Browsing: McMahons

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Brian Pillman was one of the most unique acts in WWE when he sadly died after a heart attack caused by previously undetected heart disease. Following his passing, WWE had a controversial interview segment between Vince McMahon and Pillman’s widow, Melanie, that was aired on television, which many felt was awfully distasteful at the time. However, according to John Bradshaw Layfield, there was method to McMahon’s madness at the time.

“I don’t see how you can possibly say no to this,” JBL said during an episode of “Something To Wrestle” after it was brought up that Melanie had requested to do the interview about her husband. “You’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t. If you don’t put her on there, and years later you find out the widow wanted to come on, why didn’t you have her on? Because she wasn’t a draw? People are gonna bash Vince for that.”

“There’s no right answer to this. Vince is a standup guy, and he was willing to sa,y ‘Okay, I did it, I made the decision. If you want to shoot arrows at somebody, shoot them at me.’ And a lot of people did,” JBL added, noting that if he were actually in McMahon’s position at that time, he would’ve also done the same thing that the then-WWE Chairman did. “Are you gonna tell the family themselves, ‘We don’t want you to do a eulogy on television’? Then you’re gonna look like the biggest jerk in the world!”

JBL claims he had a feeling that Brian Pillman was dead before the news of his passing broke

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John Bradshaw Layfield also claimed that he was actually with Pillman the night before he passed away. “Brian and I were pretty good friends – I’d say good friends – and I’d always joked with him about something, a little personal joke, and he always kinda laughed and snickered at it,” he recalled, noting that the night before, he joked with Pillman again but the late wrestler snapped at him for the first time. “At the time I thought: that’s strange, that’s not like Brian? Brian was a really nice guy.”

Additionally, JBL told a story about a night between him and Pillman when the two were drinking where he found out that his friend was in a lot of pain all the time. “I said ‘Are you in pain?’ he goes, ‘Every step I take, every step I take hurts.’ He was in a tremendous amount of pain,” he recalled. “Later he didn’t make the show in Saint Louis, and I remember thinking right away back to the fact that it was different that he snapped at me and thinking ‘I don’t think Brian’s with us anymore.'”

JBL further claimed that he was saddened by the news of Pillman’s passing but not surprised, as he knew the late wrestler was a professional and wouldn’t no-show an event.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “Something To Wrestle” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

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Maybe your 80-year-old grandfather has a gigantic yacht with a wild name and it’s a little strange, but when you’re former WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon, it kind of fits ever-so-nicely at this point, doesn’t it? In 2010, when Linda McMahon ran for a seat in the United State Senate out of Connecticut, the moniker of the vessel in question hit the public eye, and it was as outlandish as you might expect from the man who once called himself “The Genetic Jackhammer” (at least pertaining to his on-screen presence).

While longtime McMahon favorite Shawn Michaels might forever be known as a “Sexy Boy,” thanks to his iconic theme song, Mr. McMahon’s 47-foot sports yacht, registered out of Boca Raton, Florida was dubbed “Sexy B****,” possibly (hopefully?) named after Linda, now estranged from Vince, and once again in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet as United States Secretary of Education, after previously serving as Administrator of the Small Business Administration. Administering administrations aside, the McMahons have spent the majority of their lives together in the public eye, atop the WWE’s enormous global footprint, and of course, Vince has come under fire in recent years, enduring several ignominious accusations, headlined by the Janel Grant lawsuit.

Unfortunately, because of the cloud surrounding his reputation these days, the grandiose name for Vince’s seafaring escape invokes all sorts of negativity, what with multiple accusations of an inappropriate nature, including those involving ring boys in the 1980s, former referee Rita Chatterton, and the late Ashley Massaro just to name a few.

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Vince McMahon recently celebrated his 80th birthday, and The Godfather recalled what actually went down on that special night.

The former WWE Chairman turned 80 on August 24 and arranged a private celebration party with close friends and multiple WWE stars. Photos from the event circulated on the internet, where Jerry Lawler, Sheamus, Titus Oâ€Neil, The Miz, Maryse, and Drew McIntyre were spotted.

Other names who were in attendance include John Cena, JBL, and The Undertaker. In an interview with Esportsbets, the Godfather described Vince McMahonâ€s party as an ‘All first class†and shared details about the private birthday celebration.

“Great time. All first class,†The Godfather said. “Vince rented out a whole hotel, so it was just us. I had a good time. A lot of friends there, a lot of people I havenâ€t seen in a long time. There was a cocktail party the night before. Me, Taker, Bruce Pritchard, Booker T and somebody else had a shot of Jack, and thatâ€s the only shot I had. Then the next night they had the party, it was really fun. I had a great time. Vince, heâ€s still going, man, he looks good.â€

Vince McMahon has remained off television following Janel Grantâ€s lawsuit. However, the celebration implies that he still holds strong connections with current stars and veterans.

What did Vince McMahon gift everyone at his birthday party?

According to the Book Pro Wrestlers Twitter (X) page, Vince McMahon had gifted a bust to his hand at his birthday party. There were only 100 in existence, and the ex-Boss only gave it to his handpicked guests.

The source also confirmed that phones were not allowed in this private event. It certainly appears that Vince McMahonâ€s birthday party turned out to be a massive celebration, and he clearly pulled out all the stops to make that happen.

READ MORE Former WWE Star Says Trying To Get Laid Resulted In Getting His Job Back

Only 100 exist.
Vince McMahon gave these busts to his hand-picked guests at his locked-down, NDA-protected 80th birthday party at NYCâ€s Baccarat Hotel.
Phones not allowed or checked in.
Youâ€re looking at this for the first time anywhere. Never posted before. pic.twitter.com/GampEk2NnL

— Book Pro Wrestlers (@BookProWrestler) September 26, 2025

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Vince McMahon isn’t exactly a favorite among most pro wrestling fans, with many rarely having kind words for the disgraced former WWE Chairman. However, Matt Riddle has praised one aspect of McMahon’s booking, something he feels neither Triple H nor Tony Khan does.

McMahon, during his time leading WWE creative, was often criticized for not listening to the fans and giving them what they wanted. Riddle thinks that this is a good trait for a wrestling booker, which he explained during his recent appearance on “TMZ Sports.”

“I will say, the one thing I loved about Vince is, Vince was like, ‘This is my company. I run it. It’s my company.’ It didn’t matter if the fans were like, ‘Oh, we don’t like this.’ The storyline was going to go as long as Vince wanted it to. And with that, it kind of works better if you don’t give people everything they want,” he said. “It’s like a plant — or anything else. If you give it everything you think it wants, just like a kid, they get slow, they don’t appreciate what they have, etc. But just like a plant, if you let it starve a little bit, then you feed it, it gets stronger, it gets healthier, it eats more, you know? And I feel like fans are like that too. If you give them everything they want, like that dream match tomorrow, what are they going to tune in for next week, you know?” he said.

The former WWE star believes that McMahon would stick to his guns and follow through with his original ideas, something he feels neither Triple H, who currently oversees WWE creative, nor AEW’s Tony Khan do.

“I feel like Triple H bends a little more [to what fans want]. Tony [Khan] definitely bends a lot, you know.”

Riddle wasn’t favored by McMahon at first, as the latter considered him too goofy for his liking. Their equation changed later on, and Riddle recently even discussed the possibility of working with McMahon again if he were to start a pro wrestling company.

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There are many legendary figures within the history of professional wrestling, but none perhaps bigger or more influential in WWE than The Undertaker. “The Phenom,” with the WrestleMania record of 25-2, remained fiercely loyal to the WWF-turned-WWE throughout the “Monday Night Wars” and the rest of his 30 years in the company. Undertaker, whose real name is Mark Calaway, was also very loyal to former WWE CEO and chairman Vince McMahon. Fellow Hall of Famer John Bradshaw Layfield commented on Undertaker’s relationship with McMahon on the “Something to Wrestle” podcast and said that ‘Taker was “100%” the godfather of WWE.

“Vince called him when he needed things. He was the ultimate ‘break glass’ guy,” JBL explained. “Nobody wants to carry the title when business is down. When business is up, everybody wants the title. But you get blamed for stuff when business is down. He called Undertaker under all circumstances. Triple H was much in the same role. Undertaker was there a little it longer, but Undertaker was the guy he called him when you needed something, you need a fail safe. When you didn’t know if guys were going to show up, Undertaker was at a lot of pay-per-views that he did not headline in case something happened. He always the fail safe guy.”

JBL joked that when it comes to loving his kids, McMahon would put Undertaker right up there with his son, Shane. The former WWE Hardcore Champion said that ‘Taker wasn’t just one of McMahon’s favorite guys, but “one of wrestling’s favorite guys.” He called him a locker room leader not just because of his position in the company, but because of who he is.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “Something to Wrestle” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

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