Current Events > Vince McMahon wished he could beat shit out of Bob Costas during HBO interview

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https://nypost.com/2021/11/30/coach-makes-notre-dame-exit-more-awkward-with-brief-early-morning-goodbye/

Vince McMahon says that if Bob Costas were bigger they would have come to blows in a contentious interview on HBO 20 years ago. In Jim Millers new book Tinderbox: HBOs Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers, McMahon and Costas recalled an interview the two did on Costas HBO show in 2001. At the time, the first iteration of McMahons XFL was declining in viewership, and Costas also prodded McMahon about elements of WWE he found distasteful. In the book, Costas said that, as things were getting testy, producers were in his ear telling him to keep going. It was live, and obviously since its HBO, there were no commercials, Costas said. I knew it was good television in the moment, but I wasnt trying to hype it. Sometimes things can become sensational, but they start from a legitimate place. And the legitimate place was that the XFL was trying to find a place in mainstream sports, on a mainstream network. It started out with great interest. I think they got a rating of 10 for the first game, but by the end, they were getting the lowest ratings of any program in prime time in the history of network television. McMahon, the WWE chairman, poked fun at Costass height and intimated that if the host were bigger there wouldve been a fight. Once we were doing the interview, he kept interrupting me and interrupting me, and bringing up topics that had nothing to do with what we were supposed to be talking about, McMahon said. He kept trying to do the I gotcha kind of thing. It was clear he didnt want to hear any of my answers. The other problem was that Bob is so freaking pompous. The entire time he acted like he was above me and was just using me to show how great he was. I was sitting there really pissed off and started thinking, I wish he wasnt 5-feet high and 140 pounds. If he was 6-5 and 295, he would deserve to get the shit beat out of him. I could have really given them some great television.

While they did not come to blows, the approximately 5-foot-7 Costas does recall a feat of strength from McMahon, who is around 6-1. He stormed off and you could hear the doors slamming behind him, Costas said. It takes some strength, by the way, to slam the doors of the studio. Those doors arent like the door to your kitchen. I could hear them slam. Costas said that McMahon called him the next day to propose an interview rematch. The following day the phone rings, and its McMahon. Bob, lets make it two out of three. You took last night. I want a rematch. I said, Great. We did another one a year later that was less heated, was still a good exchange, but it wasnt as memorable as the first one.

This was the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQGWhnA24SY




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Was this before or after the Stossel lawsuit?

That little twerp would have shit himself. Vince was a bully though. Not cool Vinny.

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Brian Kelly = Vince McMahon confirmed?

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RetsuZaiZen posted...

That little twerp would have shit himself. Vince was a bully though. Not cool Vinny.

Vince loved playing the asshole because he always was one in RL. Rich white guy ego went straight to his head and never left.

If you saw the interview, it was pretty evident. Even Costas said he felt physically threatened.

If I remember correctly, it was when Costas brought up the Trish Stratus barking like a dog segment.