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Vince McMahon is world-renowned for his ruthless business acumen and unforgiving nature when it comes to cooperating with his rivals, however, much like the old adage -- Every coin has two sides -- the WWE boss has a rather discrepant tendency to let bygones be bygones and bring back a select few former business rivals to his company.
Today, we take a look at some of the forgotten 'enemies' Mr McMahon made along the way, whom the WWE patriarch would eventually bring back for a second stint with his company.
Forget about his differences with Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart in the late-1990s, a few other key figures in the sport did rub Vincent Jr. the wrong way but, ultimately, find their way back into his good graces.
So without further ado, let's take at five men that Vince McMahon settled his differences with, swaying with the tide of the Almighty Dollar:
#5 Brock Lesnar
It's no secret that Brock Lesnar's wife, Rena Greek, aka former WWE diva Sable, was once involved in a highly-publicized legal battle with the WWE, accusing certain officials of having berated her during her tenure, in addition to alleging sexual harassment and unsafe working conditions.
The lawsuit was filed in 1999, but Sable who'd briefly left the WWE returned to the company before parting ways again in 2004.
Speaking of which, Brock Lesnar -- who married Sable in '06 -- is said to have been quite wary of her troubles and the aforementioned lawsuit with WWE. And although both Sable and WWE did reach a settlement, Lesnar also quit the promotion in '04, following which he shared a blow-hot-blow-cold relationship with Vince McMahon.
Needless to say, there was considerable heat between the WWE head honcho and the Beast until Lesnar returned to WWE in 2012.
It ought to be noted that McMahon was reportedly furious at Lesnar turning down well-paid offers to return to WWE, but he did, eventually, welcome the former UFC Heavyweight Champion back into the fold.
#4 Eric Bischoff
Eric Bischoff helmed the WWE's most famous rival promotion, WCW--a company that was put out of business, then bought by Vince McMahon in 2001.
However, Bischoff, sponsored by Time Warner's Ted Turner, would often resort to unscrupulous measures so as to bring down McMahon and destroy the WWE. In fact, Bischoff once famously spoiled the results of the Mankind vs Rock WWF Championship matchup back in the late 90s -- revealing to the world that Mankind would win his first WWF Championship.
Back then, RAW was pre-recorded on certain weeks while WCW Nitro didn't have the same dilemma. However, the vast majority of fans still chose the WWF over WCW and the rest, as they say, is history.
Regardless, McMahon extended a helping hand to Bischoff, and as per the latter's account of how events unfolded -- Vince genuinely asserted that had Eric won the Monday Night ratings war, he would've expected the WCW head to do the same and help a former rival out as a sign of respect.
#3 Vince Russo
Vince Russo worked for the WWE as a writer and part of its creative team from 1992-99, until he left for WCW. The controversial figure is both criticized for helping the WWF until his departure, as well as contributing to a slight improvement followed by a sudden downfall of WCW.
One ought to note that the WWE picked up steam thanks to the Austin vs. Mr McMahon feud and was on the road to besting WCW.
However, when Russo first got his hands on the Ted Turner-owned company's creative team, he did, in fact, turn around WCW's fortunes for a very brief period of time by putting forth incredibly edgy storylines.Unfortunately, things went pear-shaped very soon, as the New York native's writing soon led to some of the worst wrestling television ever produced.
Russo and Bischoff saw the downfall of WCW, however, much like the latter, Russo too was roped in by Vince McMahon to help with the WWE's proceedings.
Mind you, the WWE boss was incredibly irate at Russo for leaving his company and working for WCW but re-hired him nonetheless. Speaking of which, despite McMahon's extension of the metaphorical olive branch, Russo would only briefly work with WWE before leaving again.
#2 The Ultimate Warrior
The Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior is a documentary released by the WWE, a few years ago--an account of how the man left WWE on bitter terms, following which his career took an unfortunate nosedive.
Warrior parted ways with Vince McMahon and WWE, after a highly-publicized creative battle backstage, following which he briefly worked for WCW; unable to garner much steam there. Warrior had been blacklisted by WWE throughout the late-90s and 2000s until he finally returned to the company in 2014 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Apparently, McMahon mended fences with Warrior, despite the latter no-showing several shows in the latter phase of his time as a WWE performer. A few experts are of the view that Vince considered his decision of finally bringing Warrior into the Hall of Fame as a morally righteous move rather than simply a tacit business strategy.
#1 Bruno Sammartino
Bruno Sammartino--the revered Italian wrestling savant--shared an immaculate relationship with Vince McMahon Sr. However, after his son, Vince Jr aka Mr. McMahon, took over, the legendary performer gradually drifted away from the WWE.
Apparently, Bruno disliked Vince's way of conducting business, including the gaudy characters, offensive language, adult themes and matters of the sort during the late-80s and early 90s. Although he left the company in 1988, he publicly criticized the WWE all through the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression eras.
However, it was Triple H who personally contacted Bruno and spent a considerable amount of time and money convincing the latter to return to WWE and be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Eventually, the latter obliged and had a heart-to-heart conversation with Vince who welcomed him "back home".
Furthermore, Bruno recently having appeared on WWE Network Show 'Table For 3', has time and again asserted his newfound respect and compassion for Vince McMahon Jr.
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