Longtime WWE, Vince McMahon critic Phil Mushnick definitely went “uncensored” on Piers Morgan’s talk show of the same name.
Discussing the Vince McMahon Netflix documentary with those who worked with him Morgan wanted the answer to one simple question: Where is fact and where is fiction when it comes to Vince McMahon, the man.
Morgan’s guests were Marvin Hoffman (Maven), Jonathan Coachman, Vince Russo and Charlie Arnolt (Charlie Caruso).
Everyone on the panel pretty much agreed that there were two sides to McMahon.
“The overriding sentiment is that we couldn’t say ‘No’. I only ‘No’ once in my 13 years with Vince,” said Coachman calling the documentary soft.
“They didn’t go far enough as far as all the things he made a lot of us do,” he also said explaining that McMahon also personally called him when his mother died of cancer to express his sympathy.
“You can also see a ruthless, egotistical, depraved monster who would screw anyone including his own family to get what he wants,” said Morgan of the docuseries.
Vince Russo explained that McMahon as the reason he eventually quit the WWE.
“The reason I left Vince is because I was looking to relocate my family because I was putting in so many hours. My wife was raising our kids by herself,” he said.
Everyone agreed that working for the WWE back then wasn’t only stressful but hard on their personal and family life.
Russo insists that the last straw with McMahon was when he advised him to hire a nanny to raise his children.
“He showed me his true colors,” said Russo.
Russo also stated that all of McMahon’s interaction with women on screen happened after he left WWE. Russo says he wouldn’t write any woman into that position because he knew they couldn’t refuse to do the scene for fear of losing their jobs.
“Even in my position where I wasn’t interacting with Vince on a regular basis I always aspired to get validation from Vince McMahon,” Arnolt admitted.
She said that some working for WWE put their “self respect on the back burner” because they thought they would be fired if they didn’t do what McMahon wanted.
“If you don’t have a thick skin you don’t belong working in WWE,” she concluded.
She also admitted that there were instances in which she could have gone to HR and complained but didn’t because it wasn’t her place.
“There were things going on in WWE that if an outsider got a glimpse they would say: What is going on here? How are people working in these specific conditions?” she said.
“I never knew saying ‘No’ was an option. Vince’s word was law,” said Maven agreeing with the others.
Mushnick was a surprise guest but only after Morgan quizzed the panel about how they felt about him. Russo was the most vocal saying that he actually called he out for falsifying quotes and facts in a story about a press conference the WWE held about their steroid policy going forward after the infamous trial. Russ said he lost all respect for Mushnick after that.
Mushnick himself was unrepentant and unapologetic.
“My empirical knowledge, my knowledge based on research, based on interviews, interviews with really good people…based on what I know about Vince McMahon he is the closest thing to the fictional character Hannibal Lecter I have ever met. He’s that sick. I think he is a sociopath,” he said.
The panel readily admitted that McMahon had made mistakes and done a lot of terrible things. They argued that Mushnick though never reported anything positive about the WWE or McMahon himself.
Mushnick responded with: “I don’t suffer a pedophile, shame on me.”
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