5 WWE stars who complained directly to Vince McMahon (and the reasons why)

#1 Bruno Sammartino complained to Vince McMahon about legends’ paychecks

It is no secret that Bruno Sammartino had a strained relationship with Vince McMahon. Having worked under Vince McMahon Sr. in the 1960s and 1970s, Sammartino disliked what wrestling had become under the current WWE Chairman’s guidance.

In an RF Video shoot interview, Sammartino recalled how he once complained to Vince McMahon about the amount he paid non-wrestlers compared to legends.

“You want to sit here and say you have nothing but respect for the old timers? I said, ‘I’ll tell you what, if you ever want to do anything with me, you have to show me the same kind of respect you showed the non-wrestlers you have shown so much respect for.’ I said, ‘Because if you think you can show that disrespect for me, you might as well forget about it.’ Not that I intended to go back or anything, but I just wanted to let him know,” Sammartino said.

Sammartino could not understand why Mike Tyson received $3.5 million to appear in WWE in 1998. He added that returning legends including Dominic DeNucci, Killer Kowalski, and Lou Albano should have received more than $1,500 per appearance.

The Italian-American, who passed away in 2018, joined the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013 after several years of animosity between himself and Vince McMahon. To this day, nobody has held the WWE Championship (f.k.a. WWWF Championship) for more combined days than Sammartino (4,040 days).