"I asked him not to do that" - Shawn Stasiak reveals how Vince McMahon's treatment of his father's WWE Hall of Fame induction was hurtful (Exclusive)
WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is known for making decisions that may not be very popular. Former WWE and WCW Superstar Shawn Stasiak was not happy with the way that WWE inducted his father into the Hall of Fame in 2018 or the manner in which he was treated.
Shawn Stasiak's father was the great Stan Stasiak. He won the WWWF Championship in his second run with the company. During that run, he defeated Pedro Morales, ending his almost-three year WWWF title reign.
During Shawn Stasiak's interview with Ryan Boman of Sportskeeda, he talked about his father's induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018. He talked about how WWE didn't call him to let him know or invite him to the arena, saying that he was extremely hurt by the treatment. He went on to reveal he even asked Vince McMahon to not do it in that manner.
"Honestly, just the way that they put my dad in the Hall of Fame was very hurtful to me. Because, I anticipated that for years that they would call upon me, his only son, at least that I know of. That's where I first learned that they will put my dad into the Hall of Fame through Twitter. I was like, 'No!'. I could have had a phone call. I wasn't invited to even the arena to pay my respects. I was expecting a phone call, like, 'hey, we want to put your dad in, we want you to induct him.' I anticipated this for years, so when they went about it the way they did, it was very very disheartening.
"Of course you know, I connected with Vince through a text, I tried to call. I asked him not to do that. If you're going to do it, you know, do it right, man. I'd say, by the way, that he's only the WWE, or back then WWWF Champion, you know same promotion, the only WWE Champion that got put in the Hall of Fame that never got a personal induction and just got thrown in some wing."
Stasiak recapped how WWE didn't personally tell him that his father was being honored with a Hall of Fame induction. He stated that he had been looking forward to the opportunity to personally induct his father, but he didn't get the chance to do so.
Shawn Stasiak on how he was treated by Vince McMahon and WWE
Shawn Stasiak revealed that he was not happy with the way Vince McMahon and WWE treated him. He discussed about the text he received from the WWE Chairman, in which McMahon said that the situation wasn't personal.
"Yeah, I was so p***ed man. I was really p***ed off and hurt at the same time. That was like the icing on the cake. I said this company doesn't give a s**t about me or my family. That's how I took it. Of course Vince texted me, 'It's nothing personal, it's just a company decision.' Okay, whatever, it just made me feel like, man, we were just very disregarded for whatever reason. I don't know what I did or said or what had happened to not be treated nicer. When they were here in Dallas for the big WrestleMania, I forget which year that was, I think it was 2016 maybe, I don't know. They were here and not a phone call, nothing like that."
Shawn Stasiak originally worked for WWE before he went to WCW. He later came back to WWE. His second run with the company was fairly lackluster, as it only lasted a year before he was released. Stasiak then retired from his wrestling career, and he became a chiropractor.