Vince McMahon Said THIS Eye-Opening Thing To Shayna Baszler Pre-WWE Raw Debut

WWE boss Vince McMahon laid it all out for Shayna Baszler before her debut on Raw.

Dana Brooke Shayna Baszler
WWE.com

Shayna Baszler has revealed exactly what Vince McMahon told her shortly before the ex-NXT bad ass made her debut on Raw last year.

Baszler told Renee Paquette's 'Oral Sessions' podcast that McMahon wasn't quite the "unhinged, crazy guy" she'd imagined he would be. In fact, he's been nothing but polite and constructive to Shayna since she traded NXT for the "main roster".

Backstage (at the 10 February 2020 Raw), Vince pulled Baszler aside and reminded her that her "work rate is shown on pay-per-views and at NXT", so not to "get hellbent on weekly Raw TV". Basically, McMahon didn't want "any pro wrestling" from the newcomer, at least for those first few weeks.

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He was determined to build up her character and introduce Shayna to a new audience.

That was strange to Baszler at first, but it does show the WWE chief's mindset. Vince views Raw and SmackDown as story/character-building tools, and definitely doesn't see them as the place for wrestling showcases.

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That explains a lot.

Shayna was discouraged from working the same way she had been on NXT - McMahon wanted to see something different from her.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.