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Vince McMahon's advice is valuable to every Superstar who steps into the ring in WWE. He's seen generations of talent and has an eye for things that most Superstars don't.
These five instances are of five WWE Superstars revealing the advice that Vince McMahon gave them:
#5. AJ Styles - Vince McMahon's advice turned him into a main event star
There was a lot of hype around AJ Styles when he signed with WWE in early 2016. But very few, including Vince McMahon, realized just how big he would be. Vince McMahon reportedly considered his Royal Rumble debut reaction a fluke.
For those who have followed AJ Styles throughout his career, he has spent a large part of it being among the best in-ring stars of his generation. But he was never "WWE proven," which likely meant that Vince McMahon had never seen him before.
It only took a matter of time for AJ Styles to start proving himself in WWE, and he later revealed the advice that Vince McMahon gave him that changed things:
“When I had my first match against Curtis Axel, Vince brought me to the back and he goes ‘I’ve got guys that can do that. I’ve got guys that can do what you just did out there. What I need, I need this Pitbull!. That’s what I need!’.”
Vince McMahon has given advice to several WWE Superstars, but only a few have taken the ball and ran with it. In this case, AJ Styles had over a decade-and-a-half of in-ring experience, and he was already among the best in the world when he entered WWE. He just had to prove it.
Impressing Vince McMahon is no easy task, but he managed to do so successfully, and within months of his debut, he was already a WWE Championship challenger in pay-per-view main events.
AJ Styles winning the WWE Championship just over seven months from his debut was a big sign that he had Vince McMahon's trust. By that point, he already had two incredible World Title matches against Roman Reigns, two big victories over John Cena, and he was the second pick for SmackDown in the WWE 2016 Draft (and fourth overall pick).
Had it not been for AJ Styles listening to Vince McMahon's advice, we can only wonder how his career would have turned out.
#4. Nia Jax - Vince McMahon called her the 'Andre the Giant of females'
Nia Jax is perhaps one of the most inexperienced wrestlers on the WWE roster, but she caught Vince McMahon's eye early on. Called up to the main roster less than a year before her NXT debut, Jax has mostly learned on the job.
In an interview on Talk is Jericho, Nia Jax revealed that Vince McMahon called her the 'Andre the Giant of females':
“Obviously, Vince is like the big dog, he owns the company. You hear, ‘oh do this, do that because Vince likes it.’ So one day, I walked up to his office saying, ‘Hey Vince.’ I walked in and thanked him for the opportunity he’s given me so far and want to know what [he] wants me to do in this division. He said, ‘You’re like the Andre the Giant of the females. It’s going to take a lot for these girls to get you down. You’re a killer, you’re strong.’ He basically just told me that they need to work to get you down and you need to protect yourself in that way.”
It's an interesting comparison, but it seems to indicate that Vince McMahon values having a Superstar like Nia Jax. Even if Jax isn't an in-ring technician, she brings a presence to the ring that not many women have. She will likely see much Championship success under Vince McMahon in WWE.
#3. Keith Lee - One of Vince McMahon's new favorites?
It's not hard to see why Vince McMahon would like a Superstar like Keith Lee. He represents the evolution of "big men" in WWE, and not many people his size could move the way he does in the ring.
Keith Lee has had a steady rise on RAW, and it's clear that Vince McMahon values him as a future star. Having a debut win on pay-per-view against Randy Orton is a great way to start, and entering WWE title contention four months post-debut is another big sign.
In WWE 24: Keith Lee, his backstage interaction with Vince McMahon was seen post-RAW debut in August. While it wasn't Keith Lee "revealing" the advice that Vince McMahon gave him, this is what transpired:
"We're gonna go places, but you gotta... you gotta make me believe in you.
He went on to say:
"We've got a whole global audience here now, it's a little bit different. Gotta make some changes and be you. Look what I got here. I've got one hell of an athlete. Hell of a performer. Promo's good."
Keith Lee has a big future ahead, and hopefully, he listens to Vince McMahon's advice and implements it well.
#2. Braun Strowman - Vince McMahon helped him when he was contemplating suicide
2019 wasn't the best year for Braun Strowman, and he let Vince McMahon know about it. He was frustrated creatively and had been dealing with various mental health issues.
On WWE Chronicle, Braun Strowman revealed the details of a meeting he had with Vince McMahon once he decided that enough was enough.
Braun Strowman stormed into Vince McMahon's office while he was in a meeting and told him that he needed to talk. Vince McMahon proceeded to kick everyone out of the meeting and had what Braun Strowman described as a "father-son" kind of discussion (H/T WrestlingInc):
"I'm very thankful to have a relationship with him like that because I might not even be here," he said. "I don't even like talking about this out loud but I was thinking about killing myself a couple of times. That I got to that point, I should have talked to somebody sooner. I never knew how much he cared about me. I thought I was just a number in a system. That day he made me realize that I'm more important than a number I can't thank him enough for doing that."
It's good that Vince McMahon spoke to him the way he did. A year later, Braun Strowman would become the WWE Universal Champion after beating Goldberg at WrestleMania 36.
#1. Roman Reigns - Vince McMahon's advice after his leukemia diagnosis
There's no question as to which star Vince McMahon has invested in the most in the last decade. Financially, it may be Brock Lesnar, but Roman Reigns has been WWE's number one guy for over half a decade now from a creative standpoint.
In 2018, he was the Universal Champion, and he dropped the bombshell announcement on RAW in late October that he had leukemia. Forced to vacate the Universal Title, the WWE Universe had an outpouring of support for a Superstar who was otherwise extremely unpopular (to a certain demographic, anyway).
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Roman Reigns revealed the advice Vince McMahon gave him during the difficult period:
“Vince said to me, ‘Be present,’” said Reigns. “He said, ‘Be there with your family and friends, and absorb everything you can. Maximize all that you can.’”
It was good that Vince McMahon and WWE decided not to pressure Roman Reigns to return soon. He was expected to be out until 2020, but he ended up returning just a few months later.
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