2 ex-WWE Superstars who criticised Vince McMahon & 2 who praised him in 2019

To be a success in WWE, one has to go through several hurdles, and impress many people backstage, including one Vince McMahon - the Chairman of WWE.

For many former WWE Superstars, Vince McMahon isn't the nicest person in the world, thanks to his weird and wacky ideas and the way he uses talent; for others, he is a genius and a caring person, who will stand by his Superstars and encourage them.

Let's take a look at 3 ex-WWE Superstars who criticised Vince McMahon & 2 who praised him in 2019:

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#4. Darren Young - Praised

Darren Young was released by WWE in 2017

Darren Young was the first active WWE Superstar to come out as gay when he made the announcement way back in 2013.

Young joined WWE in 2009, signing a developmental contract, and was a part of NXT and Nexus, before becoming tag team champion with Titus O'Neil. He was released from WWE in 2017.

In an interview with Fightful, Young spoke about the encouraging words that Vince McMahon gave him after he came out: "Vince McMahon was one of the first people who reached out to me right away when I came out publicly. He talked to me and genuinely had a great conversation for about 20 minutes. He talked about how his best friend, Pat Patterson, is gay, and how he respected my decision to come out."

In another interview with Chris van Vliet, Young spoke about how Vince and Stephanie McMahon embraced him after him coming out: "It was Stephanie McMahon and Vince McMahon who really embraced me and let me know that everything would be okay. Vince genuinely talked to me for 20 minutes about his best friend Pat Patterson being gay. Pat's a great guy. I'm not a bitter wrestler and I'll never be a bitter wrestler. Vince gave me a shot and I'm grateful that he gave me a shot."

#3. Gail Kim - Criticised

Gail Kim

Gail Kim had two stints with WWE, with her last one coming between 2008 and 2011, which ended on a sour note. Kim requested her release from the company after being unhappy at the direction that women's wrestling in WWE was heading towards.

She was not given her release and instead had to sit out the remainder of her contract, which did not go down well with her and she has been critical of WWE since.

She hinted at McMahon being racist and not allowing a Superstar of colour to be the face of WWE: "This is the thing: I think in his (Vince McMahon) mind, he thinks that if he hires people of ethnicities that he’s not racist but it’s not. It’s more than that and you know that. I truly believe that in his mind, he doesn’t think someone of color could be his face of the company which I disagree with. If you can connect with the audience in some way, you can be at the top,” said Kim earlier this year in an interview with Ring the Belle.

Kim also attacked Vince McMahon for putting Kurt Angle in a match against Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 35, which was Angle's final pro wrestling match. A fan who defended WWE in the comments of Angle's Instagram post got a stern reply from Kim as well where she said, “drink the Vince McMahon koolaid while watching the Network.”

#2. Zach Gowen - Praised

Zach Gowen and Vince McMahon

Zach Gowen is a pro wrestler unlike others, who has just one leg after his left leg was amputated at the age of eight. Despite his disability, Gowen went on to become a pro wrestler and even featured heavily in WWE, feuding with Vince McMahon himself!

Gowen, in a recent interview with Chris van Vliet, thanked the WWE Chairman for showing faith in him, while also helping him buy prosthetic legs and funding his drug rehab.

"I want to tell my truth and my story and it's 'Thank you, Vince'. He gave a kid who was on his deathbed who was losing his leg to cancer, 10 years later I'm in the ring with Hulk Hogan and living out my childhood fantasy and inspiring others.

"He also gave me legs to walk on and 10 years after that, he's saving my life and now I get to be a 36-year old father of two and now I can affect other people's lives with what I do in all of my work whether it's speaking, yoga, wrestling or whatever it is," said Gowen, in an interview with Chris van Vliet (H/T WrestlingInc).

#1. Jon Moxley (Dean Ambrose) - Criticised

Dean Ambrose and Vince McMahon

The big story of this year in WWE was the exit of Dean Ambrose, who later rebranded himself as Jon Moxley, signing for NJPW and AEW, as well as wrestling in a few indie promotions.

Moxley was seemingly bitter and angry at how things ended in WWE, and told all in an episode of Talk is Jericho with Chris Jericho, where he criticised Vince McMahon and WWE.

Moxley criticised the way Vince McMahon came up with ideas, the ideas that were proposed to him by McMahon, and even said that McMahon needs to "step aside and let someone who knows what is going on do it".

"He’s the guy who created wrestling. But I feel like now he’s the guy who is really holding his own company back. I have all the respect in the world for Vince because, I mean, nobody works harder, puts in more effort - And I have nothing but gratitude towards WWE, but Vince is supposed to be a genius.

"I think in the '80s, he was a genius. When he created Hulkamania. And took over all the territories. And foresaw cable television and all that. He was a genius. In 2019, I don’t think he knows what the **** is going on He needs to figure it out. Or step aside and let someone who knows what is going on do it," said Moxley about McMahon.

Moxley delved deep into his run in WWE and his disagreements with McMahon and how his relationship with WWE and McMahon broke down.