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Becoming a WWE Superstar isn't the be-all and end-all of one's career. After finally making it to WWE, a wrestler does their very best to stay on the top and impress the higher-ups enough to have a spot secured for them for a long time to come. This has given rise to heated arguments and discussions between WWE Superstars and Vince McMahon on various occasions in the past.
Vince McMahon has always been a controversial on-air personality, and things aren't much different when we look at what happens behind the scenes. Be it a push, a character change, or anything else that a Superstar considers critical to their success, wrestlers have had heated talks with Vince McMahon in backstage meetings over a number of issues. In this list, we will take a look at five of these instances.
#5 Vince McMahon kicks out staff to speak to Braun Strowman for 45 minutes
In early 2019, Braun Strowman stormed into a backstage production meeting hours before WWE RAW was about to kick off. Strowman wasn't in a good mood at all and wanted to have a talk with Vince McMahon about the way his character was presented on WWE TV. Strowman thought WWE was almost giving him great opportunities and then taking them away at the last moment. Vince McMahon realized what Strowman was going through and immediately kicked his staff out of the production meeting, and proceeded to talk to Strowman for 45 minutes.
“He [Vince] kicked everybody out of the production meeting two hours before Raw was about to start – the show wasn’t even done – and talked to me for 45 minutes, heart-to-heart, man-to-man conversation, and it opened my eyes to the big picture of, ‘Wow, why am I worrying about this?’”
As per Strowman's comments, he was satisfied after his talk with Vince McMahon. He finally won the big one at WrestleMania 36 earlier this year, when he beat WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg. Strowman lost the belt to The Fiend at SummerSlam 2020.
#4 Vince McMahon threatens WWE Superstars in a meeting
Former WWE Superstar The Mountie recently had a chat with Chris Featherstone and opened up on a variety of topics in regards to his time in Vince McMahon's promotion. He recalled a backstage incident that saw Vince McMahon threatening to fire Superstars if they fought among themselves.
"You guys! What an embarrassment! I'm so embarrassed, and this is the sh**** and these fighting between you guys, and I'm losing my talent. I'm building talent. I'm creating talent. And I'm not going to stand for this anymore. The next time someone fights in my company, they are out, and they will never come back."
The Mountie was fed up with The British Bulldogs ribbing him backstage, and decided to exact revenge for the same. Shortly after this meeting, which he didn't attend, by the way, The Mountie hit The Dynamite Kid with a sucker punch, with brass knuckles on. Check out the embedded video for a full account of that fateful day, straight from the horse's mouth.
#3 Hardcore Holly isn't happy about Vince McMahon's dress code policy
Hardcore Holly was one of the most popular mid-card acts in WWE at one time. He is mostly remembered for his stints with the Hardcore title. Holly's book, "The Hardcore Truth", is an interesting read that delves into his career as a wrestler, and we get to read about a string of never-before-heard backstage incidents in it. At one point, Holly discussed a backstage meeting where he got into an argument with Vince McMahon himself. Vince McMahon had implemented a dress code rule in 2004, which stated that Superstars had to wear business attire while on the road.
This didn't sit well with Holly, and he stood up to Vince McMahon in the meeting. Holly tried to explain to Vince McMahon that wearing a suit wasn't a part of his gimmick, but to no avail. Superstars like John Cena and Stone Cold were exceptions to the rule. Holly later blasted other Superstars for not standing up to Vince McMahon and being silent spectators while he debated with the WWE Chairman. Holly eventually had no choice but to adhere to the new rule.
#2 Kurt Angle pulls down pants in front of Vince McMahon in a meeting
While speaking with Stone Cold Steve Austin on his "Broken Skull Sessions" show, Hall of Famer Kurt Angle recalled a bunch of backstage incidents from his initial WWE stint. One such incident saw Angle storming into a meeting and pulling his pants down in front of Vince McMahon out of frustration. Angle wanted to show Vince McMahon the pain he was going through. When he pulled his pants down, black and blue marks were clearly visible across his groin area.
The day before I quit, I went into a production meeting. I walked up to the front where Vince and the people were. I pulled my pants down my knees. B**ls are showing. Big black and blue marks, all across my groin area, all the way down my hamstring, up to the groin and my stomach. I tore three muscles the night before, at a house show. That night, for RAW, I was supposed to do a Triple Threat Ladder match. I just walked in, and wanted Vince to see what's going on, and why I'm so unhappy.
Vince McMahon knew right away that he needed to talk to Angle. He told Angle to come to his office in Stamford, where they could have a proper talk. Soon after, Kurt Angle and WWE parted ways, and he wouldn't come back for almost a decade.
#1 Brock Lesnar and Vince McMahon's heated talk mere days before his WWE exit
The following incidents are presented in detail in Brock Lesnar's book, Death Clutch.
Back in early 2004, Brock Lesnar had decided that he was done with WWE for good, and wanted to get out as quickly as possible. He was fed up with WWE's hectic schedule, and also wasn't happy with his standing on the roster. At WrestleMania 20, Lesnar was set to fight Goldberg. Mere weeks before the match, Lesnar confronted Vince McMahon, who was talking with Triple H. Vince McMahon noticed that Lesnar wasn't in a good mood, and decided to have a chat with him backstage.
In the meeting, Lesnar told Vince McMahon that he wanted to quit immediately, and he couldn't do it anymore. Vince McMahon wasn't going to let a major WrestleMania match slip away just like that and told Lesnar that he couldn't do that to him. The two parties finally came to an agreement, and it was decided that Lesnar would get to leave after his match with Goldberg. Vince McMahon and Lesnar certainly didn't part ways on good terms at the time. Weeks later, when Lesnar had an accident and his NFL dreams were crushed, he tried to go back to WWE, but Vince McMahon didn't want to sign him again.
