Vince McMahon says he is one of only a handful of people in the world that actually enjoys confrontation.
It's never been a secret that Vince McMahon is a junkie for competition. Paul Heyman described him as such during his 2014 WWE documentary, Ladies and Gentlemen, My Name is Paul Heyman.
Now, Vince McMahon is giving insight into his own appetite for competition in his new interview with Pat McAfee.
Pat, like anyone else would, brought up the Monday Night Wars where WWE battled WCW in head-to-head competition. Vince McMahon discussed being someone who actually enjoys competition.
“I'm probably one of the few people in the world that enjoys confrontation. I enjoy confrontation. it's one of those things that revs you up and puts you on your toes to say, 'what am I going to do in this split second.' I enjoy confrontation, physical confrontation, I enjoy that. With a background like that, and a further background when I was a kid -- we don't want to hear another 'bad kid' story or anything -- my philosophy is, I learned a long time when I was a kid, I lived through that beating. If you live through the beating, and I won, what can you do to me? In terms of competition and confrontation, I'm not afraid of it. I relish it. I'm just wired differently than most people. Heredity plays a part in it. It's just who you are and you accept that and accept your weakness and strengths and use them in the best appropriate way. I wanted to be everything I could be. I grew up in an eight-foot-wide trailer in a trailer park, which is great. I didn't know any different, it was awesome. A step up from where I lived before with no running water. It's not one of those things where 'one day I'm going to have a ton of money.' You want to be successful, there's a better life than where you are, you want to reach beyond that. People bullshit and say they would do what they do without the money. I would. I know I would. I don't know what's in the bank and I don't care,” Vince McMahon said in the rare and candid interview.
Not immune to the effects of ego, Vince McMahon admits that there was a time toward the tail end of the 1980s when he did feel as though he was untouchable
“There was a period of time, probably after WrestleMania 4 or 5, I thought I was somebody and had an ego that way. Not that I don't have an ego, but had an ego in that way. That lasted for about six months. Just like everybody else, you put your pants on the same way. You have to be very fortunate because you're doing what you love to do. The odds of me sitting here and even being alive are astronomical due to my background. I'm not working. You think this is work? None of this is work,” Vince explained. “None of what I do is work. I love it. I love the people I do business with, in the organization, and out. It's not work at all, none of it is. It's probably one of the reasons why I put in so many hours is because it's not work."
When dealing with confrontation, physical or otherwise, it is important to surround yourself with those you feel are loyal to you. One individual that has always remained loyal to Vince McMahon is The Undertaker.
Also in the interview, Vince McMahon personally revealed that he will have the distinction of inducting The Undertaker into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2022. Learn more here.
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