Everybody knows that Vince McMahon is a bit eccentric -- it's largely why his pro wrestling (and McMahon himself) has been looked down upon by the mainstream media. Still, he gives off the air of the "straight shooter" -- he's a megalomaniacal businessman, sure, but part of that means he's not afraid to speak his mind. When McMahon's in trouble, though, anything goes. The Montreal Screwjob shattered the trust between McMahon and many of his employees. While McMahon felt justified in his actions, once-loyal wrestlers like The Undertaker and Mick Foley couldn't believe the way Bret Hart, the company's workhorse for the previous decade-plus, had been lied to and disgraced. Suddenly, the WWE locker room didn't feel like they worked for a boss who respected them -- they felt like commodities, used and cast aside at a rich man's whim. McMahon's deceit may go back further than that, though. In the 1980s, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka was suspected of pushing his girlfriend, who fell, hit her head, and died. Allegedly, McMahon encouraged Snuka to feign innocence and ignorance as the Chairman of WWE portrayed his star to the police as a naïve islander incapable of the crime. Today, McMahon can be found on WWE conference calls, insisting that UFC is not -- and never has been -- in competition with WWE.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
