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On television, WWE has showcased some mind-boggling storylines that sound implausible on paper. In reality, the company's history is riddled with infamous backstage stories. The Chairman and CEO of WWE, Vince McMahon, is well-known for his peculiar behavior.
In fact, some of Vince's real-life stories surpass the eccentricities of his onscreen persona.
It is often said that the truth is stranger than fiction, and a few of these actual incidents may follow that principle, as well. With that in mind, here are eight unbelievable Vince McMahon backstage stories that turned out to be true.
#8. Vince McMahon loved pushing people into swimming pools back in the day
The Chairman and CEO of WWE, Vince McMahon, enjoys pulling off pranks, even when people used to visit his house for meetings. He loved pushing people into his pool, and this particular story focuses on how Jerry Lawler almost found himself on the receiving end of McMahon's antics.
On an episode of Lawler's "Dinner with the King" podcast, he revealed that on the day of WrestleMania IX back in 1993, Vince McMahon almost wasn't in attendance backstage at the event.
The reason behind this absence would have been Vince's failed prank on Lawler. On the day of the aforementioned event, both of them were taking a walk outside Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. As they approached a fountain, McMahon rushed Lawler and tried to push him into the fountain. The King saw it coming and dodged his boss. As a result, Vince went straight into the fountain as a victim of his own prank.
Lawler was legitimately worried when Vince said that he may have hurt his ribs. Fortunately, WrestleMania IX proceeded as planned, but the sheer image of Vince McMahon diving head-first into a fountain would have been a comical sight to witness that day.
#7. Vince McMahon hates basic human gestures like nodding and sneezing
Several WWE Superstars and personnel have gone on the record to say just how many mundane things annoy Vince McMahon daily.
During an interview for Barstool Sports' The Corp podcast, Stephanie McMahon explained why sneezing upsets her father in the first place.
"He doesn't hate me for [sneezing], but it's always like a grrr, a grimace. But on the flip slide, I've been around when he has sneezed. It's just because he doesn't like anything he can't control. The fact that he can't control the sneeze makes him upset."
Stephanie McMahon was also involved in another backstage story that relates to Vince's annoyance about basic human gestures. Apparently, this incident involves a former 90210 writer, Larry Molin, who joined Stephanie McMahon's creative team.
In a creative meeting, Vince was talking to Molin, and he kept nodding to respond and acknowledge Vince's statements. After the meeting was over, Stephanie McMahon pulled Molin aside and gave him some important advice.
"You need to stop nodding. VINCE HATES NODDING!"
Ironically, the reason behind this is that Vince McMahon hates 'yes men', despite being surrounded by them all the time. As for Larry Molin, he didn't last too long on WWE's creative team.
#6. Vince McMahon beat Mark Henry in a weightlifting competition once
In 2015, Vince McMahon appeared on the cover of Muscle & Fitness magazine in his late 60s. The issue also featured an interview with McMahon where he talked about a variety of things. Most notably, he discussed his infamous gym battle against Mark Henry.
Mr. McMahon and Henry had a small weightlifting competition. McMahon opted for the smarter route and relaxed in the locker room for an hour, while Henry was pumped with adrenaline and full of energy at the beginning.
McMahon was way behind Henry by the time the first set was complete, but The World's Strongest Man was considerably exhausted when he started the second set. When their competition was over, Vince managed to overtake his own employee by a notable margin.
Vince McMahon corroborated the story during his interview with Muscle & Fitness.
"By the end of the workout, I was all over him. 'Come on, Mark! I'm 60-something years old, and you're the World's Strongest Man!' Psychologically, I pretty much decimated him on that last giant set. I almost felt sorry for him, but he challenged me. That was a fun day for me."
It's safe to say that even though Mark Henry is dubbed the "World's Strongest Man" in WWE. In this particular instance, he got outworked in the gym by one of the world's most unpredictable men, Vince McMahon.
#5. Vince McMahon got Jonathan Coachman arrested as a huge prank
During Jonathan Coachman's early days with WWE, Vince McMahon subjected the broadcast personality to one of the biggest pranks in WWE history.
Coachman revealed the details of this infamous prank while talking to Back Sports Page. Apparently, Jerry Brisco came up to The Coach back in 2001 and asked him to run a fantasy football pool amongst the roster. Coachman fell in trouble with the cops on a SmackDown taping soon after that.
"I had my own room I did interviews in, and all the sudden two cops show up. They were very serious and said I understand you're running a gambling pool. You sold one to one of our undercover cops here. It's a felony in North Carolina and we're going to have to take you in.”
This is where Vince McMahon came in. The cops took Coachman to the Chairman and CEO of WWE, and McMahon screamed at him for running a football pool instead of focusing on his job.
Vince even threw a pair of sweaty gym shorts over Coachman's face when he asked for something to cover his head. The prank continued as the cops drove him around for a while, but eventually, this incident turned out to be nothing but a joke.
At the time, this fiasco made Jonathan Coachman cry in front of everyone. Only a person as rich and powerful as Vince McMahon could get real cops to execute a prank like this for the maximum effect.
#4. Becky Lynch said that Vince McMahon recently demonstrated how to fall off a tower
Vince McMahon is a gym freak, and no one can dispute that. McMahon is in incredible shape for a man of his age. In an interview with TV Insider, Becky Lynch revealed an unbelievable backstage story about the chairman and CEO of WWE.
"I watched him the other day demonstrate falling off a tower at 74-years-old without a bother, brushing his shoulders off and standing up again."
The Man didn't offer additional context about McMahon's stunt, and it is important to note that this interview took place just before Money in the Bank in May. Fans and critics speculated that the stunt could have had something to do with the Money in the Bank Ladder Match.
However, WWE has released an interesting video since that interview.
In the above clip, Vince McMahon convinced Rob Gronkowski to take bump off of a platform for a spot by demonstrating it himself. Keep in mind that the same person jumping off a ledge in the above video was 74-years old at the time.
Rob Gronkowski went on to perform the same stunt at WrestleMania 36. Members of the WWE roster have often said that McMahon wouldn't ask his employees to do something that he wasn't willing to do himself, and this video is proof of that very claim.
#3. Vince McMahon once tried to wrestle Kurt Angle and Kofi Kingston in a plane on two different instances
As mentioned earlier, Vince McMahon used his wits to beat Mark Henry in a weightlifting competition. However, the CEO of WWE took it one step further when he challenged two of his performers to a physical confrontation.
In his book, It’s True! It’s True!, Kurt Angle recounted the time when McMahon tried to wrestle him on a plane.
“The quintessential alpha male, Vince McMahon always liked to prove himself, even against Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle. On a plane ride, Vince decided to sneak up behind Angle and take him down amateur-style, starting an impromptu match in the aisle."
The ruckus woke up The Undertaker, who displayed his loyalty to the company by taking out Angle to protect his boss. In Chris Jericho's third autobiography, The Demo God detailed how Vince McMahon and Kofi Kingston also fought on a plane once because of a comment McMahon made.
“While on a plane, McMahon made a snide remark to Kingston, saying, “maybe one day you’ll get over.”
For some reason, Jericho encouraged Kingston to challenge McMahon to a fight, which he did. The two men wrestled around the plane for a bit, as Vince even attempted a double-leg takedown on Kingston. After the fight was over, Vince McMahon respected Kofi Kingston for sticking up for himself.
#2: Vince McMahon got intoxicated, took multiple finishing moves, and urinated on a WWE legend's bed
The 90s were a pretty controversial time for Vince McMahon and WWE both in and outside of the ring, and this particular story is no different.
After a WWE show in San Antonio, Vince McMahon and several wrestlers headed to a bar. Later, McMahon got inebriated and allowed several Superstars to perform finishing maneuvers on him.
The Road Warriors were up first. The famous tag team hit Vince with their finisher without hurting him. They were followed by Jim Neidhart and Bret Hart. This incident was described in an episode of Hart Family Vault.
“All of a sudden I turn around and Jim [Neidhart] had Vince in the bearhug for The Hart Foundation move. I just remember Hogan and a bunch of guys looking at me like, “Are you going to do it? Or are you just going to do a powderpuff one too?” I just took his head off. I just took straight off. Clotheslined Vince right in the bar."
After this entire fiasco was over, Vince McMahon even told Bret that he owed him a drink. The icing on the cake for this story was even more bizarre than what happened at the bar. Apparently, Vince McMahon peed on Ric Flair’s hotel room bed at the after-party.
#1. Vince McMahon got mad at Triple H and Stephanie McMahon over agame of pool
After reading all the stories before this one, it should be pretty clear by now that Vince McMahon is extremely competitive. He is obsessed trying to one-up his own employees, and in this case, against his own family.
In the above video, Triple H detailed how Vince got mad when the McMahons' were playing pool at their holiday home in Boca. Family games are supposed to be fun. However, McMahon and his daughter like to rub their victories in each other's faces.
"It was real close, but we [Steph & HHH] ended up winning. He [Vince] was so mad that he had to leave and go sit outside on the deck for a while."
Stephanie McMahon kept boasting about her win over Vince all night long and sang, "You're tied to the whipping post, dad" to get a reaction out of him.
This moment culminated in the most entertaining way possible when Stephanie and Triple H could literally hear Vince McMahon screaming in anger on the other side of the house.
It looks like owning and managing the most famous pro wrestling company on the planet couldn't prepare Vince McMahon for losing a game of pool against his own family.
