Backstage Notes On Vince McMahon's Match At WrestleMania 38
WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon wrestled what may end up being his final match at WrestleMania 38 as he defeated Pat McAfee.
McMahon's win over McAfee came right after McAfee's win over Austin Theory, and the segment ended with WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin delivering Stone Cold Stunners to McMahon, McAfee and Theory. A new report from Fightful Select notes that many people within WWE were not very keen on the idea.
It was noted that McMahon reportedly made the decision to wrestle on The Grandest Stage of Them All a few months ago, but numerous people close to The Chairman and others on the WWE creative team vocally expressed how they thought it was a terrible idea.
McMahon seemed to take the match, including the botched Stunner, in stride as it was noted that there were plenty of laughs had by the creative team and McMahon himself in the past few days since WrestleMania 38. The line given was that McMahon recognized it was a terrible performance and terrible sell of the Stunner for the most part, but he chalked it up to "as long as people were laughing and entertained, it's OK."
McMahon reportedly laid out the entire post-match angle, including Theory's music starting up before Austin came out. McMahon seemed visibly surprised to hear Theory's music, which caused some to speculate there was an error with Theory's music playing before Austin's. However, the report notes that Vince was actually reacting to Theory's music as if it was Stone Cold's, which caused many laughs backstage.
There's no word on if the Austin Theory – Vince McMahon storyline is finished, but Theory mentioned on this week's RAW how Mr. McMahon never makes a mistake, and how he is the best investment McMahon has ever made. He made the comments after being taunted by SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos over the loss to McAfee. Theory ended up teaming with The Usos to defeat RAW Tag Team Champions RK-Bro and WWE United States Champion Finn Balor, and he later had words for Balor, teasing a feud for the strap. McMahon did not appear on RAW.
Stay tuned for more.