As the Executive Chairman of WWE for over forty years Vince McMahon once had the final say on who was or wasn’t World Championship material.
Over the years McMahon hand-picked Superstars such as Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, John Cena and Roman Reigns as the champions of his company. Despite having the obvious, figures carry the title he also put it on smaller stars such as Brett Hart, Shawn Michaels, and CM Punk.
However, there was one such Superstar that McMahon was hesitant to put the championship on due to a bizarre reason.
Speaking on his podcast The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy, the former WWE Tag Team Champion revealed why his ex-boss didn’t view the former Daniel Bryan as a worthy champion.
“I think he’s up there, especially when you talk about pure wrestling. He’s one of the greatest of all times, no doubt. And he’s also a guy who has helped break the glass ceiling when it comes to the size, because I remember there were times when he first came in Vince was like he’s a vegan dammit! A vegan can’t be the world champion.
You know, the way he got over so organically. In that programme, where he won the first match at Mania and then went on to win the title then was just so amazing. And that was a great example of WWE being forced to listen to the audience, being forced to follow what the fans want to see they had to and that was great.
He broke a lot of barriers during that time and he really changed, he changed things for a lot of guys I mean, I think it’s made a huge difference for guys like Adam Cole, for guys like Jack Perry you know for guys like Darby Allin you know, now they can be perceived at a very top level even though they’re smaller guys.”
After overcoming his veganphobia McMahon finally made Bryan the champion at WrestleMania 30.
Is Vince McMahon Back In Charge Of WWE Creative?
Ever since McMahon forced his way back into the company earlier this year there has been speculation surrounding his involvement in WWE creative.
One of the major factors giving weight to this rumour is the announcement of Brock Lesnar vs Omos at WrestleMania 39. However, this conjecture is yet to be corroborated.
If you use any quotes from this article please link back to the original source with a h/t to Inside the Ropes.