Current Events > George Steele claims Vince McMahon doesn't know anything about wrestling

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Friend: "Vince is heard proclaiming that Tom MaGee is going to be his next champion. Your memories of Tom MaGee and Vince's big plan for him?"

George Steele: "Let me tell you about Vince. I like Vince. I don't like everything he's done but I like Vince. And he is one of the best television people bringing things through the tube he's excellent at that. Excellent Salesman. Excellent. Wrestling is not his deal. It's just not his deal, honest to God.

And I say that with all due respect. I've seen so many mistakes made. One with Ultimate Warrior over, pushing him over you know, Snuka coming up and you can go on and on and on and on and on and THIS? Come on."

Friend: "Did you meet Tom McGee? Do you remember saying this is not going to work?"

George Steele: "Not at all. YEAH! I mean come on, he's a great kid, I liked him, he's a great beer drinker but there's no way he is going to do anything. And then I'm hearing he's going to be the next champion and I'm thinking "God is Vince on drugs or what!?" Cause it ain't going to work. And you know...... I was glad I was retired when he had that KS. Kissing my butt stuff."

Friend: "Kiss My Ass club?"

Goerge Steele: "If I had been there I'd have kicked it. I couldn't have helped myself. I never did anything that they told me to do. They'd tell me not to eat a turnbuckle so I'd eat two."

People like to bring up Cena and Roman and Warrior and Pedro and Bruno and Hogan and Savage.

But I can't help but think... Where does Bob Backlund, Bret Hart, Stone Cold, The Rock, Daniel Bryan, HBK all fit into that? Vince seemed to like them too.

I mean sure The Rock now looks like a roid freak but back in the 90s you could fit bigger guys in every single gym in every single town
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Bret and Shawn were more Vinces answer to the steroid scandal than a genuine investment he made on his own. He needed to get the spotlight off WWEs enormous muscle men so he pushed leaner guys as part of the New Generation. The fans were already behind Bret so on the face it just looked like a smooth transition from Hogans heyday to the present (not counting WrestleMania IXs leash yank).

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I doubt he cares, he knew enough to make himself a billionaire.
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Vince wasn't going to push Bret, but he was just too damn good and popular so his hand was forced.
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Wedge Antilles posted...

Vince wasn't going to push Bret, but he was just too damn good and popular so his hand was forced.

That has never stopped Vince before...

Remember that period of time where Zack Ryder was getting bigger reactions than The Rock? And they were chanting Ryders name when the Rock was doing shit?

Vince didn't care. Ryder wasn't part of the plan. Who cares about money, the guy is a dweeb. Let's bury him.

Same as Kennedy, Carlito, Morrison, MVP.

Hell even Benoit for the longest time. Though he got a bite in the end, it was after 18 years of "That guy? He can't talk and is tiny!" Who cares if literally everybody likes him.
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SapphireTech462 posted...

I doubt he cares, he knew enough to make himself a billionaire.

sElF mADe biLliOnAiRE

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Vince does not understand wrestling. But he had gained control of a big successful company with a lot of money. He took a chance on WrestleMania being a spectacle and it worked.

That's why he always looks to kill competition by means of underhanded methods. Or hiring people with no intent to really use them. As seen with WCW if Vince can't control the picture he'll lose. Now he completely lucked out with Austin and rock and WCW killing themselves. But yes if you have watched WWF or WWE wrestling you'd see that while he gets some storytelling aspects he does not understand wrestling as a whole.
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lilJoe457 posted...

That's why he always looks to kill competition by means of underhanded methods. Or hiring people with no intent to really use them.

WCW paid Lanny Poffo $150,000 a year for 5 years and literally never used him.
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Maze_ posted...

he's a great beer drinker

I've always liked that school teacher but now I've gained more likes for him
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RdVEHfJqAvUPIbk posted...

Maze_ posted...

he's a great beer drinker

I've always liked that school teacher but now I've gained more likes for him

lol
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i wouldn't say nothing... but he definitely seems like a one trick pony who knew less than his dad and his competition. but he got enough breaks to go his way through luck, coercion and charisma, or dollars and determination, so here we are.
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lilJoe457 posted...

Vince does not understand wrestling. But he had gained control of a big successful company with a lot of money. He took a chance on WrestleMania being a spectacle and it worked.

That's why he always looks to kill competition by means of underhanded methods. Or hiring people with no intent to really use them. As seen with WCW if Vince can't control the picture he'll lose. Now he completely lucked out with Austin and rock and WCW killing themselves. But yes if you have watched WWF or WWE wrestling you'd see that while he gets some storytelling aspects he does not understand wrestling as a whole.

Iirc wrestlemania came around when vinces dad still ran the company. Think he died not long after the first one thoug. I could be wrong i read it on hogans auto biography and that was a long time ago.
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No, WrestleMania happened after Vince Jr. purchased his fathers share, so he was the majority holder at the time.

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I never did anything that they told me to do. They'd tell me not to eat a turnbuckle so I'd eat two.

I love this part.

George Steele has been dead for a few years now. According to Bret he was an office stooge who'd snort a line of coke with you one night and in the morning ratting you out.

May he rest in peace but he's out of his mind if he thinks Vince didn't know what he was doing. Disparaging the ultimate warrior and praising Jimmy the super woman killer snuka in the same sentence. Steele would of done better in the 60s or before when you could look like absolute shit but still be a wrestler. In the 80s he was just a gimmick and nothing more, he couldn't have a good match with anybody.
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In the 80s, he was in his 50s. He was a successful wrestler who was able to keep going. His gimmick had limited range -- crazy man who bites and chops -- so his age didn't wear on his character as much as it did other people. Plus, he was bald with a hairy back for forever. So, again, the ravages of age went mostly unnoticed on the guy.

He's just pointing out what people have been talking about for years: Vince McMahon loves big bulky men and will almost invariably push them over more talented guys.

Solid Sonic posted...

No, WrestleMania happened after Vince Jr. purchased his fathers share, so he was the majority holder at the time.

Ok I'll take your word for it. Dont think what I read talked about who owned it at the time as it was just going on hogan realizing vince sr. Was in rough shaoe health wise at the first wrestlemania. Something about him walking into a bathroom to see him pissing blood at a urinal.
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Vince is like Don West. Not very knowledgeable about the product he is with, but an amazing marketer. He even got me to watch his crappy XFL product when it first launched. If he was smart he'd get out now, but he is a control freak so that won't happen until he is visibly forced out of the product by his board of directors.

People bring up Cena, Hogan and Savage as examples of Vince not knowing the business?
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Darmik posted...

People bring up Cena, Hogan and Savage as examples of Vince not knowing the business?

Yeah hogan was one thr reasons wrestling got big in the 80s iirc.

And cena was popular to the point of almost annoying me.
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Darmik posted...

People bring up Cena, Hogan and Savage as examples of Vince not knowing the business?

To be fair, and this is only my opinion on it, Savage never got the push that he should have, Hogan stayed around way too long, and Cena was forced into a position where he was "child friendly" despite everyone wanting him to turn heel as that was his better character.

And its hard to use Hogan as an example. Hogan wasn't a Vince character. Hogan came up through the territories. It just happened that he went to WWF on the way to the peak of his career. Vince never made Hulk Hogan, Hogan was pretty much already made by the time he went to the WWF.

Savage, when measured solely by his talents and charisma, deserved a much better push.

His first title reign saw him as Hulk Hogan's tag partner to which Hogan would score the deciding pin fall despite not being the champion. This happened at both SummerSlam and Survivor Series. Then you had Hogan upstaging Savage against the Twin Towers. Savage had a competitive match against Akeem. Then the next week saw Hogan dominating Akeem and Big Boss Man by his lonesome and absorbing shots with a nightstick like they were nothing. Even while he was the champion, he was the Robin to Hogan's Batman.

His second title reign was better, but lasted half as long. He never regained the belt. Most of his time between title reigns saw him as an opponent of Hogan's in which he lost every match save for one count out victory.

The guy had some attitude problems. I can't judge because I don't know what went on backstage or how bad they were. But going solely by his talent and charisma, he should've been a celebrated champion.