Number 5 – Goldberg
Former NFL pro player and wrestler, Bill Goldberg, made it clear during an interview that Vince
McMahon as well as Triple H have a ‘great disdain’ for him. We all know Goldberg for
his notable winning streak that ended at 173 victories when he lost his title to Kevin
Nash after Scott Hall, who was disguised as a ringside security, shocked Goldberg with
a Taser gun. During the interview, Goldberg remarked that Vince McMahon disliked him because
in his eyes he wasn’t ‘one of their boys’ and he wasn’t a team player. McMahon generally
never bought into Goldberg’s gimmick. Goldberg was very unhappy with the way Vince McMahon
handled his character and expressed this with the following comment: “I can’t really
say anything positive about the man. It’s like working for a carny. It’s like working
for a carny who is driven only by his ego. Business is out of the window as evidence
by what he did with my character. So I don’t have a positive thing to say about that guy.”
It is pretty clear from their relationship that Goldberg is not one for the list anytime
soon in the WWE Hall of Fame.
Number 4 – The Ultimate Warrior
Vince McMahon and The Ultimate Warrior fell out on several occasions during his career
in the World Wrestling Federation, at the time. In 1991 The Ultimate Warrior wrote a
letter to Vince McMahon demanding more money. According to several rumours, The Ultimate
Warrior demanded $550,000 otherwise he would not attend SummerSlam. If you are interested
in reading the letter he wrote to Vince McMahon, there is a link in the description that will
direct you to the letter. McMahon bizarrely submitted to his request, which again you
can read in the description. Consequently, The Ultimate Warrior was suspended 2 months
later due to a breach of contract. The Ultimate Warrior returned in 1992 at WrestleMania 8
and was required to become a heel and work in several House shows as instructed by the
chairman. However, The Ultimate Warrior refused and as a result was fired. Further tensions
between the two arose when The Ultimate Warrior made a return at WrestleMania 12 in 1996 and
was unhappy with the direction his character was going in. Finally, the two battled once
again when The Ultimate Warrior filed a lawsuit that sued the WWE over the depiction of his
wrestling career in “The Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior” DVD. Thankfully,
these two were able to make up before he passed away in April 2014.
Number 3 – “Macho Man” Randy Savage
There have been countless rumours and speculations associated with the “Macho Man”, Randy
Savage which has resulted in a long-time strained relationship between himself and Vince McMahon.
Many have attributed the root of the animosity to the fact that Savage joined one of McMahon’s
biggest rivals, WCW, something that he promised Vince he would never do. However, the most
controversial rumour which may explain Vince’s bitterness towards Savage was the rumour that
Savage slept with Vince McMahon’s daughter, Stephanie McMahon who was 17 years old and
underage at the time. Although unconfirmed it is a possibility that we cannot ignore.
Despite this, Vince McMahon paid tribute to Savage after his tragic death, describing
him as, “one of wrestling’s all-time greats” and he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Number 2 – CM Punk
Vince McMahon was upset by some of the comments that CM Punk made towards the WWE’s medical
staff and personnel during an interview on the “Art of Wrestling” podcast hosted
by Colt Cabana. He believed that the WWE medical staff had a lack of concern regarding his
health, some of which could have left him seriously injured or dead. Some of the issues
Punk raised were that WWE booked him to appear at a TLC pay-per-view event 3 weeks following
a knee surgery he had. Furthermore, Punk questioned the effectiveness of the concussion test conducted
by the medical staff as he believed that he suffered from a concussion but somehow passed
the test. Perhaps the most serious incidence that Punk criticised the medical team for,
was the misdiagnosing of a staph infection that potentially could have ended his life.
McMahon was also upset by the way CM Punk left the company, just weeks before Wrestlemania
30 and pleaded for Punk to stay. However, this wasn’t enough and Punk stated that
he was “never ever going to return to wrestling”.
Number 1 – Daniel Bryan
Many may be surprised about this but Vince McMahon was displeased about the reaction
that Daniel Bryan was receiving from the WWE Universe and generally never bought into Daniel
Bryan’s gimmick. McMahon was also unhappy with how he was forced to put Bryan in the
main event in Wrestlemania, which Bryan went on to win. Another instance Vince did not
appreciate was during the 2015 Royal Rumble which left fans in discontent after Bryan
was eliminated, so much so that #canceltheWWENetwork was trending following the pay-per-view event.
Although relations have slightly improved between the two, Bryan revealed during an
interview that Vince probably doesn’t want to see him main event another Wrestlemania
and that he believes Vince doesn’t see him in the same light as John Cena or Roman Reigns.
He said that he thinks Vince McMahon sees him as someone who makes money for the company.
Interestingly, Daniel Bryan has been cleared by the doctors but is yet to be cleared by
Vince McMahon.