WWE fans will "never, ever, ever, ever" see something like Vince McMahon spot again, veteran wrestler says

Vince McMahon competed in 57 matches during his days as an in-ring performer. In a recent interview, Zach Gowen explained why one of those bouts would not be allowed in WWE today.

Gowen, WWE's first one-legged wrestler, worked for the company between May 2003 and February 2004. The 40-year-old lost to McMahon in a 14-minute match at Vengeance 2003. Around the same time, he also shared the ring with major stars, including Brock Lesnar and John Cena.

On Chris Van Vliet's Insight podcast, Gowen said his battle with McMahon would never happen today due to the NXT developmental system. Almost all of WWE's current stars were developed in NXT. Gowen, by contrast, immediately debuted on the main roster despite having limited wrestling experience.

"I wrestled Vince one-on-one on PPV," Gowen stated. "A 53-year-old non-wrestler, okay, versus a 20-year-old kid with one leg who has been in the business about a year at this point. And Vince is catching [an] Asai Moonsault to the outside, you know, in the match, and he's bleeding all over the place. And it's something that you will never ever, ever, ever see again. Because now they have a system [NXT]."

Due to his inexperience, Gowen felt like the match was almost a "live experiment" to see if he could fare with WWE's top names.

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Zach Gowen's thoughts on his match with Vince McMahon

The penultimate bout of the night saw Vince McMahon's villainous Mr. McMahon character pick up the win after Zach Gowen failed to land a Corkscrew Moonsault. The match also featured a memorable spot where Gowen busted his boss open with a steel chair.

Two decades on, the former WWE star admitted he finds it difficult to witness his old matches now he is more experienced in the business:

"We did it live and all of that considered, it's kind of hard to look back and watch those matches, because I'm like, man, it would have been so much better if we did this, this, that and the other, hindsight, you know," Gowen continued. "But considering all of those variables, I think we did a very, very good job. And I'm very proud of myself. And I thank WWE to this day."

Gowen practiced the match with Vince McMahon several weeks in advance. He flew to New York to train with the WWE Executive Chairman in a warehouse with a ring. They also got together in Denver the day before the show to rehearse the match again.

Do you have any memories of the Vince McMahon vs. Zach Gowen feud? Let us know in the comments section below.