Off The Record - 19980225 - Vince McMahon (Part 1)

[XblCheeseofdeath2008]

Vince just basically admits in this that he completely fucked his own father over.

[EAchankre]

I love vince

[amiga512k]

vince is always aggressive and defensive in real interviews

[MattSingh1]

Entertaining to see McMahon whining, whimpering and complaining about WCW's "crafty tricks" considering what he pulled circa '84-'90. Read 'Choke Hold' peeps.

[MrDko9873]

i think this interview was done before vince became a psychopath

[nexivdr]

@MrDko9873 Vince has always been the same. He can just hide it.

[JarrodDrover123]

we need more competition Vince trys hard as hell when he is getting his ass kicked.

[seanmorgancr7]

WCW copies everything? Well their biggest idea was NWO and that was 100% original. Actually it was WWF who copied their idea by forming groups like DX. Unfortunately WCW had too many stars and didn't know who should carry the company. Plus, Hogan was selfish and had creative control which ruined a lot of great possible story lines.

[JimmyGrave1991]

@seanmorgancr7 NWO was not original...Eric even says so himself many times...NWO came from a storyline going on with New Japan Pro Wrestling.

[seanmorgancr7]

@JimmyGrave1991 whoa, well i think about 5% of us here actually know what new japan wrestling is. However, my point was nwo was not copied by something vince did. Vince after nwo he later formed dx, the new hart foundation, nation of domination (when the rock never spoke on the mic), etc. etc.

[JimmyGrave1991]

@seanmorgancr7 Ok. I'll give you that. WCW was smarter and copied what the common US fan hasn't seen, while Vince copied things where you can just change the channel to see the original.

[KingPuddinsdaddy001]

Vince McMahon is a screwball and he can afford to be one.

[at1212b]

@KingPuddinsdaddy001

You forget that he almost went out of business. He didn't wage war to put WCW out of business. They did it to themselves.

Alas, WWF is now the only around.

[xtremerockomaniac]

MAN HOW I MISS THIS VINCE MCMAHON!!!

[skinwalkerxxx]

So beautiful how WCW was dominating back then

[idshifter]

Even though the talent have their ideas Vince always was final say. Nothing happened unless he blessed it. Also an idea is just an idea. A name is just a name. It's the direction that character goes is what makes them legends. Stone cold could have bombed if he wasn;t directed to some degree. Triple H had to change his name because the business changed to a more reality based product. Vince also had to make the choice if HHH was a could direction.

[snf09]

@T77406 8:08 he says, "one day we might make this a public company"..so he's had it in mind since '98...he has always known where he was headed and he knows where the money is. You tell me, if teenagers paid you $1 million to bloody yourself up everynight and parents paid you $1 BILLION not to bloody yourself up and not curse, you wouldnt do it?

[jenniferlam90]

i love michael lansberg-- a guy who interviews people and lets them talk

[chshaw87]

from one cunt to another....murdoch meet mcmahon!

[XcXtrippyXcX]

Scott Hall was an Upper Midcarder... Diesel was the worst drawing WWF Champion in history (before Sheamus xD)

What worked about the nWo was the whole idea of WWF guys invading WCW and taking out their top guys, week after week... fans wanted to see the WWF guys get their ass kicked, but thanks to bischoff it never happened and people got fed up with it...

[KingOfRock8887]

@T77406

????? that dont make sense

[Zarelhunter]

I agree Abbo86 I might not always Like Vince hell sometimes I wanted to whip his ass but I've stuck by since Day 1 I loved Mean Gene back in the day...now I really wish I could Bring Back Eddie Guerrero and Crhis Benoit yes I know what he did and it was a selfish shameful act but Chris Benoit was awsome before all that shit went down and Eddie made me Laugh so in Closing I've stuck around since back in the day there isn't ever going to be a Company as big as WWF/WWE ever

[JiffySpook]

Vince could sell someone a Rat's Asshole for a wedding ring. Fucking smooth.

[abbo86]

No wrestling company will ever be better than WWF/WWE ive stuck by Vince my whole life FUCK THE REST

[TheBC313]

"Were the last of the independents in this business" lol i cant believe he actually said that with a straight face.

[waliasaheb]

all hail the god of wrestling

[Zarelhunter]

wow I remember Monday Night Nitro...didn't it have BIg Pappa Pump and DDP ?

[Dedamn666]

@Zarelhunter holla if you hear me!!!! poppa pump

[bamjungle]

Paul E. Heyman, Changed the game. He made NWA ECW extreme in 93. Vince talks about what WCW did with his talent yet that is what he did with the ECW talent. He brought them and WCW talent and immitated. ECW changed the whole style. They just pride themselves on imitating before ECW expanded their market. They got smothered by their network. THey got screwed. WCW got pushes from Teds money before AOL screwed them. WWF was indie then went pg for the network. ECW got screwed, WWF stole their deal.

[Astbruchgefahr]

Vince is stretching certain things here, like WCW never had unlimited resources, Bischoff had to work within a budget. They only time Turner gave them anything, was Nitro, and after that Ted really didn't have much power.

WCW got the leftovers from other Turner divisions, so in a way WCW was disadvantaged, because the WWF was focused on putting out the best wrestling show, while WCW got scraps left over from Turner's other divisions, which is why the production values in the WWF were better.

[Astbruchgefahr]

@Astbruchgefahr so while WCW had a big safety net, they were actually quite restricted in what they could do. All the executives cared about was cutting expenses and increasing revenues, so the share price would rise (before the company eventually collapsed, but that would happen after the stock was sold). For instance, they made Bischoff make Nitro three hours and add Thunder, WITHOUT GIVING WCW ANY EXTRA MONEY. That's what killed WCW, stretching it's resources to the limit.

[at1212b]

@Astbruchgefahr

Hahah, you're kidding right. WWF champ was making a few hundred thou a year. In WCW, they were giving out million dollar contracts guaranteed, and giving main event money to openers.

[Astbruchgefahr]

@at1212b I wasn't saying that WCW didn't have a lot of money to spend, I was saying that Vince could direct all his resources to making the best wrestling show possible, while Bischoff was restricted in what he could do. Other Turner departments did not work with them and the WCW production teams were not the best, because the Turner organization sent its best workers to work in other sporting properties. And WWF workers, during good times, got far more money than they could at WCW too.

[Sundermize]

i really admire this man.

[lildwayne21]

Vince is brilliant.

[MrColtini]

LOL @ David Stern being a good marketer.

[rmelgar9]

3:35-3:50 Thats what I call a man with a strong vibration and accomplishment !

[quadboyjr9]

R.I.P Macho Man

[SFWarrior2]

Vince is a Genius!

[jcorlieon]

thumbs up for bringing back the ATTITUDE era!

[666Horns]

Vince seems like a very distinguished and sophistictaed gentleman but I don't think he ver forgets his trailer park roots

[HagSIN]

This is Vince being very pissed off that he's currently losing the ratings war.

[eslubin]

love or hate him, you got to respect how he trashed ted turner. vince is a real fighter

[gengarjetty]

public company? their shares are cripples. langusihing in a long term range.

[TheRealjacobbbbb]

Wcw May Won Have A Battle... But Wwe Won The War

[devilstoysuk2]

Vince needs to write his life story..how cool would it be even if was full of bs.

[hbk2hhh]

i didnt know wcw started the over run first and wwe is still doing today

[magickarlos]

I wish every smart mark who questions the PG direction, the no blood, John Cena, the booking and basically everything Vince does, could sit down and watch this interview and see how many things Vince said that actually happened over the next few years

[devilstoysuk2]

Great interview :)

[hitmancoolio]

'That's not gonna last forever' How right he was.

[smileswg]

If I had watched this when it was taken I would have thought Vince was full of it. But it is amazing how unbelievably right he is. And now TNA is making a lot of the same mistakes as WCW. You would think the competition would pick up a fucking book.

[at1212b]

@smileswg

At the time when I saw this, I thought so too. I thought he was delusional. I saw this live since this is a Cdn show and I'm in Canada.

Looking back at it, wow. You should also see the Eric Bischoff version and the predictions and analysis he made. Than you'll see exactly why WCW went down.. they had a moron like Bischoff running the ship. At the time, he really got under my skin. Good to see him get humbled.

[PanayotiProductions]

Michael Big Turtlehead Lansturd.

[jismjacket]

@PanayotiProductions

LOOOOL

[kevin1278]

Vince looks like Clark Kent here.

[codebreaker212p]

Kind of funny where Vince says he'd prefer not to be a public company. It was only 2 years after this interview they became public

[theabominationuknow]

I agree with what vince said in the beginning in the interview with wrestling ratings aren't everything. Pay-per-view buys, merchandise sales and dvd sales play a huge factor as well.

[tubehows4life]

@theabominationuknow Yeah but I'm not sure Vince was being honest there. PPV sales were pretty bad in 97 too until 98. And I'm pretty sure nWo merchandise was selling better than any WWF stuff in early 98 except maybe Austin 3:16 shirts if I remember right.

[theabominationuknow]

@tubehows4life Absolutely wwf was getting it's arse handed to them by wcw. I was simply saying that ratings aren't everything when it comes to a professional wrestling promotion

[tubehows4life]

@theabominationuknow Ok I mistook you. Its just when Vince said apart from ratings they are kicking Turner's ass that didnt sound quite right. Merchandise maybe, I remember at the time I heard they had excellent merchandise marketing, nWo was probably carrying WCWs merchandise department. But his PPV sales were bad man. It was a shame too because I think WWF programming was actually better then WCW's for much of 97, its just the nWo juggernaut had serious momentum behind it. It was cool too tho.

[theabominationuknow]

@tubehows4life I get what your saying but I think wcw was better in 97 for more than just the Nwo, I remember being really interested in all the mexican and japanese wrestlers that were having all these kick ass matches using styles that most of the western world hadn't seen before. It was also good having a woman's division that consisted of more than 2 wrestlers. But yeah the NWo was a serious marketing machine.

[owan316]

@tubehows4life yeah bro Austin 3:16 shirts>>>>>>>>> Nwo Entire merchandise

[danpal]

"Were the last of the independents" Wow!

[TheUltimatePerformer]

@danpal Shut up , he ment the only one that matters, obviosly since its the only one still around. even out of WCW. We kicked their ass. You should have been paying attention to the part were he said "nobody can create an image better then this man" because he's a genious

[danpal]

@TheUltimatePerformer Dude relax, I was just surprised and a bit amused because now it 2011 and there anything but the last of the independents.

[ForestKid408]

Wow, lot of great tips on business from Mr. Mcmahon. Guy's a mastermind what he does.

"Disney one said.

'Innovate faster then your competitor imitates'."

Those are some big words right there folks.

[hbk2hhh]

interisting lisening to him talk at this time in 1998 everyone thought he was gonna be outa buissness in a couple weeks end they boom came scsa and they took over again

[TheUltimatePerformer]

@hbk2hhh and be what? owner of wwe, get a life, im goin to the top with hbk

[hbk2hhh]

@TheUltimatePerformer wtf is that supossed to mean?

[mukzcm1990]

'' one day i want to go public'' i dont think even vince knew how big wwe was gonna be

[tubaSHANK]

Vince McMahon is Satan, enough said he needs to make a movie where he plays him Lucifer all it would take is to do a documentary on his real life!!!!

[AzEvanz]

Vince McMahon is a genious. He is the God of wrestling. Sure we are stuck in the shit Cena/PG era, but thats because Vince is getting loaded with lots of dollar from it. He knows what the hell hes doing, he could turn the business around again anytime he wants. Do you agree?

[MattSingh1]

@AzEvanz No, no I don't.

[AzEvanz]

@MattSingh1 ok.

[mukzcm1990]

@AzEvanz 100% agree

[JMBitchboy]

@AzEvanz The question is are you getting what you want from him right now? I don't care how good he is and how he used to give us the best entertainment but in turn without us fans he won't even have a product. I respect his mind but I don't appreciate his current product. He knows a PG show gets more sponsors not viewers but it means a lot of money. What sponsors have to realize is WWE is not Disney so there's no reason for them to believe a PG WWE means money.

[mt312006]

@AzEvanz ..actually he went to Pg because Linda was running for senator so they had to clean it up so it wouldnt hurt her campaign...not sure hes making more money now then he did when it was smut wrestling

[ajmurtagh]

@AzEvanz Yes i agree.

[AJFA23]

@AzEvanz very accurate!

[newonewo12]

I love how he just bought them lmao

[ricardesco93]

vince is intelligent , not smart

[jmclaug7]

@ricardesco93 what does that even mean?

[met12477410]

His accent sounds slighty different in real life.

[omphenom]

they should do a true hollywood story about vince mcmahon

[ShakKhan17]

This is the first time i've ever seen this interviewer not interupt his guest. Dont f with vinny mack!!

[Paulino1025]

"Ted goes out and copies things." Come on Vinnie you can't possibly tell me you've never had peculiar influences from past/present wrestling promotions be reflected onto your angles. Perfect example of the pot calling the kettle black. As a matter of fact, Vinnie was probably ripping off more from Paul Heyman and Ted than Ted was to him.

[imag0d2u]

@Paulino1025 WWE always created new starts WcW never once built a star. They started molding Rey Mysterio and Eddie G. but they would have never got where they were with the WWE

[Ironwing12]

@imag0d2u Sting.

[iamchanceb]

@imag0d2u Goldberg

[Hypodermic1]

@imag0d2u Scott Steiner. Rick Steiner. Booker T. Ric Flair. Sean Waltman (who was more famous when he came back to WWE in 1998 than when he jumped to WCW in 1996.)

[floeticdeath]

wwf should have stayed independent. but vince would never have become a billionaire with out. lol

[MagnesDrachen13]

Landsburg gives Hogan too much credit. He was in WWF and they were on top (partly due to him, partly to McMahon's promotion), then he went into WCW where they were of top (mostly due to the NWO storyline, not Hogan), then WCW started falling in late 98 and kept going down, "the great" Hulk Hogan couldn't save them, then he goes to WWE during the the WWE monopoly, ratings remained stagnant, then he ends up in TNA and TNA is still hurting in the ratings. Hogan isn't he ratings messiah.

[TonyMark25]

Yeah, "other than TV ratings, we're kicking Ted Turner's ass". Pretty much what TNA is doing to you now, home boy.

[DeepSouthWrestling1]

@TonyMark25 : In what way? TNA couldn't even fill a 4000 seat building in NC a couple of days ago...

[TonyMark25]

@DeepSouthWrestling1 In quality way. Their product is FAR more superior than the bromidic bullshit that WWE produces. All they've got is one Nexus and it's already getting dull. Their top guys are shit, their mid-card is shit, their low card is awesome, filled with people far more talented than the top guys. If WWE was indeed about wrestling, Evan Bourne would be World Champ right now. Instead, it's about entertainment and the face of the company is the most talentless oaf I've seen in my life.

[TonyMark25]

@DeepSouthWrestling1 It's funny that Vince is the guy who made wrestling what it is, gave it an identity, and he'll also be known as the guy who killed it. It's pretty much dead now. It's 'sports entertainment', while it's not athletic nor is it entertaining in ANY way. Thank the Lord for TNA still respecting the product.

[DeepSouthWrestling1]

@TonyMark25 : Well, the quality thing is a matter of opinion. It's not like that's something that's tangible, or something the casual fan is going to respect or even recognize. However, how much respect can they have for their product when the hire bloodsucking parasites like Vince Russo, Eric Bischoff, Hulk Hogan, etc... and fire honest-to-gosh old schoolers who know how to make good wrestling (Dutch Mantell, Jim Cornette). The little amount of TNA I've seen is no different from WWE.

[supermanXL]

That interview would have been better if he stay in character.

[Pwells1]

And by the next year, he was back at #1.

[UltMitSinner78]

He ought to tell the truth. WCW came up with a great idea nwo. A invasion angle never done in American wrestling. Also they brought in cruserweights and new wrestlers from Ecw and overseas. The only way WWE won was by going to Jerry Springer tactics.

[ltuomela]

Vince..i dont have a problem..lmao..when he has several jets and friends like Donald trump..there is no problem he is right..he is the best promoter ever no doubt..

[TheHappynot]

Vince did not build anyone, The NWO Savage and Hogan were not created in WWF. Razor Ramon was brought in to be a army guy and Diesel was spotted by Shawn Michaels and asked Vince to get him. Landsberg always makes him out to be a creative genius but Austin was the Ringmaster, Rock was Rocky Miavia, Triple H was Hunter Herst Helmsly. The only successful character he ever created was The Undertaker.

[TheMusicPersonified]

@TheHappynot yes but who made rocky Miavia into the ROCK..who made ringmaster into SCSA..who made hunter hearst into TRIPLE H...u see he coverted them into superstars of the highest order...they admit themselves in thier own off the record interview..all of them !!!

[MSH786]

@TheMusicPersonified No, you're wrong! It was those wrestlers themselves who changed their characters from the crappy characters Vince had for them into their own cool characters! I mean, they had to get permission from Vince first, but they pretty much changed their own characters themselves!

[Eduardo10390]

@TheMusicPersonified Austin created STONE COLD

[alansalt]

@Eduardo10390 Vince allowed austin to be 'stone cold'....

[Eduardo10390]

@alansalt Which means nothing

[bamjungle]

@alansalt No Paul E. Heyman did. Watch the Steve Austin promos from ECW, he drew on those when creating or unveiling SCSA in the WWF. He says it all the time.

[alansalt]

@bamjungle We have to realise that this is just 'us' talking we are nothing but smart marks, we have no insight into the business apart from the information we gather so all im saying is ... heyman gets credit for alot of stars including austin and rightly so...but end of the day if the boss (mcmahon) turns around and says "no SCSA is not a marketable gimmick" austin wouldnt exist, so i say it again Austin along with other wrestlers would not be the stars they are without his approva

[maxpower789z]

@TheMusicPersonified Stone Cold came up with his own gimmick. Vince was the one who made him the "Ringmaster" cause he always wants to fucking trademark shit. Triple H was Hunter Hearst Helmsley until Shawn convinced him to drop that gimmick. The Rock was The Rock ever since the ECW fans started booing him and started the trend of hating Rocky. Vince has definitely got a genius mentality for operation and control, but creatively the wrestlers/agents have been the creative backbone of WWE