"He'd get up and blast you verbally" - Former WWE employee shoots on Vince McMahon's backstage antics
Former WWE on-screen manager Dutch Mantell recently spoke about how Vince McMahon would seemingly go off on superstars and commentators backstage.
While running the company, McMahon assumed control of the entire direction and presentation of the live shows. During TV broadcasts, the 77-year-old would be seated in the Gorilla position, issuing orders to the announcers. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that Vince McMahon was in Gorilla during the RAW taping last week.
On a recent episode of Story Time with Dutch Mantell, the wrestling veteran detailed how McMahon would yell at wrestlers if he did not like a match. Mantell also added that even the commentators wouldn't be spared by Vince yelling at them through headphones.
"I've heard a lot of those announcers get literally cussed out. Then somebody could come back from the ring and if he didn't like the match, he'd get up and blast him in front of everybody. Vince did not rule with finesse, he ruled with power. He'd get up and blast you verbally in front of everybody. He'd embarrass the guy and actually, he would embarrass the people just listening to him."
He stated that all the screaming made everyone present very uncomfortable.
"Whatever the guy did, is it worth getting up and making an a** out of yourself and embarrass the guy in front of everybody else? It doesn't make you the leader that people want to follow." [1:44 - 2:34]
You can watch the full video here:
Dutch Mantell feels Vince McMahon grew worse with age
During the same conversation, Mantell pointed out that Vince McMahon lost a grip on his anger during the latter part of his career.
"As he got older, I think when he hit his 60s, he got more, I don't know, power-hungry, I guess. I could put it that way. He wouldn't hold back on cussing somebody else. That was his go-to scheme to get things done." [2:40 - 3:03]
Multiple sources say Vince McMahon stayed in gorilla throughout the entire episode of WWE RAW. https://t.co/T2XuDNOowN
He pointed out that as the executive chairman got older, his temper tantrums seemingly became worse and more difficult to handle. The former manager claimed that Mr. McMahon did not shy away from using expletives to get things done backstage.
What do you think of Mantell's account? Let us know in the comments section below.
If you use the quotes from this article, please credit Story Time with Dutch Mantell and add a H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcription.