Vince McMahon Shares His Philosophy On Playing A Heel

For all the success of Vince McMahon's tenure running WWE, the era that is arguably looked back on the fondest is the Attitude Era. In an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Vince McMahon talked about the Attitude Era, describing WWE's 1997-2001 run as so much fun, and a time where the promotion was able to have more freedom than before.

"It was, again, just so much fun," McMahon admitted. "It was like, you being able to do this as opposed to the standards of a network of, 'no, you can't do this and you can't say that at all,' you know? So, we were able to. And at that time, think about it, in the 90s, it was the wild west. So we added a little extra sauce on that and just had a blast."

During the Attitude Era, Vince McMahon was arguably the biggest heel in WWE, playing a heelish version of his real-life role as WWE's boss. McMahon was asked by McAfee if he became a WWE superstar as a result.

"I had to become one if I'm going to be on screen," McMahon said. "Especially with Steve, you know, that's a blast. Funny thing is, I'm really Steve Austin. You know, that came pretty much in terms of the concept of it and knowing your boss, this, that, and the other. I get that because that's the way it was. I totally understood that underdog philosophy and your boss is an asshole and things of that nature. I grew up that way, knowing that."

Vince McMahon also went into depth on his heel character. He believes the key to success as a heel is committing to the character and really getting into the character.

"When you're committing to a character, as I said before, you have to really get in," McMahon said. "So you have to want people to really dislike you. I mean, you want people to honestly, really dislike you. I guess maybe it's pretty easy for me to do sometimes. But when you are really into that character, you think of things that motivate people and when you — even lying from a standpoint, it's like, people think I was lying when I said, 'you don't lie? Really, you? You don't lie sometimes?' You know, it's like, come on; any number of lies you tell every day, little ones, sometimes they're big ones and what have you, but nonetheless, it's like things and topics like that, that people can relate and be able to mash the emotional buttons and to get a reaction like that. Man, that is a thrill."

You can watch the full interview below.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit The Pat McAfee Show and provide an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription