5 WWE veterans Vince McMahon respects the most

Earning Vince McMahon's respect in the WWE is no easy task. It's not just about having talent, but everything about you, from your personality, your conduct, your loyalty and proving it to the company.

As we've seen before, it isn't an overnight process or an immediate process by any means. It takes years sometimes for McMahon to really begin to respect you. Perhaps one of the exceptions of this rule is AJ Styles, who seemingly earned his respect a lot quicker than anticipated.

Again, this wasn't just the fact that he's among the best in the world, but he listened to Vince McMahon's advice carefully, used it towards his favour and proved over the course of a year and a half that he was more than just a regular company man. He was willing to do all it took for the company, even if it meant flying out from South America to the United States on one day's notice despite being somewhat ill.

There are a few veterans McMahon possibly may not respect, but these are the ones he most definitely does.

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#5 R-Truth

Former WWE creative writer Kazeem Famuyide recently said, "If you can make Vince laugh, you're golden". There are few who know how to bring a laugh out of the boss than the veteran R-Truth himself.

It's easy to see why. Not only is he an extremely entertaining and funny character on-screen, but he's unanimously respected backstage among his peers as well. In fact, one instance on Sam Roberts' Wrestling Podcast saw R-Truth reveal that before the Royal Rumble 2016 match, he texted Vince about the idea of using the ladder in the match.

McMahon replied "sure" with laughing emojis. Roberts was stunned at the fact that McMahon would even use emojis in the first place. We can definitely understand his point of view!

#4 The Big Show

The Big Show hasn't really been on WWE television much since 2016. He had a few programmes, where he put over Braun Strowman and even briefly teamed with The Bar on SmackDown Live.

To his credit, he's earned the rest that he's getting and he seems to be in prime physical shape as well. From the look of things, he may have even quietly retired as well. Either way, he's been a loyal employee of the company for nearly 20 years, taking two brief stints away from the company in the mid-2000s.

He's a character who definitely could have been booked better, and with the constant heel and face turns, it was hard for him to reach his true potential. Either way, his veteran status has clearly earned him the respect of McMahon, who keeps him employed as a performer despite him not even being a part-timer anymore.

#3 Mark Henry

It's crazy to think that as a superstar pre-retirement, Mark Henry was the second-longest tenured employee in the company only behind The Undertaker. To call Henry a loyal employee would be an understatement.

He's been in all sorts of bizarre storylines, particularly during the Attitude Era with The Nation of Domination and the "Sexual Chocolate" persona. However, he still had some memorable moments, such as his 2006 WrestleMania feud against The Undertaker, and most notably, his Hall of Pain run.

The HoP run saw him win the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time, a title win which felt very much like a "thank you for your years of service" type of victory. He would dominate in his brief run but his tenure with the company alone earned him the respect of Vince McMahon.

In 2018, The World's Strongest Man entered his rightful place into the WWE Hall of Fame.

#2 Goldust

Goldust is another name that we haven't really seen around for a while. We would see him pop up on television occasionally, involved in some minor television storylines. His last major story was with R-Truth, and that had a big build-up and their team didn't even last as long as expected.

Goldust may not have ever been a "main event" talent in WWE, but he too has packed a lot of miles with the company. When he decided to jump ship from WCW, Bruce Prichard and Vince McMahon pitched him a gimmick of an "androgynous" character.

Goldust was considered uncomfortable by many, in what was a character quite ahead of its time. Perhaps people weren't ready for such a character, but he's lasted far longer than a lot of people would have thought he did. Perhaps out of respect, McMahon continues to keep Goldust employed, and when the time comes, he may very well bring him back for a small storyline.

#1 The Undertaker

This one should be a no-brainer. There's no veteran in the locker room, and perhaps no superstar in the history of the WWE locker room who Vince McMahon respects more than The Undertaker.

Not only has he been with the company for over 27 years, but he established himself as a true locker room leader and legend of the business. McMahon often says that The Undertaker is among his greatest creations, and he isn't wrong.

Anyone could have taken that gimmick, but it took special talent from Mark Callaway to own that character and make it into the mythical figure that it is today.

As for The Undertaker's future in WWE, we're really not sure. It seems as though he may have quietly retired, or decided to be careful with the dates he chooses. He worked a lot in 2018 and 2019 may be the first time in 27 years that we don't see The Undertaker at all.