Which in some respect is the entire entertainment/sports industry, and not entirely unreasonable in one sense. You, as an entertainer, bring value to a company when you perform, and when you can't, they don't need you. All that said, Vince had the opportunity to change that and give guys time off when they needed it and chose not to. IOW, the old territory promoters kind of had to run guys into the ground because they were living paycheck to paycheck(doesn't make it right mind you)...Vince, by the late 80s, had surpassed that and still treated his talent like crap.
@@joshuacobb2842 this was in 1997 at the end of his documentary Wrestling with Shadows and after Survivor Series. You'll forgive him if at that point he was pissed off.
@@uncleedsautographsandstuff8813 it’s fine so long as workers are adequately compensated for their years of loyalty and hard work… in this case there appears to be no compensation beyond wrestlers own ability to merchandise themselves with signings and podcasts….
As a business owner you’re correct. I just want the job done, you’ll aren’t my family, and honestly the people who work for me make me physically ill just to look at them and how big of losers they are. I feel bad for them
@@GrassyknolldallasIf that's true, then you're actual subhuman scum. Your employees are literally the primary reason why you're able to make a living.
I learned that first hand at a factory/construction job how it’s just a carousel of people rotating in and out and your body getting obliterated and then next man up. Only people who stay at those places long is people who got lucky enough to get one of the few easy jobs or if you wear a suit and work a desk. When I quit mine of 7 1/2 years my foreman told me whether I’m not there, he’s not there, it don’t matter. The train don’t stop for anybody.
Eh, I wouldn't go that far in saying Vince didn't care. He obviously did have a heart for the well-being of talents. Vince lived inside of his WWF/WWE bubble from its initial inception. Anyone confined into their specific chamber are going to have some odd quirks about their personalities. Quite honestly, a huge part of me is surprised he has lasted this long not being involved with the WWE.
Really should of just stopped the show and done the remaining matches an other time. Given folk refunds or told them to keep the tickets and they could use them the next time they performed there. A guy died during u would think folk would be like ok yeah fair enough
Vince was a massive workaholic and didn't care about his wife and kids and couldn't understand why someone would think the opposite,thats a true narcissist for ya!!
I do think Vince cared about his family but he was of that generation and mindset of working till you dropped and not worrying about retirement because you aren't gonna live to see it. I know because I had relatives like that. Problem is only one of them actually reached that end.
Great topic, applicable to pretty much any full time job. Employers often do push the envelope to see how much an employee is willing to do and willing to put up with. Unfortunately some essentially on purpose will burn through some/all of their employees figuring that they are expendable and can eventually be replaced by new and naive hires. I had a former boss who didn't like me and wrote me up for complaining about job conditions and workload, and I nearly quit due to me figuring that I was never going to get a fair shake. Luckily, within a year he was forced out by the company board and things got better as my new manager respected me.
I've noticed the bigger pushover you are the more the company treats and looks at you with disrespect and like disposable trash. I stood up to s bully manager calling him out for his bs and he hasn't dared speak to me like that again
Look with Eddie Guerrero. Everyone talked about him walking around in pain all day and lying on the trainers bed all the time backstage. Vince never said, go take some time off. Guy was wrestling with heart disease up a few days before passing of a heart attack. Vince is extremely lucky that didn’t happen in the ring
Remembering how things were back then, Vince would have swept it under the rug like he did with Owen and just kept the show going. "....Cole, Eddie's dead. And you're back in 10, 9, 8..."
Hes survived much worse than that. Go check the press conference after "Over the edge 99" his response to a question about the harness is "first of all lady I dont appreciate your tone" just hours after someone horrifically and brutally died on his show. Ice cold.
The problem with business people is they see you as Dollar signs. Wrestling is a physical sport so you are likely to get hurt and be in pain with physical injuries.
That's every business. I work for a fortune 500 company, I make great pay and I've been there for 23 years and guess what? I am 100% replaceable. Nobody cares.
There is a line from a Pearl Jam song "if you don't like something, don't you do it too " when people say 'I had to do it, so they should have to", is just wrong. You should always want things to get better.
I like that they brought up that this was not unique to Vince. Pretty much all the territories back in the 80s and before would just run you into the ground...miss a show, don't get paid. That said, once Vince had the opportunity to change that, since WWF/E had become successful enough where they could afford to give guys more time off, he didn't. Some might say "well that's just Vince being a workaholic and expecting the same from everyone else"...yes, but Vince isn't in the ring taking bumps every night. Vince simply put business above all else, and was an evil, dirty man on top of that.
You don’t acquire a billion dollars but helping anyone. In fact, you acquire a billion dollars by hurting as many ppl as you can, if they get in your way of that goal
Steven Richards is, looking back, my favourite heel of all time. It's him or Triple H. Nobody else got that nuclear heat that he could. He was awesome. Right To Censor was an amazing heel group. I love watching his channel.
Hey as a juniata boy, stevie will always be the dude we wished we were as not 265 and 6 ft 7. Philly baby. Keeps it real. Always great to philly fans. Thank you both. Love this new shit!
I have no idea what it is but when Stevie Richards talks, I just get drawn in and listen. Was the same when he does stuff with Russo. Man has got an extremely high IQ for the business and also public speaking.
A perfect example of this was Brock Lesnar. He was allowed to be ran into the ground from 2002 to 2004, then Vince took it personal when Lesnar left to the extent that it's believed his losses to Cena and Hunter on his return were punishment for this. It's no wonder Lesnar then dictated his own schedule. Benoit is another tragic example but the less said about him, the better.
That is literally how cult leaders behave when they take shit like that so personally. People like that view anyone leaving their circle as a betrayal and personal attack. I maintain to this day that had Vince not gotten into wrestling, he likely would have ended up as a cult leader. And that thought is kinda scary considering the recent allegations.
Pretty sure Vince sued Lesnar too for breach of contract. But Lesnar wouldn't go back which is also a testament to Brock's character cause he wasn't going to be bullied by Vince.
@@brown_recidivist Brock also didn't scare himself into believing that his career would be OVER if he refused to work non-stop for Vince. It's precisely that kind of paranoia that managers/business owners take advantage of. As Jessie Ventura says, wrestlers are their own worst enemies, when he tried to organize them to stand up for themselves and each other, he found out just how weak, scared, and insecure many of them are when it comes to taking on management. And if this is true of macho wrestlers.... Think about how feeble workers in other professions are!
@@ryanjacobson2508 That's right. He was a big enough star that he could go to any company at the time. He knew what his value was. A lot of these other guys are prolly brainwashed saying "well there's no other places that will hire you" Esp PRE AEW when WWE was the biggesy wrestling company.
@@ryanjacobson2508 it is kind of funny, isn't it? So many fans put wrestlers from that era on such a high pedestal of machismo and manliness. "When men were men" as Undertaker put it. But professional wrestlers really are some of the most paranoid, insecure, and skittish entertainers of all time. Especially the older generations.
With the benefit of hindsight, the sale of WWE was the best thing that could have happened for fans, wrestlers and WWE's legal department. As much money as Vince made from it, he'd probably give it all back to have control again. Not because he love pro wrestling but for his ego. He could have retired a decade ago and lived just as comfortably.
@@deepblue8143 Ummm, no. To quote Jesse Ventura, nobody deserves to be a billionaire. McMahon was mostly a figurehead and never as essential to his company as people insist, none of the so call titans of industry are. Side note, I’d be willing to bet his story about growing up in a trailer park is fabricated, people like Vince always love to downplay the advantages they had. Linda and then Nick Khan handled the administrative side and really it was more the guys who worked under Vince that made the creative what it was… Oh and the wrestlers themselves. And as far as having “no regrets”, he didn’t leave by choice either time. He was forced out on both occasion, the second time he no longer had the power to force his way back. He famously never took holidays or understood why anyone working for him wanted to. He never cared about the money itself. He could have had Elon Musk money and still would have wanted to be in control. I heard right now he’s got PR guys consulting him on how to repair his public image so a part of him still wants to come back. He could easily retire to some non extradition country and enjoy a comfortable retirement. He never wanted to do that. Not because he loved the WWE, his booking over the last decade is proof of that. He loved that WWE was his personal dictatorship and he’s lost that now. He may have no remorse, but he’s got plenty of regrets.
@@deepblue8143 Remorse, unlikely. Regrets, definitely. He’s lost the only thing that gave his life meaning and it wasn’t of his own will. And no one deserves to be a billionaire, Vince was just a figurehead like most of the executive class.
He didn't deserve anything. His a vile nasty monster who raped women, cheated on his wife and treated his employees like disposable trash. He ain't taking any of that money to the grave so what exactly did he really gain? He'll always be looked at as the disgraced CEO that got forced out of his own company
Anybody who is a wrestler who lived through the Vince era must be feeling extremely grateful for the state of WWE today. Yes, booking choices can be chaotic at times, and you might lose your spot if you want time off because the show must go on, but at least there are people in control in WWE that will understand your concerns and allow you to leave for a while before coming back and trying to regain your spot.
Especially wwe think about it those dudes in the 80s to early 2000 those guys and gals worked like 300 days and in the 80s early to mid 90s they could have up to 300+ matches
Vince is only a symptom of a much larger issue. Fact of the matter is, everybody at the top looks at everybody at the bottom as 'resources'. Whether it be a supply chain, wrestling, football, whatever it is, you're an disposable source that can be replaced to them.
WWF/WWE always treated their talent like race horses... so many wrestlers became hooked on pain killers or worse. How many died early because of this issue?
All i can say and i'm sure i'm speaking for A LOT of talent saying this. But GOOD RIDDANCE VINCE...!!! The working environment must have been horrible under that tyrant. He's like the Trump of pro wrestling. Who the hell in their right mind would want to work for someone like that.
What's always so "funny" whenever you bring such a topic up to guys from earlier wrestling generations, like Dutch Mantell, they are like what yo uare moaning about? We had it much harder! Like they say because they had it ruff, the next generations also have to have it that way. I man WTF? If everyone would think like that we would still work like in ancient times.
McMahon is a pervert…he started the kiss my ass to remind the wrestlers that he has absolute control and if the wrestlers did not kiss his ass they would be out of a job.
For a guy who’s face I fucking hated as soon as I saw him as a kid on tv, I instantly thought seems like a chill, genuine dude as soon as he started talking on this video. Now that’s real character work talent
After hearing these comments about Vince and his short sighted approach to protecting valuable talent… or NOT protecting them/his investment… It boggles my mind that ppl like Jim Ross say that the wrestling business has no impact on wrestlers becoming hooked on pain pills and somas. If you are hurt, but the boss doesn’t care and doesn’t let you heal. Of course you’re going to take oxy’s and somas to keep your job. And I like JR. Met him, bought all his books but just using him as one example.
JR is the same person who got publicly humiliated over and over and still counted Vince as a friend. JR is corporate through and through, he’s also the same man who chose to not fire or even fine Flair because of his legacy. He’s a decent man, but he’s a company guy.
Honestly, the more stories like this I hear, the more disgusted I get at the wrestlers who defend vince or say how good this all was for "the wrestling business". I have to say screw vince and I don't give a damn about the business anymore. These people were made to wreck their bodies and vince lorded it over them. When mick, austin and taker defend vince and the business, I just see stockholm syndrome now - they need to defend and deflect because they need to feel this was worth it.
Triple h as former performer knows it’s important for wrestlers to have some time off, that’s why he gave the roster 2 weeks so they can be with their families for Christmas and New Years
Some people enjoy talking trash about Trips, but he has that locker room in a great spot. Seems like the workplace is a lot better, and the product on screen is the best it's been since the Attitude Era. Same with NXT and Shawn. He is putting out great TV and PLE's, and seems to me they aren't just throwing talent up on the main roster from NXT even though they have nothing for them to do. Jade Cargill I think is a great example of how much they are nurturing talent these days. She signed a massive contract with WWE, and she was so horrible in the ring coming over from AEW. They took months training her at the PC before she became a regular on TV, and while she still is average at best. She is miles ahead of where she was with AEW. All because Shawn and Trips didn't rush her on to shows. This is a great era of wrestling we are in, and that's largely in part to the departure of Vince and good creative wrestling minds taking over from the senile old man.
Can we stop bigging up HHH like his some wrestling executive genius? Sure his better than that predator Vince but HHH ruined many wrestlers careers back in the day especially with his reign of doom.
@@anthonyfaucy2761 I'll "big" him up all I want because the product is in the best shape it's been since the Attitude Era and even better. All because of Nick Khan and Triple H. The proof is in the numbers and all of them are record breaking. Plus this propaganda that people like to bring up about Triple H and his career is cheap unsubstantiated rumors and even if some of it is legit. He's not the only guy in wrestling history that looked out for himself and buried a few on the way. So what??? Add in the fact that his career in the ring ended long ago and has nothing to do with what he is doing now as an executive. It might as well be two different people. It would be different if we had news of him destroying people backstage now, but the whole locker room has embraced him and this new era. So stop with your hating. Open your eyes and soak in the reality. Your statement is fucking clueless and unrealistic to what is actually happening today.
Lately I was wondering why so many wrestlers are injured all the time and don't show up or have matches... but then it came to my mind, that there aren't more injured wrestlers, it's just that they don't carry their injuries around just waiting for the storyline to take it's turn or end so they can finally get surgery or else.
At least this way there will be less tragedies. As an 80s/90s wrestling fan a lot of my childhood heroes died quite young. I don't want that to happen again.
The more I learn about what Vince was like in the '80s, '90s, and early 2000s, the more I realize how lucky *HE* was that the internet didn't exist for most of that time. I don't think wrestling would have gotten anywhere near as popular as it did if it were well known that Vince ruled with an iron fist and treated his talent like workhorses who were taken out when they could no longer perform.
Notice that a year ago Randy was a staunch defender of Vince in wake of early allegations. Now that Vince is up the river, Randy is verbally blasting him every chance he can get. Hypocrite to the max.
this does the question of how many years did he take off of the careers of his top Stars like was doing this to Randy who's been so privileged throughout his career
It makes no sense why Vince ran people so dry because they had SO MUCH TALENT on the roster, the way HHH is balancing and giving people seperate times off is smart. That way you dont have too many guys gone at once, but they all last longer. People hated on The Miz for wrestling a safer style but, he barely ever misses time, even with a wife and kids, now we're all looking at Miz like he knew better all along, to wrestle that style under Vince so he can keep going, and he didnt need time off like a lot of other guys did
Considering what happened in 1995 and 2011, you'd think Vince would know better to take care of the talents long term just to avoid having those situations happen again.
Triple H is smart giving the lower card great storylines for us as an audience to get invested in which gives the higher card talent a break and vice versa. Vince really lost touch. WWE was mostly bad in the 2010’s. But this Triple H era brought wrasslin back!
I even feel like the Ruthless Aggression era is overrated. There was definitely some good stuff in it, but largely I feel like it's a big circle jerk for John Cena.
@@diehardskins4109 yea. I was in high school during that time, I remember that feeling like you were watching something wrong and your parent didn’t want you watching it to now it’s for kids.
@@diehardskins4109and Triple H. WWE was pretty bad on a consistent basis for a very long time. I’d only watch the pay per views and spare myself the annoyance of watching the show by reading the reviews on Bleacher Report.
Listen to Steve Austin talk about his walk out in 2002. His booking indicated he was losing steam and slipping on the card. That happens, but he knew he was still a huge draw and had a few more big paydays coming, even most likely putting the other guy over. When they wanted him to put Lesnar over clean and a KOTR qualifier on Monday Night Raw he had it. Right or wrong, he had been worked to near death and felt he deserved some more main events. Vince never had any care or compassion. From one big draw onto the next....
Austin main evented 97-2001. His ego made him cry. HHH and Taker worked the young guys whether they liked Vince's plans or not. And many, they did not.
I try to make any independent show that comes around my way and when I'm watching it I always try to keep in mind these guys are making next to nothing so I try to boo or cheer my absolute loudness to show my appreciation.
Are we all forgetting Beniot? He NEVER should have been allowed to make his finisher the flying headbutt. Even they guy who invented it said he shouldn't do it. Vince seriously should have denied that one. Even back then THEY KNEW BETTER.
Just realizing how toxic Vince was as a boss even back in the 90s is still insane. It makes me wonder what exactly the guys who talked about Vince in a positive light did to get on his good side.
I sometimes use the history of the WWF/WWE website to look up 80s cards the then WWF held.. Vince was running four shows a day almost every day of the week back then. He really really just used these guys until they fell apart.
If Randy Orton is saying something like this... then god only knows what Vince did to the lower card guys.
He probably did that to Kanyon by having Undertaker hit him with a steel chair in the head while dressed as Boy George
Or have a dildo named after you
@@RealGilbertGan The Kanyon thing I remember as a teenager was the first time I went wait a minute....that was such an ugly story behind the scenes.
@@thereelpineapple yep, it's a typical WWE bullying tactic
There's a reason why there was a huge pain pill issue in the 90s and 2000s.
Bret compared Vince to a horse-owner who once you can't make it, they put two slugs in the back of your head.
Which in some respect is the entire entertainment/sports industry, and not entirely unreasonable in one sense. You, as an entertainer, bring value to a company when you perform, and when you can't, they don't need you.
All that said, Vince had the opportunity to change that and give guys time off when they needed it and chose not to. IOW, the old territory promoters kind of had to run guys into the ground because they were living paycheck to paycheck(doesn't make it right mind you)...Vince, by the late 80s, had surpassed that and still treated his talent like crap.
lmao
Literally? Bret is one of my all time favorites, but he's very melodramatic and whiney.
@@joshuacobb2842 this was in 1997 at the end of his documentary Wrestling with Shadows and after Survivor Series. You'll forgive him if at that point he was pissed off.
@@joshuacobb2842 No he's not, Kurt Angle's story is enough proof of this.
Any job physical or mental will use you until you are broken or not needed anymore.
Everyone can be replaced is the corporate mindset!
@@uncleedsautographsandstuff8813 it’s fine so long as workers are adequately compensated for their years of loyalty and hard work… in this case there appears to be no compensation beyond wrestlers own ability to merchandise themselves with signings and podcasts….
As a business owner you’re correct. I just want the job done, you’ll aren’t my family, and honestly the people who work for me make me physically ill just to look at them and how big of losers they are. I feel bad for them
@@GrassyknolldallasIf that's true, then you're actual subhuman scum. Your employees are literally the primary reason why you're able to make a living.
I learned that first hand at a factory/construction job how it’s just a carousel of people rotating in and out and your body getting obliterated and then next man up. Only people who stay at those places long is people who got lucky enough to get one of the few easy jobs or if you wear a suit and work a desk. When I quit mine of 7 1/2 years my foreman told me whether I’m not there, he’s not there, it don’t matter. The train don’t stop for anybody.
Stevie Richards is a brilliant mind. Looking forward to hearing from him more
Agreed. I enjoy him and Bin Hamin.
Good to see you here Christian. Love your channel.
@@naturallawman2965 cheers pal
@@naturallawman2965 I thought the same thing when I saw his comment!
😂 you should meet him in person. Biggest user on planet
Vince didn’t care about anyone but himself. Not even his kids.
...or his wife...clearly.
Eh, I wouldn't go that far in saying Vince didn't care. He obviously did have a heart for the well-being of talents. Vince lived inside of his WWF/WWE bubble from its initial inception. Anyone confined into their specific chamber are going to have some odd quirks about their personalities.
Quite honestly, a huge part of me is surprised he has lasted this long not being involved with the WWE.
@@LastSunrise1981 He has no choice in the matter
Lol and Verne gagne, Bill watts, Eddie Graham, fritz were all great guys right? Without Vince wrestling would have died a long time ago.
Yes because you know him personally..
I can't live without the Stevie Play-by-Play video calls. Must continue!
One of Vince’s top stars died during a ppv. And he CONTINUED THE SHOW.
So it is no surprise Vince could care less about Randy’s back.
And he covered up for Jimmy Snuka as well.
Yeah wtf man thats so messed up. Rest in peace Owen Hart.
Really should of just stopped the show and done the remaining matches an other time. Given folk refunds or told them to keep the tickets and they could use them the next time they performed there. A guy died during u would think folk would be like ok yeah fair enough
@@takerhulk3163 Well said. There are always other options and McMahon picked the worst option all in the name of profit.
@@takerhulk3163 yeah a sense of common decency?
Stevie Richards is a all-time class act ,and one of the best interviews in wrestling thanks James and Stevie,⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
He is indeed classier than most of the ex wrestling personalities, IMO. Never seems bitter; never has an agenda. Just speaks facts.
@@neilsun2521 and he has a great memory for the things he was around and really good insight
Vince was a massive workaholic and didn't care about his wife and kids and couldn't understand why someone would think the opposite,thats a true narcissist for ya!!
Always had to prove himself to his wrestlers, too. He was always taking their finishers and out crazying them.
There's a ton of evidence proving you wrong!
And CM Punk
I do think Vince cared about his family but he was of that generation and mindset of working till you dropped and not worrying about retirement because you aren't gonna live to see it. I know because I had relatives like that. Problem is only one of them actually reached that end.
I don’t know much about Stevie but he’s very well spoken. And truthful
He's a great guy. From what I've seen on his channel and Russo's.
I dont know much about him be he speaks the truth... as he sees it. Doesnt make it the truth.
But is he a badass like John Moxley?? F NO!
Yeah so since don't know man think speaks the truth 😂 that how Jesus was made
@@tonyslicer7399 What? In English please.
Thank you Stevie for being a "I went through it, so you don't have to." kind of human.
Yeah, always a nice surprise when people from previous generations get it and approach things from an empathetic point of view. Sadly all too rare.
Great pairing. Awesome seeing you two work together.
Great topic, applicable to pretty much any full time job. Employers often do push the envelope to see how much an employee is willing to do and willing to put up with. Unfortunately some essentially on purpose will burn through some/all of their employees figuring that they are expendable and can eventually be replaced by new and naive hires.
I had a former boss who didn't like me and wrote me up for complaining about job conditions and workload, and I nearly quit due to me figuring that I was never going to get a fair shake. Luckily, within a year he was forced out by the company board and things got better as my new manager respected me.
Employers HATE criticism. Even though most know they fuck their employees over (in different ways). They just DGAF. cash over morals
I've noticed the bigger pushover you are the more the company treats and looks at you with disrespect and like disposable trash. I stood up to s bully manager calling him out for his bs and he hasn't dared speak to me like that again
I'm in this situation now. It's awful.
I remember when Shane Douglas said a Dr. told Vince he was too hurt to work and Vince tried to intimidate the Dr because he didn’t like what he heard
Stevie looks great, glad to see he's doing well.
Met Stevie a bit ago! Nice guy all around! The type of guy that you could sit with and have a regular conversation!
Look with Eddie Guerrero. Everyone talked about him walking around in pain all day and lying on the trainers bed all the time backstage. Vince never said, go take some time off. Guy was wrestling with heart disease up a few days before passing of a heart attack. Vince is extremely lucky that didn’t happen in the ring
Remembering how things were back then, Vince would have swept it under the rug like he did with Owen and just kept the show going.
"....Cole, Eddie's dead. And you're back in 10, 9, 8..."
And then vince was crying in the ring with crocodile tears after Eddie dies
Hes survived much worse than that. Go check the press conference after "Over the edge 99" his response to a question about the harness is "first of all lady I dont appreciate your tone" just hours after someone horrifically and brutally died on his show. Ice cold.
The show would have gone on again, sadly
Glad to see Stevie joining up . I really dug his old channel , and obviously I love WSI as I watch everything put out .
As a kid Raven was my hero but now as a grown man I believe Stevie was the better man. And he turned out to be a great Rassler!
What bout Raven, what bout me?
Raven was a slept on wrestler. So much talent.
It amazes me how Vince got away with this stuff for so long with out one of these dudes absolutely beating the ever living shit out of him.
Some of them did like the wrestler named 'Nailz' who beat the crap out of Vince back in the day
This was a great clip! A really intelligent and interesting conversation. I'm on board for this show!
Thank you so much, sir. You bringing wrestlers with great inside knowledge and your line of questioning is just wonderful thank you so much, sir.!!
So Roddy Piper was telling the truth when he was on HBO in 2003?
Did somebody doubt that?...
The problem with business people is they see you as Dollar signs. Wrestling is a physical sport so you are likely to get hurt and be in pain with physical injuries.
Right, these are human beings out here for our entertainment
Then pay them insurance
That's every business. I work for a fortune 500 company, I make great pay and I've been there for 23 years and guess what? I am 100% replaceable. Nobody cares.
Wrestling should’ve been had a union but Terry Bollea ratted on a fellow coworker to score points with his master smh…
@poindextertunes that would have never worked and would be a terrible idea.
Stevie sounds like he’s very intelligent and/or well read.
He is
There is a line from a Pearl Jam song "if you don't like something, don't you do it too " when people say 'I had to do it, so they should have to", is just wrong. You should always want things to get better.
Good to see u again Stevie. A rare voice of reason in respect in the wrestling podcast world is always welcome.
I like that they brought up that this was not unique to Vince. Pretty much all the territories back in the 80s and before would just run you into the ground...miss a show, don't get paid.
That said, once Vince had the opportunity to change that, since WWF/E had become successful enough where they could afford to give guys more time off, he didn't. Some might say "well that's just Vince being a workaholic and expecting the same from everyone else"...yes, but Vince isn't in the ring taking bumps every night.
Vince simply put business above all else, and was an evil, dirty man on top of that.
You don’t acquire a billion dollars but helping anyone. In fact, you acquire a billion dollars by hurting as many ppl as you can, if they get in your way of that goal
Good to see you looking great Stevie. Really enjoy everything you do
Steven Richards is, looking back, my favourite heel of all time. It's him or Triple H. Nobody else got that nuclear heat that he could. He was awesome. Right To Censor was an amazing heel group. I love watching his channel.
As a lifelong HHH fan, much respect to you for respecting The Game!
I too, enjoyed RTC. It's for your own good. 🤚🏾
Hey as a juniata boy, stevie will always be the dude we wished we were as not 265 and 6 ft 7. Philly baby. Keeps it real. Always great to philly fans. Thank you both. Love this new shit!
Stevie was such a solid worker! Underrated as all hell... I'm glad he is more healthy then he was a few years back....
Such a good dude! 👍
I have no idea what it is but when Stevie Richards talks, I just get drawn in and listen. Was the same when he does stuff with Russo. Man has got an extremely high IQ for the business and also public speaking.
A stevie Richards podcast was needed!
Ty James x :-)
Vince is about as uncaring as his absentee father was when Vince was a kid 🤣🤣
Too soon. 😂😂
That opening sound from Stevie’s theme hit me like a truck of nostalgia
Stevie and James!!! What an awesome pair!
I want to hear the story where Stevie Stevie-kicked Vince's office door open and went in with Blue Meanie and Nova and said, "We're taking over!" 😂
Good to hear from you Stevie. All the best.
Stevie speaks so well on these topics. I appreciate how he's so level headed.
Great insight!!
That's one toxic place from what I've heard from many stories.
Vince McMahon is a very unsavoury character who been under Federal investigation, for various crimes.
The Feds are just as crooked as Vince. Trust.
Sounds like a big anxiety inducing environment. Props to the wrestlers who survived
Including HHH himself. Dude wrestled through two quads on live television. Had his larynx crushed on ppv and kept wrestling another 30min.
You sound like you cried at Titanic.
It is a crazy environment and the ways they could string you along or dangle a carrot in front of you.
A perfect example of this was Brock Lesnar. He was allowed to be ran into the ground from 2002 to 2004, then Vince took it personal when Lesnar left to the extent that it's believed his losses to Cena and Hunter on his return were punishment for this. It's no wonder Lesnar then dictated his own schedule. Benoit is another tragic example but the less said about him, the better.
That is literally how cult leaders behave when they take shit like that so personally. People like that view anyone leaving their circle as a betrayal and personal attack. I maintain to this day that had Vince not gotten into wrestling, he likely would have ended up as a cult leader. And that thought is kinda scary considering the recent allegations.
Pretty sure Vince sued Lesnar too for breach of contract. But Lesnar wouldn't go back which is also a testament to Brock's character cause he wasn't going to be bullied by Vince.
@@brown_recidivist Brock also didn't scare himself into believing that his career would be OVER if he refused to work non-stop for Vince. It's precisely that kind of paranoia that managers/business owners take advantage of. As Jessie Ventura says, wrestlers are their own worst enemies, when he tried to organize them to stand up for themselves and each other, he found out just how weak, scared, and insecure many of them are when it comes to taking on management. And if this is true of macho wrestlers.... Think about how feeble workers in other professions are!
@@ryanjacobson2508 That's right. He was a big enough star that he could go to any company at the time. He knew what his value was. A lot of these other guys are prolly brainwashed saying "well there's no other places that will hire you" Esp PRE AEW when WWE was the biggesy wrestling company.
@@ryanjacobson2508 it is kind of funny, isn't it? So many fans put wrestlers from that era on such a high pedestal of machismo and manliness. "When men were men" as Undertaker put it. But professional wrestlers really are some of the most paranoid, insecure, and skittish entertainers of all time. Especially the older generations.
With the benefit of hindsight, the sale of WWE was the best thing that could have happened for fans, wrestlers and WWE's legal department.
As much money as Vince made from it, he'd probably give it all back to have control again. Not because he love pro wrestling but for his ego. He could have retired a decade ago and lived just as comfortably.
He had no regrets. He's a legend and a billionaire and well deserved.
@@deepblue8143 Ummm, no. To quote Jesse Ventura, nobody deserves to be a billionaire. McMahon was mostly a figurehead and never as essential to his company as people insist, none of the so call titans of industry are.
Side note, I’d be willing to bet his story about growing up in a trailer park is fabricated, people like Vince always love to downplay the advantages they had.
Linda and then Nick Khan handled the administrative side and really it was more the guys who worked under Vince that made the creative what it was… Oh and the wrestlers themselves.
And as far as having “no regrets”, he didn’t leave by choice either time. He was forced out on both occasion, the second time he no longer had the power to force his way back. He famously never took holidays or understood why anyone working for him wanted to.
He never cared about the money itself. He could have had Elon Musk money and still would have wanted to be in control. I heard right now he’s got PR guys consulting him on how to repair his public image so a part of him still wants to come back. He could easily retire to some non extradition country and enjoy a comfortable retirement. He never wanted to do that. Not because he loved the WWE, his booking over the last decade is proof of that. He loved that WWE was his personal dictatorship and he’s lost that now.
He may have no remorse, but he’s got plenty of regrets.
@@deepblue8143 Remorse, unlikely. Regrets, definitely. He’s lost the only thing that gave his life meaning and it wasn’t of his own will. And no one deserves to be a billionaire, Vince was just a figurehead like most of the executive class.
He didn't deserve anything. His a vile nasty monster who raped women, cheated on his wife and treated his employees like disposable trash.
He ain't taking any of that money to the grave so what exactly did he really gain? He'll always be looked at as the disgraced CEO that got forced out of his own company
Of course it wasn't of his own will, Triple H, Stephenie, Nick Khan and later Ari Emanuel all conspired to force Vince out
I want to hear about Stevie working with Chyna and Debra
Well done
"choose your own adventure" my favorite books as a kid
Ask him about Crash Holly. Crash was a good friend of his and they lived together until Crash passed away.
Betas
@jabrockobiden9434 what?
Telling your worker, to get a “nanny” is crazy work, my G 😂💀 Vince is wild, man…
Anybody who is a wrestler who lived through the Vince era must be feeling extremely grateful for the state of WWE today. Yes, booking choices can be chaotic at times, and you might lose your spot if you want time off because the show must go on, but at least there are people in control in WWE that will understand your concerns and allow you to leave for a while before coming back and trying to regain your spot.
Really like hearing Stevie talk nice dude
I love this podcast. You guys are now my favourite channel to watch.
The passion shines through in every video. It's truly inspiring.
7:22 A "Choose Your Own Adventure" pro wrestling book would have been great. Except 9/10 endings would have Vince treating you badly.
This is surprising from a guy continued a show after a guy droped from the celing and died live......
Vince wakes up everyday?!? I thought he never slept 😹
He probably sleeps four hours max 😄
@@rileystanekthis was Vince’s problem he think everyone was as genetically gifted as he was to keep going like a Terminator
@rileystanek it's been reported that he only slept 3-4 hours.
@@rileystanek I heard he'd sleep from like 3am to 6am n wake ready to roll
@borobinson7005 Jake the snake on Rogan said there is no one like Vince McMahon that he’s ever been around
Bill Burr made a great point. UFC May have worse injuries, but wrestling is worse as far as wear and tear on your body
Especially wwe think about it those dudes in the 80s to early 2000 those guys and gals worked like 300 days and in the 80s early to mid 90s they could have up to 300+ matches
UFC fighters are much worse off, mentally..... Pro wrestlers (usually) pull their punches, UFC guys get their heads caved in regularly.
@@ryanjacobson2508is that why chris benoit had the brain of an 85 year old man at the age of 40? Those diving headbutts weren’t pulled buddy..
@@meatwad376Many wrestlers do not regularly take shots to the head... UFC guys do in every single bout.
@@ryanjacobson2508 you dont know anything about wrestling
Your chemistry is awesome!!
Vince is only a symptom of a much larger issue. Fact of the matter is, everybody at the top looks at everybody at the bottom as 'resources'. Whether it be a supply chain, wrestling, football, whatever it is, you're an disposable source that can be replaced to them.
WWF/WWE always treated their talent like race horses... so many wrestlers became hooked on pain killers or worse. How many died early because of this issue?
Think how many of them could have lived longer careers and lives had they not treat them like race horses.
All i can say and i'm sure i'm speaking for A LOT of talent saying this. But GOOD RIDDANCE VINCE...!!! The working environment must have been horrible under that tyrant. He's like the Trump of pro wrestling. Who the hell in their right mind would want to work for someone like that.
If you physically and mentally commit to being a wrestler, at a certain point it's hard to turn away even if you are aware of the risks.
Wwe wont last near as long without vince
Good. Wrestling died back when Benoit murdered his family. Its neber been the same since
@@jabrockobiden9434 WWE is doing fine without him pal.
Stevie rules. This is awesome
They didn't go into Stevie Richards being Randy Orton's first match on raw
What's always so "funny" whenever you bring such a topic up to guys from earlier wrestling generations, like Dutch Mantell, they are like what yo uare moaning about? We had it much harder!
Like they say because they had it ruff, the next generations also have to have it that way. I man WTF? If everyone would think like that we would still work like in ancient times.
OMG! It’s Stevie Richards!
The Kiss My Azz Club said it all
McMahon is a pervert…he started the kiss my ass to remind the wrestlers that he has absolute control and if the wrestlers did not kiss his ass they would be out of a job.
They should have a damn break!
Choose your own adventure - brilliant!
For a guy who’s face I fucking hated as soon as I saw him as a kid on tv, I instantly thought seems like a chill, genuine dude as soon as he started talking on this video. Now that’s real character work talent
"OMG, it's Stevie Richards!"
RGT is that you? Lol
After hearing these comments about Vince and his short sighted approach to protecting valuable talent… or NOT protecting them/his investment…
It boggles my mind that ppl like Jim Ross say that the wrestling business has no impact on wrestlers becoming hooked on pain pills and somas. If you are hurt, but the boss doesn’t care and doesn’t let you heal. Of course you’re going to take oxy’s and somas to keep your job.
And I like JR. Met him, bought all his books but just using him as one example.
JR is the same person who got publicly humiliated over and over and still counted Vince as a friend. JR is corporate through and through, he’s also the same man who chose to not fire or even fine Flair because of his legacy. He’s a decent man, but he’s a company guy.
Honestly, the more stories like this I hear, the more disgusted I get at the wrestlers who defend vince or say how good this all was for "the wrestling business". I have to say screw vince and I don't give a damn about the business anymore. These people were made to wreck their bodies and vince lorded it over them. When mick, austin and taker defend vince and the business, I just see stockholm syndrome now - they need to defend and deflect because they need to feel this was worth it.
Successful people can only reach the heights they do by standing on top of mountains of broken bodies.
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@@pederhalvorsen2289 Yyyyep…
That background behind Stevie screws my eyes up, but good video 😁
Triple h as former performer knows it’s important for wrestlers to have some time off, that’s why he gave the roster 2 weeks so they can be with their families for Christmas and New Years
Some people enjoy talking trash about Trips, but he has that locker room in a great spot. Seems like the workplace is a lot better, and the product on screen is the best it's been since the Attitude Era. Same with NXT and Shawn. He is putting out great TV and PLE's, and seems to me they aren't just throwing talent up on the main roster from NXT even though they have nothing for them to do. Jade Cargill I think is a great example of how much they are nurturing talent these days. She signed a massive contract with WWE, and she was so horrible in the ring coming over from AEW. They took months training her at the PC before she became a regular on TV, and while she still is average at best. She is miles ahead of where she was with AEW. All because Shawn and Trips didn't rush her on to shows. This is a great era of wrestling we are in, and that's largely in part to the departure of Vince and good creative wrestling minds taking over from the senile old man.
Can we stop bigging up HHH like his some wrestling executive genius? Sure his better than that predator Vince but HHH ruined many wrestlers careers back in the day especially with his reign of doom.
@@anthonyfaucy2761 I'll "big" him up all I want because the product is in the best shape it's been since the Attitude Era and even better. All because of Nick Khan and Triple H. The proof is in the numbers and all of them are record breaking. Plus this propaganda that people like to bring up about Triple H and his career is cheap unsubstantiated rumors and even if some of it is legit. He's not the only guy in wrestling history that looked out for himself and buried a few on the way. So what??? Add in the fact that his career in the ring ended long ago and has nothing to do with what he is doing now as an executive. It might as well be two different people. It would be different if we had news of him destroying people backstage now, but the whole locker room has embraced him and this new era. So stop with your hating. Open your eyes and soak in the reality. Your statement is fucking clueless and unrealistic to what is actually happening today.
@@diehardskins4109The backstage treatment is nice, but the onscreen product sucks to me.
@anthonyfaucy2761 He didn't ruin anyone. He's lost to everyone including Brawler.
Lately I was wondering why so many wrestlers are injured all the time and don't show up or have matches... but then it came to my mind, that there aren't more injured wrestlers, it's just that they don't carry their injuries around just waiting for the storyline to take it's turn or end so they can finally get surgery or else.
BOOM! STEVE RICHARDS ALREADY A DRAW. 18 HOURS AT LEAST 30K VIEWS. Good decision getting him on the lineup!
At least this way there will be less tragedies. As an 80s/90s wrestling fan a lot of my childhood heroes died quite young. I don't want that to happen again.
Brock: "I'm going to work three night a year and I want to watch your secretary piss"
Vince: "Yes sir!'
I like Stevie. Seems like the nicest dude
The more I learn about what Vince was like in the '80s, '90s, and early 2000s, the more I realize how lucky *HE* was that the internet didn't exist for most of that time. I don't think wrestling would have gotten anywhere near as popular as it did if it were well known that Vince ruled with an iron fist and treated his talent like workhorses who were taken out when they could no longer perform.
Notice that a year ago Randy was a staunch defender of Vince in wake of early allegations. Now that Vince is up the river, Randy is verbally blasting him every chance he can get. Hypocrite to the max.
New guy buttering his bread.
You know what’s happened in the last year? Vince resigned from wee. It’s usually not a good idea to talk trash about your boss in public
No disrespect to Shane Douglas, but Stevie is a major upgrade!!
Because Steven is mostly self aware about his level of stardom?
I like stevies personality better but both are great wrestling minds with great stories
He cared about his personal boy toy Shawn Michaels though. Heard Michaels used to clean under Vince’s desk.
I love you Stevie you always keep it real 🎉
this does the question of how many years did he take off of the careers of his top Stars like was doing this to Randy who's been so privileged throughout his career
We never got back to Orton’s first match with Stevie!
It makes no sense why Vince ran people so dry because they had SO MUCH TALENT on the roster, the way HHH is balancing and giving people seperate times off is smart. That way you dont have too many guys gone at once, but they all last longer. People hated on The Miz for wrestling a safer style but, he barely ever misses time, even with a wife and kids, now we're all looking at Miz like he knew better all along, to wrestle that style under Vince so he can keep going, and he didnt need time off like a lot of other guys did
Considering what happened in 1995 and 2011, you'd think Vince would know better to take care of the talents long term just to avoid having those situations happen again.
Triple H is smart giving the lower card great storylines for us as an audience to get invested in which gives the higher card talent a break and vice versa. Vince really lost touch. WWE was mostly bad in the 2010’s. But this Triple H era brought wrasslin back!
I even feel like the Ruthless Aggression era is overrated. There was definitely some good stuff in it, but largely I feel like it's a big circle jerk for John Cena.
@@diehardskins4109 yea. I was in high school during that time, I remember that feeling like you were watching something wrong and your parent didn’t want you watching it to now it’s for kids.
@@diehardskins4109and Triple H. WWE was pretty bad on a consistent basis for a very long time. I’d only watch the pay per views and spare myself the annoyance of watching the show by reading the reviews on Bleacher Report.
@@mykoniichistorychannelLoved it up until 2005, finally stopped in 2009.
And from what I've seen recently, it's worse.
Do a show on crash holly. I read he passed at your house.. he was one of my favorite
Listen to Steve Austin talk about his walk out in 2002. His booking indicated he was losing steam and slipping on the card. That happens, but he knew he was still a huge draw and had a few more big paydays coming, even most likely putting the other guy over. When they wanted him to put Lesnar over clean and a KOTR qualifier on Monday Night Raw he had it. Right or wrong, he had been worked to near death and felt he deserved some more main events. Vince never had any care or compassion. From one big draw onto the next....
Austin main evented 97-2001. His ego made him cry.
HHH and Taker worked the young guys whether they liked Vince's plans or not. And many, they did not.
I try to make any independent show that comes around my way and when I'm watching it I always try to keep in mind these guys are making next to nothing so I try to boo or cheer my absolute loudness to show my appreciation.
Are we all forgetting Beniot? He NEVER should have been allowed to make his finisher the flying headbutt. Even they guy who invented it said he shouldn't do it. Vince seriously should have denied that one. Even back then THEY KNEW BETTER.
"The guy who invented it" = Harley Race
Stevie Richards real ones know he was top boy in the trading tape era
Stevie looks like what Shawn’s wife thought he’d look like when he retired
Stevie's camera quality is God Tier
You have no life lmao! 😂😂😂😂
Just realizing how toxic Vince was as a boss even back in the 90s is still insane. It makes me wonder what exactly the guys who talked about Vince in a positive light did to get on his good side.
How does toy sales work…do they log what action figure is bought?
I sometimes use the history of the WWF/WWE website to look up 80s cards the then WWF held.. Vince was running four shows a day almost every day of the week back then. He really really just used these guys until they fell apart.
Which is why most wrestlers retired by their early 40s, and most didn’t make it to 60.