2-time tag team champion admits his relationship with Vince McMahon is the reason why he never became a top star in WWE
A good relationship with Vince McMahon was long considered the key factor in getting pushed as a top superstar. A once-record-breaking champion admitted that he couldn't form a relationship with him and described his "eerie" feeling around him.
On the latest episode of Cafe De Rene, 2-time WWE Tag Team Champion Rene Dupree was critical of John Cena's response to the Vince McMahon allegations. Fans criticized Cena's response as evasive and a whole lot of nothing.
Rene Dupree stated that he always got an eerie feeling around McMahon and said he could never connect with him and thus become a top star like John Cena.
"Honestly, a lot of this stuff I didn't even know. I just always got an eerie feeling when I was around the guy [Vince McMahon]. And for some reason, I just... you know, they say right, you need to develop a relationship with Vince in order to be that top guy? You have to be his buddy. I could never... I just couldn't connect with the guy. There was something about him. I just couldn't connect with him." (8:15-8:46)
You can watch the full video below:
Kevin Owens broke his silence on the Vince McMahon allegations
WWE stars are being judged for their reactions to the Vince McMahon allegations. While Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton, and Seth Rollins have been praised for having an honest response, Triple H and John Cena have received a lot of flak.
During an interview with Inside The Ropes, Kevin Owens made his feelings about the situation clear:
"I mean, obviously, everything that’s come out is awful, just terrible, and there’s really no words to describe how sad this makes me feel. If the people that spoke out went through what they went through, it’s terrible. It’s shameful, and it can’t ever happen again. That’s really all it comes down to."
Despite not having the conventional look of a WWE top star, he earned McMahon's respect enough to be in the headlining spot of WrestleMania 38 - the last WrestleMania with him entirely in charge.
Please credit Cafe de Rene and give an H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcription if you use any quotes from the first half of this article.