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WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is unlike any other boss in the world. Even at the age of 75, the passion and commitment that he has for the business and his company is second to none. As much as fans have criticized him, especially in the last few years, there's no denying how important Vince McMahon's contribution has been to this industry.
Yet, Vince McMahon has certainly been involved in a lot of backstage issues with multiple WWE Superstars, producers, and other personalities. Let's take a look at five such cases in this article. Be sure to comment down and let us know your thoughts and opinions on the same.
#5 CM Punk
CM Punk's departure from WWE and the subsequent controversies with the company and Vince McMahon remain to be one of the most talked-about things in pro wrestling. During his appearance on the Art of Wrestling podcast with Colt Cabana, CM Punk revealed about the texts he got from Vince McMahon after he left.
"And now, after all that [walking out], this is where the f***ing story actually starts to get good because a week after I f***ing left, Vince texts me, just like the two surgeries. 'How you feeling, pal? You ready to come back to work?' And I text him like, 'No. I'm so mentally f***ing shot I still can't sleep, this, this, that.'" [H/T Cageside Seats]
CM Punk mentioned how he was suspended by Vince McMahon with it being up on the day after WrestleMania.
"So I get that [staph infection] taken care of. All of a sudden, I can sleep. And I slept, for a long f***ing time. Vince texts me and says that I'm suspended. He says, 'Well, I wish you could have lasted until the end of your contract but you're suspended for two months.' So I did the math in my head. It was the day after WrestleMania that my suspension was up."
Things took an even worse turn as CM Punk revealed that he got his termination letter on the day of his wedding. Vince McMahon has since apologized to CM Punk, stating that it was a mere coincidence. Last year, Punk returned to the company, albeit as a special contributor of WWE Backstage on FOX.
#4 Bret Hart
Vince McMahon and Bret Hart share a huge history, full of ups and downs. Arguably, one of the most controversial incidents in pro wrestling history is the infamous Montreal Screwjob in 1997, something which wrestling fans still discuss to this day.
Bret Hart was all set to depart for WCW after Survivor Series 1997. However, he had told Vince McMahon that he would not drop his WWF World Heavyweight Championship to Shawn Michaels in Montreal. However, what went down in the ring shocked everyone as Michaels locked Hart in a sharpshooter and the referee called for the bell, without Bret Hart actually tapping out.
Things took an ugly turn as Bret Hart was very furious and went on to spit on Vince McMahon on live TV, who was standing outside the ring. On his Confessions of The Hitman, Bret Hart spoke about what happened backstage between him and Vince McMahon.
"The first thing he said, he goes, ‘This was the first time I ever had to lie to one of my talent.’ And as I’m sitting down, I go, ‘You lying piece of s**t.’ Then, we started, like, ‘You’ve lied to me all week, all month, all the last six months. You’re lying to me, lying to me, lying to me, lying to me, lying to me. Everything is a lie, everything that comes out of your mouth." (h/t WrestlingInc)
Bret Hart even went on to knock Vince McMahon out with an uppercut, giving him a black eye.
#3 The Ultimate Warrior
The backstage disputes between Vince McMahon and WWE Hall of Famer The Ultimate Warrior are quite well known. The Ultimate Warrior was one of the biggest Superstars for the company, almost on the level of Hulk Hogan. But things started turning bad between him and Vince McMahon soon due to money issues.
After WrestleMania VII, Warrior felt that he should be paid more than what he was getting and sent a handwritten letter to Vince McMahon demanding over 500 thousand dollars and a cut of the gate with a similar percentage that Hulk Hogan was getting. Warrior said the following:
"I meant as much or more to that show as Hulk - I deserve to be paid the same. Whatever your decision I can and will live with it. Till then I remain home with one who cares."
Vince McMahon reluctantly agreed but went on to suspend him following SummerSlam. Warrior quit WWE soon and went on to sue the company, leading to a massive lawsuit. The Ultimate Warrior was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014.
#2 Stone Cold Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin is one of the biggest Superstars that Vince McMahon's company has ever seen. An icon of the Attitude Era, Stone Cold Steve Austin played a huge part in establishing WWE as the most popular wrestling promotion in the world.
However, his relationship with Vince McMahon was full of ups and downs. Vince McMahon wanted Austin to make way for Brock Lesnar and put him over in the early 2000s when The Beast Incarnate was just starting his career. However, Austin disagreed and walked out of WWE. Vince McMahon reportedly fined him $250,000 for the same in June 2002.
Vince McMahon's son, Shane McMahon revealed the following about how the WWE Chairman felt after Stone Cold decided to walk out.
"The guy (Austin) that was drawing the houses and everything was built around. So when you have that much equity at stake and you have your number one player in there and that's the one who draws money all of a sudden say, 'I'm out,' well, it's very devastating, obviously, to everyone else underneath and everyone felt it, just like, 'wow', so specifically, you let a lot of people down."
"Vince was hurt professionally and personally because you guys had been building a good relationship. If you guys did have a disagreement, you'd settle it quickly and talk about it."
Thankfully, things are fine between them now as Stone Cold Steve Austin continues to appear for special shows for WWE even to this day.
#1 Brock Lesnar
Vince McMahon has often been accused in recent years of depending too much on Brock Lesnar and putting the world title on him repeatedly. There's no denying that Lesnar is one of WWE's biggest attractions and Vince McMahon relies on him for major occasions.
As described in Brock Lesnar's book Death Clutch, Lesnar decided that he was done with WWE in 2004. Weeks before WrestleMania 20 where he was scheduled to face Goldberg, Lesnar told Vince McMahon that he wanted to quit. Lesnar did leave after WrestleMania 20 but not on good terms with Vince McMahon.
Another recent incident took place after WrestleMania 34 where Lesnar retained his Universal Championship against Roman Reigns in the main event that was highly criticized by the WWE Universe. Lesnar came backstage and angrily threw the title on Vince McMahon, who shouted back with expletive words. Ryan Satin reported the following about the incident:
"We’re told Lesnar was livid when he returned to the backstage gorilla position and went off on the WWE Chairman … who was not happy about it. We’re told there’s a belief that Brock may have gone off script a little bit near the end of the match, but we’ve been unable to confirm if this is true."
It was reported last year that Brock Lesnar's contract with WWE has expired. However, the belief is that Vince McMahon will call him back in time for WrestleMania 37. As per reports, the plans are for Lesnar to face Drew McIntyre and Keith Lee in a triple-threat match at The Show of Shows.
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