Guest Report post Posted April 24, 2002 Interview with Vince McMahon by Seth Mates PEORIA, Ill. - Prior to Tuesday's SmackDown! taping here at the Peoria Civic Center, World Wrestling Federation Chairman Vince McMahon talked to WWF.com about a number of topics, including his recent trip to Australia, Hollywood Hogan regaining the Federation Championship and his impending return to Bob Costas' show on HBO. WWF.com: Vince, the rumors are flying about you returning for another interview with Bob Costas. Will that be happening? Vince McMahon (smiling): I am absolutely going back, on May 16, and I'm looking forward to it. This time if Bob Costas gets in my way, I'm going to forget that he is 4-feet-10 and 120 pounds. I'm just going to consider that he's Hulk Hogan, and when he gets in my face this time, in all likelihood, I will beat the living hell out of him. WWF.com: What does it mean to Vince McMahon for Hulk Hogan to once again be the World Wrestling Federation Champion? Vince: It's the beginning of a wonderful end, the way the story should have been. WWF.com: What's your opinion of the brand extension thus far? Vince: I'm excited about it, thrilled with the success thus far. RAW ratings have held. Sometimes you have to take a half step back to take two forward. We have taken a half step back on SmackDown!, which quite frankly is ironic because most of the gurus in the business were saying, "Oh my God, look how unbalanced the talent is! SmackDown! has all of the talent!" What they don't know is, OK, we got Hogan, great, we got Rock - where's Rock? WWF.com: Where is Rock? Vince: The Rock right now is in Germany as we speak. WWF.com: It seems that in every interview Rock does promoting "The Scorpion King," he brings up the fact that he will always be a part of the Federation in some way. How do you feel about the subject? Vince: The Rock will always come back to us. These are his roots; this is where he achieved stardom. The one thing you cannot get from any other form of entertainment - you cannot get the rush of 20,000 people, what they give you as a performer. No actor can get that. You can't get that on a soundstage. You can't even get that from the people walking the red carpet at the Academy Awards. Those people aren't fans; they're not passionate. The feedback you get (from fans) for being a certified superstar here in the World Wrestling Federation - the only place you can get it is here. There's no Hollywood outlet for this. The Rock's hooked, like all of us are. You just can't find this anywhere else. He'll come in and out of the vehicle. He's also very smart - that's another reason he'll come in and out of here. WWF.com: How was your recent trip to Australia, to promote the "Global Warning" tour in August? Vince: The trip to Australia was great. As you would imagine, the Aussies are world-renowned for their hospitality, and just being all-around good human beings. They're so warm; it's almost like being in rural America in terms of their mentality. Just good people, extremely enthusiastic about the World Wrestling Federation. The entire country treats our product with a great deal of respect - and not just the populace. From a media standpoint, I'm impressed, because there's no bias over there. It's like, "Are you entertainment?" "Yes we are." They treat us as who we are. Even the radio jocks - they're so cool about you. And they're all fans. Unlike over here, where some of the members of the media definitely watch, but to some of the older members of the media, it's not cool. There it was cool. WWF.com: When was the last time you were in Australia? Vince: Probably about 18 years ago. It's been a long, long time. WWF.com: When's the next time we'll see a major Pay-Per-View go international? Vince: Obviously, we've got some time problems with doing a Pay-Per-View outside the country. I won't say we won't. We did one already, SummerSlam 1992 at Wembley Stadium. It wasn't as much of an attraction back here. It was on a delayed basis, and everyone knew the results, so they didn't buy it. They didn't buy it because it was a lousy attraction in the U.S. Bret vs. Davey - Davey wasn't over, there was no threat. Over there, it was a big deal, or so we thought. They were so hot for anything we were giving them then. Wembley Stadium - that was a cool event too. It's difficult to do that internally, because you're flying five, six hours. In Europe we could do it, if we fly as soon as the event is over. It would be a long night for the boys. Or we could do a Pay-Per-View and then RAW and SmackDown!, but it requires a lot of people to go, and the expense on that is astronomical, transporting sets and all that. It would be challenging as hell. wwf.com I'm betting he drops the belt to Austin at Summerslam or King Of The Ring in his last match and then retires. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted April 24, 2002 Its a shame that Hogans run will probably go on for the next 5 years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Mik at Cornell Report post Posted April 24, 2002 That doesn't necessarily say it's his retirement run. It just plainly states that it's the beginning of the end, and if I'm not mistaken the end will be when his contract expires in 3 years. Now maybe they'll get rid of him before that but who knows. Some conclusions lasts longer than others. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted April 24, 2002 I heard he was on a two year contract. If he's kept away from the belt, I think I could live with that. It would be cool if He had a retirement match on top for the profits. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted April 24, 2002 We didn't actually need Vince to tell us that this is Hogan's last run. No Surprise to me. Hopefully this run as Champion won't last long. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted April 24, 2002 Maybe Vince said that to remind Hogan himself that this was his last run... in case he was getting ideas. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest mastermind Report post Posted April 25, 2002 Maybe Vince said that to remind Hogan himself that this was his last run... in case he was getting ideas. You made me chuckle with that one! Damn, I really wanted to see the wwf pull of a true international WrestleMania. Remember the thread about having Mania in England, U.S., and Canada or other countries at the same time. Similar to Mania 2 with Flair running half and Vince the other? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest papacita Report post Posted April 25, 2002 You know, say what you will about VeeKuM (get it? His initials are VKM...so...screw it!), but that sounded like one of the realer interviews I've read from WWF.com in quite a while. No Bob Holly, but it sounded a helluva lot more believable than Austin. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted April 25, 2002 Of course he sounds real. What does he have to lose? He owns the company. It isn't like he will get buried or fired like one of the wrestlers if they say something. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest RickyB Report post Posted April 25, 2002 Damn, I really wanted to see the wwf pull of a true international WrestleMania. Remember the thread about having Mania in England, U.S., and Canada or other countries at the same time. Similar to Mania 2 with Flair running half and Vince the other? Yeah that was the idea I put, I was hoping they'd go with that one too. But I couldn't see them doing it - if I remember right WM 2 was seen as a total faliure. If only there was a way I could pitch that idea to the WWF. I was really proud of that one (damn WWF not reading my ideas ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
