“There are little tips as we perform that I take away from for sure.”

Vince McMahon revealed recently that he would be the one to induct Undertaker into Hall Of Fame. Though The Dead Man himself is nervous about this because he has no idea what Vince will say.

The wrestling legend recently had an interview with Dallas Morning News. He mentioned how the boss loves to play practical jokes:

“I have absolutely no clue what he’s going to say, I’m a little bit nervous,” said The Undertaker, “there’s no one that Vince loves to play practical jokes on more than me.

The fact that the Hall Of Fame is on April Fool’s Day, who knows what’s going to happen. I do know it’s going to be emotional; I am not sure to what lengths he will go to not to completely fall apart and be emotional.”

• The Undertaker’s WrestleMania 38 Prediction: Lesnar or Reigns?

Undertaker also noted that it was him who asked Mr. McMahon to induct him. Though according to him there has been radio silence between the two since then:

“We’ve almost had radio silence here for the last few weeks after I asked him to induct me. So, I have no idea what to even begin to expect from him,”

Apart from this, Taker discussed how he turned down the Hall Of Fame induction the first time he was offered. You can read his comments on the matter here.

Thanks to WrestlingInc for the quotes

Happy Corbin has become quite chummy with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.

Corbin can be seen on the SmackDown brand every Friday night. He’s currently involved in a feud with former two-time WWE Champion Drew McIntyre. The two will share the squared circle on night one of WrestleMania 38 on April 2.

Happy Corbin-Vince McMahon Dynamic

During an appearance on the Johnny Dare Morning Show, Happy Corbin detailed his relationship with Vince McMahon and how things between the two can be both funny and frustrating.

“Vince, he’s amazing. We have a crazy relationship because he’s a big kid at times who is also the most powerful CEO you’ve ever met in your life. He’s got that business swagger, the way he walks around, but if you’re not looking he’ll smack you in the back of their head if you have that relationship with him. He’s hit me a couple of times.

“You know when someone does something and you instantly just get angry and want to punch them in the face, but you haven’t seen who or what it was yet? He’s done that to me a few times. If I’m not paying attention or if I have a shirt on or something, he walks up, and I hate being slapped or smacked, and he smacks me in the back or across the back of the neck and I turn around ready to kill, and I see it’s him and he’s just belly laughing and there’s literally nothing I can do. It’s funny but it’s also frustrating.”

While Corbin hasn’t won a world title in WWE, he’s been given prominent roles. At one point, he was an authority figure on Monday Night Raw. He’s also mixed it up with plenty of main eventers.

H/T to Fightful for the transcribed quotes

WWE finds itself in an interesting time as they are making more money than ever thanks to lucrative television deals with NBCU and FOX in addition to the big money they receive twice a year for holding two events per year in Saudi Arabia. 

WWE made a new SEC filing that revealed the salaries for Vince McMahon and Nick Khan. The WWE Chairman made 1.4 million last year while now he is making $2 million per year while the WWE Chief Revenue Officer is making 1.2 million. 

Khan also has a sign-on equity grant, which was previously $9 million. It has risen to $7.5 million this year, which makes it a total of $16 million. McMahon has 42% stock of the company and also has 83% of the company’s voting power. 

Last year in an SEC filing, WWE revealed that Stephanie McMahon was making $730,000 as Chief Brand Officer while EVP, Global Talent Strategy & Development Triple H earned $730,000. 

Last month, WWE reported its 2021 earnings. Revenue increased 12% to $1.095 billion, which is the highest in the company’s history, in which they netted $63.9 million. In the fourth quarter alone they made $310.3 million of which they netted $180.4 million

Austin Theory will battle SmackDown announcer Pat McAfee at WrestleMania 38. It should be an entertaining match, but it’s not what WWE originally had planned.

At one point, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was rumored to be competing against McAfee at the company’s biggest show of the year.

When McMahon was announced as a guest on the Pat McAfee’s Show, it seemed this would be the forum to set up the special attraction. McMahon offered McAfee a chance to compete at WrestleMania, which he accepted. On a subsequent episode of WWE SmackDown, Austin Theory revealed himself to be McAfee’s opponent.

In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer shed some light on how McAfee vs. Theory came to be and what the original plan was for Vince McMahon’s involvement.

Vince McMahon’s Role at WrestleMania 38

“Obviously, from the 2/28 Raw, where Theory talked about McAfee perhaps attacking Vince McMahon and he’ll be there to help McMahon if that happened him on the 3/3 episode of McAfee’s show,” wrote Meltzer. “Then nothing at all transpired and Theory wasn’t even there, indicating a major change in plans.”

WWE sources confirmed there was a significant change from the original plans. While Vince McMahon won’t be wrestling, he’s still slated to be a big part of the match and will help get heat on Austin Theory.

Meltzer added, “What appears to be the idea is that there will be an angle to get McMahon into the match, likely overseeing the match and being at ringside rather than it being a handicap match, although that has been talked of as well.”

Had the Vince McMahon vs. Pat McAfee match taken place, Austin theory would have been heavily involved and taking all the bumps on McMahon’s behalf.

It’s speculative, but perhaps McMahon soured on the idea because he did not feel it was right to advertise himself in a match while ‘outsourcing’ his bumps to Austin Theory.

WrestleMania 38 takes place over two nights on Saturday, April 2nd and Sunday, April 3rd from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

• Pat McAfee: “I Guess Cody Rhodes is Coming to WWE. Who Cares?”

In advance of his match with Jon Moxley at AEW Revolution on Sunday evening, Bryan Danielson sat down with Dave Meltzer and Garrett Gonzales of Wrestling Observer Radio for a lengthy conversation about his career, as well as life in general.

During the early part of the interview, Bryan was asked about his exit from WWE. Meltzer noted that it seems as if Bryan is happier now than he has been in several years and Bryan agreed.

When asked about making the decision to leave WWE, Bryan noted that he was in a comfortable place and content and so he kind of dragged out making a final decision until his wife, Brie Bella, started pressing him that he had to let the two sides (WWE and AEW) know what he was going to do.

He said two things that were really important to him were: Spending time with his family and being able to bleed.

“When I did the checks and balances as far as what do I want from my life, where would I make a bigger impact and help more people. What would my quality of life be like for my children, as far as being on the road. Two things that are not related at all would be I’d be able to spend more time with my family, and that I’d also be able to bleed,” Bryan said, laughing.

• Update On Jeff Hardy’s AEW Signing & Debut

Once he finally made the decision to head to AEW, Danielson noted that he immediately spoke to Vince McMahon, perhaps even before he told Tony Khan (he couldn’t remember for sure.

In the end, McMahon asked him why he was leaving and Bryan revealed what he told the WWE boss.

“I don’t like to divulge my conversations with Vince [McMahon] at all because I know he’s a very private person,” Danielson said. “But I will say this, one of the things..because I wanted to tell him before I told anybody else. I don’t remember if I told Vince even before I told Tony. But, one of the things, when I finally made my decision, I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m set on this decision,’ and he was kind of asking me why and I said, ‘You know, there’s part of me too that just wants to be able to bleed.’ And he immediately said, ‘Well, I’m sorry I’ll never be able to give you that.’ (laughs) And so yeah, it’s not like I want to do it all the time. There’s something, I don’t know, incredibly life affirming about it, as strange as that sounds.”

Check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news: Apple – Spotify – YouTube. This week’s show features a full preview for AEW Revolution.

Please credit and h/t SEScoops when utilizing these transcribed Bryan Danielson quotes, as well as link to the original interview on F4WOnline.

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon has shared his thoughts on the company’s hiring decision.

WWE has faced backlash for how they released talent last year. The company released over 80 talent in 2021, most of the reasons due to budget cuts. Meanwhile, WWE also praised themselves for their financial success last year.

McMahon explained his decision to release talent in an interview with Pat McAfee on Mar. 3.

“I’m always concerned about what’s best for the audience, always. What does the audience want, and if you have dead weight around you or if you had a situation by someone not cutting it and you have an opportunity for someone to come in, it’s like, okay, that’s probably the best thing,” said McMahon.

Vince McMahon on Listening to the Audience

Sometimes in professional wrestling, a talent may do something that could burn bridges to work with a company. An example could be Hulk Hogan working for WCW. However, McMahon believes that as long as the fans want valuable talent, WWE will always consider hiring a wrestler. He also tied in that while he releases talent, he also looks to add new people to the WWE roster.

“… Hogan and a lot of those guys left me at one time, why I brought them back. It’s like, ‘I’ll never bring that son of a b*itch back as long as I live.’ When you say stuff like that, you’re really hurting yourself because you’re not thinking about your audience. You’re not thinking about your product, and it’s not about you and your ego,” said McMahon.

He continued, “It’s like, ‘Yeah, okay, maybe I really felt that way. Maybe I didn’t, but nonetheless, it doesn’t matter. What’s the best thing for business? If the audience wants Hulk Hogan back, you bring him back if he has value that way.”

Vince McMahon on Proritizing the Stockholders

McMahon also believes that the WWE going public made him a better businessman. While the WWE releases seem unjust, McMahon expressed that he lets people go due to the business and isn’t personal.

“Once I took the company public, it helped me become a better businessman because prior to that, I was running the business with my head, but mostly with my heart as well, said McMahon. He continued, “These decisions are so damn tough when you do that, because of who it is, he has kids or this that and the other or someone has cancer in the family, and all that computes in your head, but once you’re a public company now you owe stockholders. It is the business then, so it helps me make easier and better business decisions.”

McMahon wants fans to know that he does have a heart. While WWE releases seemed callous, the WWE Chairman prioritizes his business.

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon will help induct “The Deadman” The Undertaker into the WWE Hall of Fame.

The WWE announced on Feb. 18 that The Undertaker would be inducted into their 2022 Hall of Fame Class. So far, he is the only member revealed to be going into this year’s Hall of Fame. After the announcement from WWE, wrestling fans have wondered who will help induct “The Deadman.” On The Pat McAfee Show on Mar. 3, McMahon shared that he will help induct The Undertaker.

Vince McMahon on Why He’s Inducting The Undertaker

The WWE Chairman hasn’t inducted a wrestler since Stone Cold Steve Austin on Apr. 4, 2009. When explaining why he chose to introduce The Undertaker, McMahon gave an emotional response and why it will be the most challenging thing McMahon has ever done.

“This will be one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done in my life. He explained I like the guy. I love the guy. We’ve known each other for so many years. We’ve you been through all kinds of situations, some that glad didn’t make the newspapers and so forth. When you live on the road like that, you know you have your family at home. When you live on the road, man, you have to have a family on the road, and you have to have people you can count on, you rely on, that are loyal and trustworthy and not have to look over your shoulder. He’s that kind of guy. He’s an extraordinary human being.” He also shared that it will be difficult because he knows The Undertaker personally.

It’s unclear if The Undertaker will be the only inductee for this year’s Hall of Fame. However, McMahon personally inducting “The Deadman” will make for an emotional moment.

The Undertaker Reacts

The Undertaker has commented on the news that Vince McMahon will induct him into the WWE Hall of Fame. The Dead Man said McMahon is the perfect person to bestow the honor upon him.

Vince McMahon will give a rare interview on Thursday afternoon as a guest on The Pat McAfee Show. This will be McMahon’s first extensive live interview since appearing on The Stone Cold Podcast back in 2014.

In a new report from Fightful Select, it was emphasized that the interview will in fact be “real.” While it’s expected that McMahon will begin some type of storyline with McAfee during the interview, rumored to culminate in a match at WrestleMania 38, the rest of the appearance should be fascinating given the nature of the appearance.

While McAfee does announce for WWE, his show is not part of the WWE’s ecosystem. McMahon going on an outside program like this hasn’t happened in many, many years, especially in a live setting. There are many directions the questioning could take.

McMahon did appear on WWE Monday Night Raw this week as part of his ongoing story with Austin Theory. During that appearance, Theory offered to accompany Vince to the interview and back him up in case McAfee got physical with him. McMahon declined stating it wouldn’t be that type of a show. Theory made it seem like he will be there for the interview anyway.

• Pat McAfee Responds To Reports Of Vince McMahon Match

It would make sense for Theory to be involved in whatever is planned for WrestleMania given McMahon’s age and his limitations in the ring. WWE continues to use Vince in their efforts to get Theory over with the WWE audience, an ongoing project that, judging by crowd reactions, has not worked thus far. Perhaps a prime spot at WrestleMania could help change things.

McMahon’s interview on The Pat McAfee Show is set to begin at 2:00 p.m. Eastern on Thursday.

Check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news: Apple – Spotify – YouTube.

WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon will be making a rare media appearance Thursday afternoon on the Pat McAfee Show.

McAfee has since responded to this announcement on Twitter. He said that he is ready to have the conversation of a lifetime with one of his current employers:

“Abaht to have the conversation of a LIFETIME with the LEGENDARY billionaire genius @VinceMcMahon next week #SmackDown #SmackDAHN,”

The Pat McAfee show steams from 12 noon ET on both YouTube and SiriusXM Channel 82 every Monday to Friday.

The former NFL player also recently interviewed Brock Lesnar on his show. During the appearance, Lesnar talked about things such as his social anxiety and more.

McMahon usually does not make a lot of media appearances. It will be interesting to see what comes out of this rare interview.

McAfee, who has previously wrestled for the company is also rumored for a WrestleMania feud but there is no word yet on who he might face at the show.

There have been wild rumors going around about the upcoming WrestleMania 38 PPV event. One of them is that Vince McMahon himself is going to be involved in a Mania program with Pat McAfee.

The former NFL player is not unaware of this chatter either. He recently posted a video of his previous wrestling performances on Twitter and claimed that whatever he is a part of, it’s going to be a banger:

“You all seem to know A LOT more abaht what I’m up to than me.. I’m excited to see what happens at this point as well. WrestleMania chatter is WILD right now. Just a reminder..If you think imma be a part of something that isn’t a BANGER… you’re AHT of your damn mind” wrote McAfee

The reports of Mr McMahon getting involved in a WrestleMania program first came out last week. At the time it wasn’t clear whether he would actually be wrestling a match.

More details on the plans for this feud have come to light since. It suggests that while a match may actually take place, we will most likely not see the boss taking on Pat McAfee directly.

Vince McMahon is scheduled to make an appearance at McAfee’s podcast this Thursday. We should get a better idea for the direction of this feud on the show.

Fans have been wondering about how Vince McMahon’s return to the ring at WWE WrestleMania 38 is going to be booked as he is putting his health at risk by taking bumps at 76-year-old. 

He also hasn’t taken bumps in years, but it turns out that WWE is planning to avoid the Chairman from taking many bumps when he wrestles Pat McAfee at the show in Dallas, Texas. 

Dave Meltzer reported today on F4WOnline.com that it will be a “smoke and mirrors” match. This would mean there could be various things happening in the match such as outside interference so the person helping McMahon would take the majority of the bumps. 

WWE did this for Bret Hart in 2010 at WrestleMania 26 in his match against McMahon. Since November, WWE has booked Austin Theory in backstage segments with McMahon and Theory looks up to McMahon as a mentor in storyline in addition to trying to impress the boss. 

Meltzer also stated that WWE is doing some out-of-the-box things this year because they know they need to increase ticket sales as they have more than 20,000 unsold tickets for both nights of the show. Thus, with McMahon wrestling and the company trying to get Steve Austin to return to the ring for a match against Kevin Owens, it should increase sales. 

As noted, the storyline will kick off this Thursday on The Pat McAfee Show when McMahon makes an in-studio appearance.

It was recently confirmed that Vince McMahon would be appearing on The Pat McAfee Show, but now it appears as though the match between the two has been locked in.

Dave Meltzer recently confirmed that the bout between the 76 year-old WWE Chairman and SmackDown commentator was “internally scheduled” for WrestleMania 38.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter writer noted on social media: “As of last night, Vince McMahon vs. Pat McAfee was listed as a match on the internal schedule for WrestleMania.”

As noted, the WWE Chairman is set to appear on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday, where it is likely that they will start to build the angle.

Whilst it won’t exactly be the best technical wrestling match in company history, it is certainly another intriguing prospect for what is already becoming a baffling card for WrestleMania 38.

Here are the matches that are currently confirmed and/or rumored for the massive event in Dallas, Texas this April:

• Universal and WWE Championship Unification Match: Roman Reigns (c) vs (c) Brock Lesnar (Confirmed)
• RAW Women’s Championship Match: Becky Lynch (c) vs Bianca Belair (Confirmed)
• SmackDown Women’s Championship Match: Charlotte Flair (c) vs Ronda Rousey (Confirmed)
• The Miz and Logan Paul vs Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio (Confirmed)
• Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Kevin Owens (Rumored)
• WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Sami Zayn (c) vs Johnny Knoxville (Rumored)
• Drew McIntyre vs Happy Corbin (Rumored)

WrestleMania is the event of surprising feuds and big matches. This year it might involve a match featuring none other than the boss himself, Vince McMahon.

The chairman and CEO of WWE was announced for an appearance at the Pat McAfee show during the SmackDown broadcast this week.

According to John Pollock at Post Wrestling, McMahon’s appearance has been scheduled to “launch a program” with McAfee that will lead to something at WrestleMania.

When asked whether this program involving the 71-year-old billionaire will be billed as an official match, Pollock was told that it was “most likely.”

Vince McMahon At WrestleMania

If the WWE owner does end up wrestling at the show, it will be Vince McMahon’s first official match since his bout with CM Punk during a Raw episode back in 2012.

Mr. McMahon’s last match at the Show Of Shows was against Bret Hart during WrestleMania 26 in 2010. The match with Hart was his fifth official WrestleMania match.

Even if McMahon has not wrestled an actual match for a while, he has had numerous physical altercations since then. This includes confrontations with the likes of Kevin Owens and AJ Styles.

Brock Lesnar has detailed the difference in his relationships with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and UFC President Dana White.

Lesnar knows what it’s like to perform at an elite level in both WWE and the UFC. In WWE, Lesnar is a top attraction and a big draw for the company. It’s the same story in UFC and he even won the heavyweight title at one point.

Brock-Vince Dynamic

It’s well-documented that Brock Lesnar left WWE in 2004 due to burnout and a desire to make it in the NFL. Despite the nasty split, Lesnar returned to the promotion in 2012 and it’s been smooth sailing ever since … for the most part.

During an episode of The Pat McAfee Show, Lesnar talked about the differences in dealing with Vince McMahon and Dana White.

“I really can’t compare the two guys. They’re just so — Honestly, my relationship with Vince is so different than it is with Dana over the years. Vince and I have had a love-hate relationship for the last 20 years but it’s been good.

“We’ve got a lot of water under the bridge. I have a lot of respect for both men but dealing with Dana and — It’s just a totally different business approach.”

Brock went on to say that when it comes to Vince, things are a bit more personal.

“I met Vince when I was younger. I look at Vince more as a father figure actually because I’ve learned a lot of things from him. I was able to carry those things over and handle business with Dana.”

At the age of 44, Brock is showing no signs of slowing down. In fact, many believe he’s gotten even better. He’s received praise for his promo ability as of late without Paul Heyman by his side.

Please H/T SEScoops with a link if you use any quotes from this article

It’s been quite the week for Shane McMahon, who went from an appearance in the Royal Rumble to reportedly being let go by his father’s company.

In an update to what went down last weekend in St. Louis, Fightful Select published more information on McMahon’s backstage dealings prior to the Royal Rumble match. Though McMahon wasn’t the sole producer of the match, he was involved in creative and had some wild pitches that didn’t make it into the final match.

According to Fightful Select, McMahon was pitching ideas for his entry into the Royal Rumble match that he felt would highlight him personally. He even pitched being the number one entrant in the match. According to the report, Vince McMahon got involved, made changes to the match, and noted that they wouldn’t be doing much of what Shane had pitched previously.

Apparently it wasn’t just Vince McMahon who wasn’t happy with Shane’s pitches. Brock Lesnar also took issue with the ideas being thrown around by the younger McMahon.

Shane was pretty insistent on some of his ideas, even though they didn’t come to fruition. He was reportedly acting quite unprofessional about the situation, talking down to people in the process. One source told Dave Meltzer:

“Every single story you’ve already heard, multiplied many times over. He was unprofessional the likes of which left Vince no options but to fire him.”

WWE Source on Shane McMahon’s Behavior

• Update on Shane McMahon’s Departure From WWE

There was also a funny situation with Randy Orton. According to the report, McMahon was originally supposed to be the 29th entrant and Orton was supposed to come in at 28. However, this got mixed up and Orton told McMahon that he would not be coming down to Shane’s “Here Comes The Money” theme so he better get out there once number 28 was called.

Overall, this year’s Royal Rumble was very poorly received by both the fan base and backstage, leading to a lot of the fallout which has been reported this week. WWE has not confirmed Shane McMahon’s release publicly as of yet.

Don’t forget to check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news: Apple – Spotify – YouTube.

Vicki Askew, the mother of WWE owner and chairman of the boards Vince McMahon has sadly passed away at the age of 101.

According to her obituary, Askew passed away of natural causes in her sleep at her home in The Woodlands, TX on Tuesday, January 20.

Born on July 11, 1920, in Florence, South Carolin, Vicki was the only daughter of four children. Her family moved to Stanford when she was a young girl and Vicki spent her childhood there.

She gave birth to two sons namely Rod and Vince. The elder of the two Rod unfortunately passed away at the age of 77 last year.

After graduating from high school, she pursued a career in Civil Service. She worked as a secretary and administrative assistant until her retirement from the Chamber of Commerce in Pembroke Pines, Florida.

Vicki Askew was an avid tennis player and she played until the age of 94. She also had a beautiful soprano voice and sang in several church choirs.

Her funeral services were held on January 22. A Memorial Mass for the Ebensburg community will be held on Saturday, January 29.

SEScoops extends our thoughts and prayers to the whole extended McMahon family.

Raw play-by-play commentator Jimmy Smith was given some advice by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon that he hasn’t forgotten.

Back in May 2021, WWE announced Smith as Raw’s PBP ace. He replaced Adnan Virk and has already lasted longer than the former ESPN anchor. Many believe that Smith has outperformed Virk in a short period of time, although that bar was low.

Advice From The Boss

Jimmy Smith appeared on an episode of The MMA Hour. During the interview, he revealed the advice he was given by Vince McMahon.

“It was crazy because he’s still so much — and you hear all these rumors when you’re going into the WWE about how much Vince is in it and all this stuff and who these people [are]. Vince is still very, very much — at least with Raw because obviously, I don’t do SmackDown, with Raw he’s very much [involved in] every single match.

“He has an opinion, he has his philosophy and the way he wants to go. He’s very much a pillar of Monday Night Raw, which I really wasn’t sure if that was the case anymore. I had no idea and yeah, he is.

“One of the things he told me that honestly really helped, and it’s not a crazy story or anything, he goes, ‘Don’t worry, you’re the audience. If you don’t know it, they don’t know it. If you’re confused, they’re confused. So, use that.’

“I was a little worried cause I hadn’t watched wrestling since I was a kid and he said, ‘No, if you don’t know what something is or why something is happening or why this person is taking on this person or why this angle’s happening, say that and Corey and Byron get to educate people. So, you not knowing is awesome because not all of our fans are what they call marks. They’re not all like huge wrestling fanatics. They might not know, so use that.'”

Smith is joined on the Raw commentary team by Corey Graves and Byron Saxton. Smith has admitted that he had to adjust to Graves roasting him on TV since he’s the heel color commentator.

Once he understood that aspect of the job, Smith said he began to have fun with the banter.

Please H/T SEScoops with a link if you use any quotes from this article

DDP knows what it’s like to work with Vince McMahon and Tony Khan.

Diamond Dallas Page, a former three-time WCW Champion, once worked under the WWE banner and has made multiple appearances for AEW. Knowing both McMahon and Khan, DDP has laid out what makes the billionaires special.

DDP On McMahon & Khan

Speaking to Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT, DDP dished out on the switch that Vince McMahon can flip at a moment’s notice.

“I think Vince is himself always. He can be the sweetest, most caring person and he can be that ruthless son of a b*tch [laughs].”

As for Tony Khan, DDP said that the AEW is as kind of a person as they come.

“Tony Khan is the most gracious, nicest — and I know a couple billionaires but he’s the most gracious, nicest guy.”

With that said, the former WCW star says fans shouldn’t be fooled in regards to who truly runs AEW TV.

“I’ve been there a number of times and he’s just very respectful. He knows it’s his show. What you’re watching is his sh*t. Cody has something to do with it and the other boys, Jericho and Kenny and those guys and The Bucks they’ve got something to do with it but it’s Tony’s f*cking show. Make no mistake about it.”

There was a report that Khan took over the reins of AEW’s creative direction following a heavily panned closing segment of Dynamite involving The Dark Order back in late 2019. Khan later confirmed that report.

McMahon has run the WWE empire for decades after his father handed him the keys to the kingdom. AEW is still new in the wrestling business, having only started in 2019.

McMahon is known for having a strong hand in the creative process and reportedly having scripts rewritten quite often.

Please H/T SEScoops with a link if you use any quotes from this article

Vince McMahon is still going strong at 76 years old. The Chairman and CEO of WWE is working as hard as ever, according to one of his closest allies.

WWE Senior Vice President Bruce Prichard has worked with McMahon on and off since the 1980’s. He’s seen McMahon operate during the glory days of Hulkamania, the dark days of the steroid trial in the mid-90’s, WWE’s peak Attitude Era and is one of the most influential people in WWE to this day.

During a recent episode of his Something to Wrestle podcast, Prichard said he could see Vince McMahon running WWE for decades to come. The latest installment focused on the 2005 Royal Rumble pay-per-view. That show featured the infamous ending of Vince McMahon charging to ringside and tearing both of his quads as he entered the ring.

Wrestlers, promotions and eras have come and gone over the past 40 years. One constant in this industry has been Vince McMahon.

“He’s a freak of nature…”

– Bruce Prichard describing Vince McMahon

During times when business is soft or fans are unhappy with WWE’s creative direction, some people question if McMahon still has “it.”

Bruce Prichard says McMahon still has the energy and vision to lead WWE into the future. When asked about Vince McMahon’s longterm future running WWE, Prichard gave a glowing review of pro wrestling’s Walt Disney.

“Yeah, I can’t imagine him not doing it and I am sure that he will continue to do it probably for the next 25-to-30 years,” said Prichard. “His mom’s 101 and still going so, you know, he shows no signs of slowing down at all.”

Prichard added that it’s hard to imagine WWE without Vince McMahon at the helm. Thankfully, he doesn’t think we’ll have to worry about that scenario any time soon.

“He’s a freak of nature and it’s hard to imagine it without him and I don’t think that we’ll have to imagine it without him for a long, long time.”

Listen to Something to Wrestle: Royal Rumble 2005 with Bruce Prichard and Conrad Thompson below or at AdFreeShows.com.

Major League Wrestling has filed a lawsuit against the WWE.

MLW claims that the WWE is continuingly interfering with their business prospects and contracts. Courthouse news was able to obtain the full lawsuit statement. The lawsuit alleges that the WWE attempted to prevent Vice TV from working with MLW in early 2021.

It also claims that a former WWE executive called Vice TV to tell them that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was “pissed” that Vice TV started airing MLW programs and wanted them to stop working with MLW. The Wrap’s Tim Baysinger and Tony Maglio report that the former WWE Executive is Susan Levinson.

The report also says that MLW claims WWE prevented MLW from getting a deal with the streaming service Tubi. According to the MLW, the failure to secure a deal with Tubi resulted in “substantial losses” like not reaching a broader fan base and event cancellations. It also states that the failed deal caused a MLW 40% drop in tickets sales. MLW CEO Court Bauer spoke out against the WWE in a press release. Baysinger and Maglio transcribed Bauer statement.

“WWE has been wrongfully depriving its competitors of critical opportunities for many years, but its latest conduct has been even more unconscionable,” said MLW CEO Court Bauer. “I think we speak for the rest of the professional wrestling world when we say that this anti-competitive behavior has to stop.”

MLW Deal with Vice TV

MLW signed its deal with Vice TV on April 19, 2021. Based on the lawsuit, it’s unclear if MLW alleges that WWE requested Vice TV to stop working with them before the deal. However, the lawsuit says that a Vice TV Executive responded that “WWE’s conduct was illegal and an antitrust violation.” The lawsuit also states that Levinson couldn’t control McMahon from interfering with MLW and Vice TV’s relationship.

What’s Next for WWE and MLW

The WWE has responded to the MLW lawsuit. Baysinger and Maglio received a statement from WWE Spokesperson that believes MLW claims have no merit. The spokesperson also shared WWE will defend itself against MLW. MLW seeks compensation for losses they suffered due to WWE interference and wants to prevent future interferences. It’s unclear when MLW and WWE will go to court or if they will settle.

WWE superstar John Cena has acted as a babyface for most of his career. However, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon contemplated making him a heel.

Cena went on Smackdown Announcer Pat McAfee’s show to promote the upcoming show Peacemaker. During the interview, McAfee asked Cena about the challenges of working in WWE as a babyface for so many years and when did Cena know he’d pursue acting.

Cena admitted that being a babyface for so long is a challenge but embraces it. He also reveals that McMahon almost turned him into a heel in his feud with The Rock for Wrestlemania 28 on April 1, 2012.

“…In playing a character that, like I said, a character of virtue. A character that started as a generic wrestler and then morphed into this hip hop persona and then morphed into this character of virtue, to play the same character for a long time that’s a challenge, said Cena.”

He continued, “…I remember Vince toyed with the idea of possibly turning me heel for The Rock 1 in Miami. And I told him, hey, no problem, 100 percent I’ll do it, but just remember that we’re so deep into this point, we can’t do and then jump back because we’ll be sunk at both ends. So if we do it, I’ll have to be the opposite of virtue. I have to be pure evil, and we have to go all in.”

More on John Cena Almost Turning Heel

WWE fans in the past had wanted Cena not be a babyface. Former WWE writer Kevin Eck also shared with Pro Wrestling Torch’s Wade Keller that the company almost turned Cena. However, the company never made the change.

During the interview, Cena pinpointed the conversation he had with McMahon during his feud with The Rock being the deciding factor as to why he never turned heel. While fans never got to see Cena change character, he believes it led to great opportunities.

“…From a believability standpoint, people always see me in uniform. Go figure that, said Cena wearing the Peacemaker costume.

He continued, “If you didn’t see me in a suit in WWE, you saw me ballcap, t-shirt, jean shorts, sneakers, you saw me in uniform. I want people to know that what they see is somebody they can relate to. He (Vince) decided against it and it’s at that point he was like ‘Listen I don’t think we’re ever going to do it.’ So that’s me getting okay you have the luxury of playing this character, but you’re always are going to play this character. Which was great, because it got me to dive into nuances that kind of spawned the creation of like the Firefly Funhouse match, were like yo what if I went on a meta-experience through all of my flaws and through all like my timeline, so you know you can do stuff like that.”

Unfortunately for WWE fans, it seems we’ll never get to see Cena as a heel. However, Cena being a babyface did create moments like his match with Bray Wyatt and his feud with Roman Reigns. In the end, it seems WWE may have made the right decision.