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It is often said that nobody in WWE works harder than Vince McMahon. At the age of 75, the WWE Chairman and CEO has more responsibilities than anyone else in the company. He also has the final say on how often WWE Superstars appear on television, as well as key storyline developments.
Superstars including John Cena and The Undertaker have made it clear in out-of-character interviews that they get along with Vince McMahon behind the scenes. However, that does not necessarily mean that Superstars of that caliber are exempt from receiving constructive criticism from their boss.
If Vince McMahon likes a Superstar and wants to invest time in them, he has been known to take a hands-on approach with their characters. That means he often speaks to WWE’s men and women immediately after their matches and segments in the backstage area.
While the majority of Vince McMahon’s feedback appears to be positive, followers of backstage WWE news will know that is not always the case.
In this article, let’s take a look at five times that Vince McMahon gave brutally honest feedback to his WWE Superstars.
#5 Vince McMahon told Braun Strowman he was not ready to be World Champion
Braun Strowman revealed in a WWE Chronicle documentary that he had a heart-to-heart conversation with Vince McMahon in 2019 about his position in the company.
The former Wyatt Family member looked on course to win the Universal Championship on numerous occasions in 2017 and 2018. However, he continued to fall short in big matches, especially against Brock Lesnar.
Vince McMahon told a frustrated Strowman in January 2019 that he was not ready to be his top guy. That partly explains why he was removed from his Royal Rumble 2019 match against Lesnar and replaced by Finn Balor.
“He [Vince McMahon] gave me a really hard pill to swallow… Vince McMahon told me that it's not my time yet. That he is not ready for me to be Champion. That something isn't right.”
Strowman said he was “f***ing p****d off” that Vince McMahon did not see him as a World Championship holder. At the same time, the WWE Chairman’s words also inspired him to work even harder.
In 2020, The Monster Among Men finally won a World Championship when he defeated Goldberg for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36.
#4 Vince McMahon said he did not believe in Keith Lee
Vince McMahon’s opinion on Keith Lee appears to have changed multiple times over the last few months. Lee recorded a huge win over Randy Orton at WWE Payback following his move from NXT to RAW in August 2020. Since then, the former NXT Champion has had mixed fortunes.
Footage from a WWE Network documentary about Lee showed Vince McMahon giving his Superstar a pep talk after a match. Although the feedback was constructive, Vince McMahon told Lee that he needed to believe in his character more.
“We’re going to go places, but you gotta make me believe in you. We’ve got a whole global audience here now. It’s a little bit different. Gotta make some changes and be you.”
SK Wrestling recently learned that Vince McMahon does not have as much interest in Lee as he did eight weeks ago. Vince McMahon has also apparently nixed any possible plans to have Lee win the 2021 Royal Rumble.
The first RAW episode of 2021 saw Lee unsuccessfully challenge Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship.
#3 Vince McMahon admitted to The Undertaker that he was wrong
Vince McMahon is not always negative with his brutally honest feedback to WWE Superstars. In fact, on one occasion he admitted to The Undertaker that he was wrong to ask him to perform a certain spot in a match.
The match took place at the Great American Bash event in 2006. The Undertaker was originally supposed to face The Great Khali inside the Punjabi Prison structure. However, Khali was unable to compete, which meant The Big Show took his place.
Despite The Undertaker being against the idea, Vince McMahon wanted him to win the match by leaping on The Big Show through the structure. The Undertaker told Vince McMahon it would “look like crap” but his boss was adamant that he wanted that to be the finish.
Speaking on the Sports Illustrated podcast, The Undertaker revealed that Vince McMahon acknowledged that his idea was wrong.
“It was so bad. But to his credit, he did come to me and say, ‘You were right, I was wrong. We should’ve done it your way.’ That was very far and few between. There were a few other things but that was probably one of the more contentious ones.” [H/T POST Wrestling]
Batista vs. The Great Khali (No Mercy 2007) and Jinder Mahal vs. Randy Orton (Battleground 2017) were also held inside the Punjabi Prison structure.
#2 Every conversation between Vince McMahon and Mike Kanellis
Mike Kanellis revealed after leaving WWE that he had several meetings with Vince McMahon about the direction of his character.
Kanellis, who now uses the name Mike Bennett again, received his release in April 2020 as a cost-cutting measure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His most memorable storyline came in 2019 when his wife, Maria Kanellis, told him that he was not the father of their child.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Kanellis used the words “brutally honest” to describe his conversations with Vince McMahon. He also said he respected the WWE Chairman for not always telling him what he wanted to hear.
“He straight up told me, he said, ‘I’ve seen your work. I think you’re good. We just have to find the right storyline that fits. We just have to find the right place for you.’ He’s like, ‘I got a million guys right now.’ The one thing I respect about Vince is he was always brutally honest with me. He never sugarcoated anything, which I respected that.” [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
Mike Kanellis occasionally performed on Vince McMahon’s RAW and SmackDown shows during his three years in WWE. However, the majority of his televised matches took place on 205 Live.
#1 Vince McMahon said CM Punk was harder to deal with than Shawn Michaels on drugs
CM Punk is never afraid to say what he thinks. The former WWE Superstar had several disagreements with Vince McMahon during his time in WWE, including on his final night with the company.
In January 2014, CM Punk walked out on WWE following a backstage discussion with Vince McMahon and Triple H. Although he appeared on FS1 show WWE Backstage in 2019 and 2020, Punk has not featured on WWE television since his exit.
Shortly before his WrestleMania 29 match against The Undertaker, Punk was interviewed by current WWE personality Sam Roberts. He told Roberts that Vince McMahon once compared his attitude to the time that Shawn Michaels was on drugs.
“This was a great quote. Vince said that I am harder to deal with and more miserable than Shawn Michaels was when he was on drugs. That’s awesome, right? And I took that as a compliment.”
The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported in March 2020 that Vince McMahon does not plan to work with CM Punk again. The WWE Chairman allegedly sees Punk as the one person he “just can’t do business with” in WWE.
