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The road to becoming the biggest pro-wrestling promoter in history wasn't an easy one for WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon. He had to go through a lot to achieve his goal over the past few decades.
Along the way, Vince McMahon developed a bunch of lifelong friendships and there were also many people who became his arch-rivals too. That comes with the territory, especially if you are responsible for a company the size of WWE.
Vince McMahon's WWE is currently one of the biggest media conglomerates in the world, boasting well over a billion followers on social media. Vince has worked incredibly hard to provide a means of entertainment to pro-wrestling fans. He has garnered some major compliments over the years, as well as his fair share of criticism.
In this list, we will take a look at 3 WWE Superstars who criticized Vince McMahon, and 2 who praised him.
#5 Brock Lesnar slams Vince McMahon in his book, Death Clutch
Brock Lesnar left WWE in March 2004, immediately after WrestleMania 20, where he lost to Goldberg. Soon after, Lesnar was involved in a bike accident and his NFL dreams never came to fruition.
This forced him to contact WWE again, but Vince McMahon wasn't interested in signing The Beast this time around. Lesnar went on to compete in NJPW, and didn't mince his words while bashing Vince McMahon in several chapters of his book.
Lesnar took several shots at Vince McMahon in the book, and recalled how miserable he felt during his final few months in WWE. If you have seen Lesnar's WrestleMania 20 match against Goldberg, it's clear as day how disinterested he looked in working a match. Lesnar was unhappy about how WWE had been booking him for a while at that point. Vince's refusal to re-sign him only spoiled their relations further, and it would be 8 long years before Lesnar came back to the company.
#4 The Rock holds Vince McMahon in high esteem
Back in late 2017, Vince McMahon took to Twitter and heaped praise on WWE veteran The Rock. He dubbed The Rock the most entertaining guy on the planet. The Great One noticed Vince McMahon's tweet, and decided to take a stroll down memory lane. The Rock sent out a tweet of his own and revealed that he first shook hands with Vince McMahon when he was an 11-year old kid.
The Rock also revealed that when he was 25, Vince McMahon offered him the bare minimum contract and stated that he'll earn every dollar in WWE. The Rock then finished off the tweet by saying that Vince McMahon is one of his greatest advisors and mentors to this day.
The Rock made his way to WWE in the mid-90s, and soon became one of the most entertaining Superstars in the company. The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin's rivalry was a major reason why WWE beat WCW in the ratings war. Vince McMahon has nothing but respect for The Rock, who is a sure-fire future Hall of Famer.
#3 Jon Moxley calls Vince McMahon a 'madman'
Jon Moxley left WWE soon after WrestleMania 35. He wasn't happy with how Vince McMahon was using him on the main roster, and wanted to leave for greener pastures. Upon his WWE exit, Moxley made his AEW debut and is currently the promotion's World Champion. Ever since his WWE exit, Moxley has spoken about Vince McMahon on various occasions, and had nothing but criticism for the WWE Chairman.
“I’ll tell you what pressure is. Pressure is having a two-page script written by a 74-year-old madman that makes no sense to you and that’s going to make you look stupid. And you are on worldwide TV, live and you got to memorize every single line and somehow try to pull it off and not look like a total j******. That’s pressure.”
Contrary to his stint in WWE, Moxley seems very happy in AEW, and has praised the management in several interviews. Moxley apparently has more freedom in AEW than he had in WWE. He is the 2nd World Champion in AEW history, and is being strongly booked by the promotion ever since he debuted.
#2 Triple H praises Vince McMahon for his incredible physical fitness
Triple H has been a WWE mainstay for over 25 years at this point. He had a short and forgettable stint in WCW in the 90s, followed by which he moved to WWE. Triple H's meeting with Vince McMahon led to his signing, and the rest is history. By the time the new millennium arrived, Triple H had become one of the biggest Superstars in the company, and was playing the part of a heel to perfection.
The Game has had nothing but praise for Vince McMahon throughout this time. A short while ago, Triple H opened up on Vince McMahon's amazing physique.
He’s a machine. It’s hard sometimes when you talk about it. People go ‘That can’t be good for him, he’s getting older.’ Yeah, but it doesn’t bother him. He probably, given the circumstances, is sleeping more than he ever has just because of the circumstances with the way things are with travel. I don’t know that he’s missed a day at the office. It’s just who he is.
Triple H has worked with Vince McMahon on TV as well as in a backstage capacity for years and knows the WWE Chairman better than many people do. Vince McMahon is currently 75 and is still as big of a workaholic as he was while being an active personality on WWE television years ago.
#1 CM Punk blasts Vince McMahon for sending his termination papers on his wedding day
CM Punk wrestled his last WWE match at the 2014 Royal Rumble PPV, and quit pro-wrestling immediately after. Punk went on to appear on Colt Cabana's podcast and hurled criticism at Vince McMahon and Triple H for their handling of his character on WWE TV. Punk also bashed the WWE doctors for not taking care of him when he needed it the most.
Punk also revealed how Vince McMahon sent him his termination papers on the day of his wedding, just out of spite and to get back at him. Punk's revelation didn't sit well with the fans and Vince McMahon was heavily slammed on social media.
Vince went on to apologize to Punk for the same and stated that he would love to work with him again. Unfortunately, Punk never came back and it seems highly unlikely that we will ever see him in a WWE ring again. He had a short stint on WWE Backstage though, before the show was canceled.
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