"So proud" - Vince McMahon praises Hall of Famer for record-breaking achievement
Vince McMahon heaped major praise on Canadian actor and WWE Hall of Famer William Shatner, for becoming the oldest person to go to space.
Shatner has done it all in the world of entertainment, over the past seven decades. He is mostly known for portraying the character of Captain James T. Kirk on Star Trek. The 90-year-old legendary actor recently became the oldest person to make a trip to space. He also became the first WWE Hall of Famer to do so.
Vince McMahon took to Twitter soon after, and showered praise on Shatner for his extraordinary feat. He wrote that he's proud of him, and acknowledged his record-breaking achievement.
“So proud that the legendary @WilliamShatner, a WWE Hall of Famer now holds the record for the oldest person in space!” wrote Vince McMahon.
So proud that the legendary @WilliamShatner, a WWE Hall of Famer now holds the record for the oldest person in space! youtu.be/wmCi3hDObjs
William Shatner and Vince McMahon go way back
Longtime fans of WWE may be aware that William Shatner made a memorable appearance for Vince McMahon's promotion in the mid-90s. He showed up on an episode of RAW and was a guest on Jerry Lawler's "King's Court" segment.
Congratulations to @WilliamShatner on going boldly into space. Welcome back, Captain. https://t.co/BgJlBklrIO
The segment saw Shatner taking Lawler down, to a loud pop. He spoke up about the appearance on an episode of WWE's The Bump, last year:
“Did you see that move I laid on Jerry Lawler? Incredible. You didn’t go to the part where I threw him out of the ring. Jerry’s got a reputation to hold on to, he can’t be seen to be thrown out of the ring by a mere actor,” said Shatner.
Jerry Lawler had a special message for William Shatner and seemed very grateful for hosting him on his show:
“I just wanted to come along here and say something I haven’t had the opportunity to say in a long time. It was the greatest honour of maybe my entire career when I had you on the King’s Court talking about Tech Wars and you gave me the Captain Kirk Alien Monkey Flip!” said Lawler. [H/T ITRWrestling]
McMahon was aware of the mainstream reach that Shatner carried with him and made the right call by putting him on his show, back then. He was eventually inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2020, in the celebrity wing.