Wrestling legend reveals the one storyline Vince McMahon regretted not doing (Exclusive)

Vince McMahon gave the WWE Universe many memorable (and infamous) storylines. That said, the former wrestling promoter didn't always get to deliver what he wanted, especially under his father's watchful eye.

On a recent edition of What Were They Thinking? on Backstage Pass, Bill Apter discussed how Vince McMahon wanted to capitalize on the Andy Kaufman-Jerry Lawler storyline but couldn't because his father, Vincent J. McMahon, opposed it.

"I think Vince Junior always had that in mind. Again, he wished he had had that. But I think, you know, his father didn't want any part of that. But once, you know, he inherited the business, he knew that mainstream, to bring in more crowds, you have to bring in these mainstream celebrities. And that's what he did."

He continued:

"This preceded all the WrestleManias. This preceded the only other celebrities I remember, of course, way, way back were boxers. They put in Joe Frazier, Joe Lewis, Rocky Marciano, you know all in, but you rarely ever saw a mainstream celebrity doing anything like this before Andy Kaufman." [26:28 onwards]

Wrestling veteran Dutch Mantell once spoke of Vince McMahon's reaction to the Kaufman-Lawler feud. You can check out Mantell's full comments here.

Get the full episode of What Were They Thinking? with JBL and Gerald Brisco on Backstage Pass. You can also unlock our exclusive content via YouTube membership.

About the author

Manik Aftab writes Exclusive articles for Sportskeeda Wrestling’s WWE division. A BA (Hons) in English Literature helped him improve his writing skills before starting his career as a pro wrestling writer.

Before joining Sportskeeda, Aftab worked for Ringside News and The Sportster, where his wrestling articles and feature pieces consistently ranked on the first page of Google SERPs.

He prioritizes accuracy, relevance, and ethics in his reporting by conducting thorough research, verifying sources, and adhering to professional journalistic standards.

While Aftab’s favorite wrestler in AEW is Hangman Adam Page, he doesn’t have a favorite in WWE yet. However, he considers Stone Cold Steve Austin to be the greatest professional wrestler of all time. His earliest memory of watching pro wrestling was when The Rock faced The New Age Outlaws in a handicap match, but it was the John Cena vs. Edge match from Unforgiven 2006 that got him hooked. If given the chance to manage a star from the Attitude Era, he would choose The British Bulldog, as he believes Davey Boy Smith was a terrific worker and could've benefitted from having a mouthpiece for his lack of mic skills.

When not watching pro wrestling, Aftab enjoys reading science fiction and watching anime.

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Edited by Rahul Madurawe