5 times Vince McMahon savagely criticized WWE Superstars

When talking about the most ruthless entities in all of sports entertainment, fans make it a point to mention WWE Chairman Vince McMahon's name.

The Chairman of WWE has made a series of decisions in his career that prove how he can go to great lengths for the sake of the business. The death of the territories, the WCW buyout, and several other events have made it clear that Vince McMahon isn't someone you would want to mess with in this business.

Vince McMahon usually likes to have a serious relationship with most of his talents, and doesn't shy away from criticizing them when he feels that its needed. In the following slideshow, we will take a look at five such instances, when Vince McMahon threw some serious criticism at his employees.

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#5 Vince McMahon slams Kevin Owens after WrestleMania 33 match with Chris Jericho

One of the major stories heading into WrestleMania 33 was the rivalry between former friends Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens. Owens had turned on Jericho during the Festival of Friendship segment on an episode of RAW, and the two were set to compete for the US title at WrestleMania. After the match, Vince McMahon told Kevin Owens his outing against Jericho was one of the worst matches in the show's history. Jericho talked about the same in an interview with Inside The Ropes.

I was very surprised when I saw KO after and he's like, Vince said it was one of the worst matches in WrestleMania history, and I said WHAT?

Jericho also said that Vince told Owens to lose weight. Jericho went on to have a stint with NJPW, and was signed to a contract with AEW in early 2019. He is still one of the biggest stars in Pro-wrestling, while Owens is doing fine for himself in WWE as well.

#4 Vince McMahon tells The Revival that they aren't Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard

After they got their release from WWE earlier this year, FTR fka The Revival appeared on Jim Cornette's podcast, and opened up on their WWE exit. Dax Harwood talked about their interaction with Vince McMahon after an incredible match with The New Day, and stated that Vince told the duo that they aren't Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard.

One thing I'll never forget he said, he looked at me and Cash and he said, "Everyone tells me you are the next Arn and Tully, you're the next great tag team. Well, that's the problem, you guys aren't Arn and Tully, you're just great professional wrestlers." And to me and Cash, we took that beaming with pride, he meant it as an insult. So I'm thinking to myself, ''So you're comparing us to two of the greatest of all time who have drawn a s**t-ton of money in this business and you're meaning that as an insult?"

Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard formed The Brain Busters during their stint with WWE, back in the late 80s. They won the WWE Tag Team titles on one occasion. The duo was also a part of one of the most legendary groups in all of wrestling, The Four Horsemen. Vince McMahon certainly seemed to hold them in high regard, as he didn't flinch one bit while criticizing FTR by telling them that they weren't as good as the WWE Hall of Famers.

#3 Vince McMahon hints that Sheamus has gained weight

Back in 2019, when Sheamus was yet to make his return to WWE SmackDown, he appeared on E&C's Pod of Awesomeness. The Celtic Warrior talked about losing some weight and opened up on what made him do it. Sheamus said that Vince McMahon once looked at his gut and made an offhand remark about how he had gained a lot of weight.

It also started because I came back from holidays in Ireland and me and Cesaro were walking by Vince and Vince goes, “Hey Sheamus!” I said, “Yeah?” He goes, “Enjoyed the holidays, huh?” and he was looking at me in the gut and I was like, “Okay, that’s it. That’s it. I need to do something about it.” But that was the change in gear and Cesaro will tell you as well. Cesaro knew right away when that comment was made. I just put too much weight on, man.

Vince McMahon's words led to Sheamus shedding some weight, and getting ripped in the process. He made his return to WWE TV in the first week of January, and saved Shorty G from The Revival. He immediately hit Shorty G with a Brogue Kick, making his true intentions known. Sheamus later feuded with WWE veteran Jeff Hardy, and is currently a mainstay on WWE SmackDown.

#2 Vince McMahon takes a shot at Cesaro for "not willing to grab the brass ring"

It's an incredibly rare occasion when Vince McMahon decides to sit down for an interview and spill the beans on major topics surrounding WWE. When Vince McMahon sat down with WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin for an interview, the WWE Universe was beyond excited. During the interview, the WWE Chairman had some serious criticism directed towards his employees, most notably Cesaro.

Vince McMahon stated that much like Stone Cold did in the Attitude Era, Superstars of today aren't willing to grab the brass ring. When Austin asked Vince McMahon why Cesaro never became a major star in WWE, the boss said that it's because The Swiss Superman never grabbed the brass ring. The WWE Universe wasn't happy one bit upon hearing the comments, and neither was Cesaro. He confronted Vince McMahon soon after, and uttered the words, "challenge accepted". It has been a long time since that interview took place, and Cesaro has yet to win a World title in WWE.

#1 Vince McMahon takes a major shot at Chris Jericho before his historic WWE World title win

Chris Jericho doesn't shy away from bragging about his accolades, most notably his Undisputed title win at Vengeance 2001, when he defeated both The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin on the same night. Many fans might not be aware of what actually happened backstage on that day, hours before Jericho won the belt. Jericho heard Vince McMahon talking with The Undertaker that afternoon.

According to Jericho, Vince McMahon believed that the business was going to go down the toilet following his Undisputed title victory.

"We were at catering and that was when Vince used to eat with the guys. He was standing right where I could hear him and he was talking to The Undertaker. He said 'Taker. You know how you know the business is going down the toilet?' Taker said 'How?' McMahon then said 'When you put the title on Jericho.'"

Jericho went on to win the belt that night, and held it for several months, before dropping it to Triple H at WrestleMania 18. Jericho worked for Vince McMahon over the next several years, and won many more World titles. Jericho later signed with AEW and revealed that Vince McMahon asked him whether he could get out of his contract. Jericho became AEW's first-ever World Champion and is still one of the biggest stars in the wrestling world today.