There was a time when Vince McMahon got physical in the ring, taking bumps from bigger, stronger wrestlers to make WWE shows entertaining. The WWE chairman rarely takes bumps these days, but did so more frequently a decade or so ago.
Vince McMahon along with his son Shane McMahon and son-in-law Triple H, were in a feud with Legacy, the stable of Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes, over a decade ago.
In one segment in that feud, Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and Triple H attacked Legacy, as well as the security guards that were between the McMahons and Legacy. One of the security guards on that night was Keith Lee, who worked as an extra. In his WWE 24 documentary, Keith Lee spoke about how he was legitimately punched by the WWE Chairman.
Keith Lee on how Vince McMahon legitimately punched him on RAW
Keith Lee recounted that night in 2009 and stated that he was told to go down once punched by the McMahons. He stated that Vince McMahon was confused at how Lee went down so easily.
“Someone came up to me and was like if you’re getting punched by Vince McMahon, you need to go down. I’m like, hey no problem! And I’m pretty sure that whoever that was played a joke on me because the moment that the McMahons came down and Vince McMahon jawed me and when I say he jawed me, he JAWED me. So I go down and he looks confused. Of course! Why would the 300-pound dude go down from one punch? And when they were done with the others, it was like there was no way we’re done with the big guy! So they picked me up and I was like ‘What did I do to deserve this?!’” (H/T Wrestling Edge)
Lee was not signed with WWE then, and had had a tryout the year before. He finally signed with WWE in 2018.
He became NXT Champion and North American Champion earlier this year, and was later called up to the main roster. He debuted on the main roster on the RAW after SummerSlam.