As WWE’s Chairman and main decision-maker, Vince McMahon is obviously a very busy man. Not only does he oversee hundreds of people who work for WWE, but he has to approve almost everything that happens on RAW and SmackDown.
Over the years, plenty of WWE Superstars have spoken out-of-character about their real-life relationship with Vince McMahon. While some prefer to do exactly as they are told, others regularly speak to the WWE boss one-on-one to pitch ideas for their characters.
A select few WWE Superstars have even been granted access to Vince McMahon’s phone number. In fact, some high-profile names have exchanged messages with the 75-year-old about storylines and other topics that have nothing to do with WWE.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at five WWE Superstars who revealed text messages that Vince McMahon sent to them.
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#5 CM Punk revealed texts that Vince McMahon sent him
CM Punk opened up about his frustrations with WWE and Vince McMahon during his infamous appearance on Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast. The podcast was recorded in November 2014, eight months after Punk walked out of WWE after the 2014 Royal Rumble.
He mentioned earlier in the podcast that he wanted to take more time off after his knee surgery in December 2012. However, Vince McMahon told him to make a quick return to in-ring action ahead of his match against The Rock.
Fast forward to February 2014, and Punk received a text from Vince McMahon one week after his walkout. According to Punk, the situation was similar to when the WWE Chairman wanted him to return after his knee surgery.
“And now, after all that [walking out], this is where the f***ing story actually starts to get good because a week after I f***ing left, Vince texts me, just like the two surgeries. 'How you feeling, pal? You ready to come back to work?' And I text him like, 'No. I'm so mentally f***ing shot I still can't sleep, this, this, that.'” [H/T Cageside Seats]
Punk said his wife, AJ Lee, convinced him to visit her doctor. He then found out that he had a full-blown staph infection. Once the injury began to heal, Vince McMahon sent another text to Punk to inform him of his suspension.
“So I get that [staph infection] taken care of. All of a sudden, I can sleep. And I slept, for a long f***ing time. Vince texts me and says that I'm suspended. He says, 'Well, I wish you could have lasted until the end of your contract but you're suspended for two months.' So I did the math in my head. It was the day after WrestleMania that my suspension was up.”
Punk admitted he hated wrestling at that point, and he did not care about missing WrestleMania. He was officially fired from Vince McMahon’s company on June 13, 2014 – the same day that he married AJ Lee.
#4 Jon Moxley revealed a text that Vince McMahon sent him
In 2014, CM Punk’s tell-all appearance on Colt Cabana’s podcast was the most talked-about wrestling interview of the year. In 2019, that honor went to Jon Moxley, who discussed all things WWE and Vince McMahon on Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast.
Moxley (fka Dean Ambrose) informed Vince McMahon in January 2019 that he was not renewing his contract, which expired at the end of April. However, that did not stop the WWE Chairman from trying to extend his deal at the last minute.
The former Shield member recalled that Vince McMahon texted him at 4.00 am to ask whether he could go on WWE’s European tour. The tour ran from May 8-May 18, 2019, meaning Moxley needed to re-sign for at least three more weeks.
“He’s like, ‘Hey pal, need a favor, need you to whatever, the biggest box office we would have would be The Shield, last run through Europe, whatever, these dates,’ and for half a second I was like... eh... and then I was like, no. I was like... now you want a favor from me?” [H/T Cageside Seats]
Moxley did not agree to Vince McMahon’s request. The former WWE Champion ended up debuting at AEW’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view on May 25, 2019, one week after the European tour finished.
#3 Jake Hager revealed a text that Vince McMahon sent him
WWE announced in March 2017 that Jake Hager (fka Jack Swagger) had been granted his release. The former World Heavyweight Champion, who had an 11-year association with Vince McMahon’s company, went on to join MMA promotion Bellator.
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet, Hager revealed that Vince McMahon was among the people who messaged him before his first Bellator fight. The WWE Chairman even allowed R-Truth to take part in Hager’s entrance for his MMA debut.
"He [Vince McMahon] sent me a text message and told me not to lose kind of as a 'ha ha'. But I think it was really cool we had R-Truth doing the entrance and he went to Vince and Vince said, ‘Yeah, go do it, man, go out there and support this guy.’ I think it was like everyone else, they came in and supported me and wanted to help me, and I'm very humbled and honored." [H/T Fightful]
Hager signed a six-fight deal with Bellator over the course of three years. He is currently undefeated with a record of three wins and one no contest.
The chances of Hager working for Vince McMahon again in the near future look very slim. Since debuting in Bellator, the former WWE Superstar has signed with AEW. He has been a member of Chris Jericho’s Inner Circle faction since the inaugural episode of AEW Dynamite in October 2019.
#2 Miro revealed a text that Vince McMahon sent him
The Rusev Day phenomenon was more popular than ever around the time of WrestleMania 34. Although Rusev was booked in a forgettable Fatal 4-Way at WrestleMania, Vince McMahon wanted him to face The Undertaker later that month in Saudi Arabia.
Miro (fka Rusev) recalled on Talk Is Jericho that Vince McMahon replaced him in the casket match with Chris Jericho. This happened because, according to Miro, Vince McMahon did not like the Superstar’s reaction to him booking the match.
When Vince McMahon informed Miro that he was facing The Undertaker, the three-time United States Champion replied:
“And I’m going over, right?”
Miro thought Vince McMahon was joking around with him, so he responded by joking that he was going to win. The WWE Chairman was unhappy with Miro, which is why Jericho was suddenly announced as his replacement.
A Saudi Prince then got in touch with WWE and said he wanted Miro back in the match. Vince McMahon not only agreed, but he set up a group chat and claimed that the original match alteration was a “rib”.
“We had a group text, remember? I think it was me [Miro], you [Jericho], ‘Taker, and then Vince. It was like a group text, the weirdest group text. Vince putting himself over, ‘Oh, I’m the greatest ribber ever. Ha ha ha ha.’”
Miro ended up losing the casket match to The Undertaker, while Jericho took part in the 50-man Greatest Royal Rumble instead.
#1 Chris Jericho revealed a text that Vince McMahon sent him
Vince McMahon and the rest of WWE’s decision-makers had trouble thinking of a name for the women’s Battle Royal at WrestleMania.
In 2014, the first annual men’s match was named The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Andre is a well-respected legend of the wrestling business, and hardly anyone has a bad word to say about him.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for The Fabulous Moolah. WWE originally planned to name the women’s match, which was introduced in 2018, The Fabulous Moolah Memorial Battle Royal. However, the name was axed due to the amount of backlash from WWE fans online.
Chris Jericho revealed on his Talk Is Jericho podcast that he gave Vince McMahon an idea for the Battle Royal. Instead of naming it after The Fabulous Moolah, he thought WWE could pay homage to Sensational Sherri instead.
“I actually texted Vince and said, ‘You should call it The Sensational Invitational and name it after Sherri Martel.’ He sent me back a text, 'THX', 'thanks', yeah. In other words, 'Keep your mouth shut, you frickin' idiot - let me handle the hard work.’” [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
Vince McMahon did not go along with Jericho’s idea. Instead, WWE decided to simply call the match the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal.