Cliff Brunt’s 2007 interview with WWE owner Vince McMahon
By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Editor
Note: This is the first of several WWE-related stories I will write leading up to Sunday’s Survivor Series in Indianapolis.
INDIANAPOLIS — It was March 20, 2007, and I was set to interview WWE owner Vince McMahon for The Associated Press about his upcoming WrestleMania match, a “Hair vs. Hair” match in which both he and Donald Trump would have a representative fight for them.
It was so surreal. This is the same guy who went toe-to-toe with Stone Cold Steve Austin in the 1990s. I knew he was a character, but would he be in character? I knew he was a legendary businessman. Would he be in that mode?
First, I waited backstage in the media room at Conseco Fieldhouse. There, I watched as legends walked in and out of the room, eating from a buffet that would humble most casinos. Shawn Michaels and Randy Orton were among those I saw walking around in the back.
Finally, I was led to a small room where McMahon would speak. I had already spoken to Trump by telephone, so I was armed with some info.
McMahon was huge. His physique at the time was as impressive as many of the wrestlers.
He stayed in character the entire time and knew exactly what I needed to make the story pop. He informed me that he, at more than 60 years old (he’s now 67), had squatted two reps at 550 pounds within the previous week and had done six reps at 500 pounds two weeks earlier.
He was one of the most impressive characters I’ve ever interviewed. I asked seven questions in a 30-minute interview. When I concluded, he joked and said “Wow, you didn’t have much to say!” His assistant joked and said “That’s because you talked the whole time!” I’ve never had an interview like that. Nor have I walked out of an interview so sure that I absolutely nailed it.
By the way, as you might recall, McMahon’s representative, Umaga, lost that match to Bobby Lashley and McMahon got the haircut.
Below are the best of his comments from that day.
“Donald Trump, to a certain extent, represents a great deal of Americana. He’s larger than life, which really fits into what the WWE is. Donald, much like the WWE, is a brand unto himself, and a very good brand. He’s a brand builder, and he’s constantly builds the brand.”
“I think a lot of people want to see an elitist, like a Donald Trump, get his hair cut. Our audience, because of my character, would like to see me get my hair cut.”
“The Donald Trumps of the world deserve to have their hair cut. They deserve to be humiliated in some way in public. They’re just not one of us anymore.”
On the hairstyle: “It symbolizes one thing — pompous. Almost like he has that pompadour haircut, or hairdo, I should say. That’s what it is. It’s that aloofness, that holier-than-thou, I’m better than you attitude.”
“Donald may be 6-3 and 230, but if you want to compare what I do to Donald Trump, give me a break.”
“You want to compare physiques and athletic prowess and knowing what to do with your hands, come on, I grew up in the street. It would really be no comparison, and if Donald got out of line that way, I’ll be happy to give him a (expletive) slap.”
“Given the fact that Donald has never been in the ring before, I think it only fair that I don’t necessarily take advantage of that.”
-On not knowing that McMahon popularized the “You’re Fired” line: “Why would he? He’s such an elitist, he wouldn’t watch our product. He wouldn’t know what’s going on in the real world. He wouldn’t know that I did that, and I’ve been doing it long before The Apprentice was ever on the air. I honestly believe he’s telling the truth.”
On possibly cutting Trump’s hair: “Hopefully, I have really dull scissors so I can yank the rest of it out that I can’t cut. But I may be surprised how much Mother Nature has already beaten me to the punch. I won’t know that until I start cutting.”
On Trump’s and McMahon’s business relationship: “It’s been amicable. Let’s face it, Donald Trump is successful. So, despite what you may think about him in terms of his ego, that he talks about himself, his hairdo, whatever, Donald Trump is successful. Like it or not, Donald does personify what you can become in America .”
“You can have a Donald Trump telling you what to do, or a Vince McMahon saying ‘Do what I do.’”
“It would be a downright crime for someone like me with, this is my hair and it’s so thick that I have to get it cut every week, and it would be a crime to have hair like this shaved. Donald Trump, on the other hand — I’d be doing him a favor.”
By the way, here is the story I eventally wrote: McMahon vs. Trump. It was one of the top sports and entertainment stories in America for several days.
Here is the haircut Vince got at the end of the WrestleMania match.
