There is no more iconic of an authority figure in wrestling history as notable as Vincent Kennedy McMahon. The owner and head creative booker of the entire WWE has been in this role since the 1980s and has led the company (along with the industry) to unprecedented heights. Many older fans remember him, however, for his unbelievable role at the commentary desk throughout the WWE's Golden Era all the way through to the New Generation Era.
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It was during this run that Vince worked diligently to prevent the truth of his ownership from most of the public to keep his position quiet as he focused on just calling matches. Even though his run as a commentator has been eclipsed by his fantastic heel run as the Mr. McMahon character in the late 1990s all the way up to now, there is still a lot to love about his time as a play-by-play announcer.
10 How Long He Actually Did It For (More Than 20 Years)
Something that seems to fly under the radar for a lot of fans is the sheer number of years that he spent as a commentator. Technically, he made his debut as an announcer all the way back in 1971, and kept at it in several capacities until 1997. That is over twenty-five years of Vince's voice becoming the most consistent one on the entire roster wether as a wrestler or backstage personality as so many talents came and left throughout that time. Not only is it a testament to the professionalism that Vince had to have to do such a difficult job for so long, it also shows how passionate he was about making sure his vision of the company came to life.
9 Only Got His Start Because Of A Pay Dispute
It would take a very astute fan to remember this detail from the literal beginning of Vince's career as a commentator. In the late 1960s, the lead play-by-play commentator for Capitol Wrestling Corporation (WWE's early form) was Ray Morgan, a longtime loyal employee of Vincent McMahon Sr. After the company moved locations, a pay dispute came up between the two and Morgan ended up walking away right before a show, which led McMahon Sr. to quickly place his son on commentary for the show.
8 His Appearance As A Commentator/Announcer On Letterman
This doozy of a segment from The Late Night Show with David Letterman features a rare appearance of Vince working for another company at the peak of his career as a commentator. Hilariously, he is tasked by the funnyman host to provide coverage for a birth at a hospital that will be deemed "The First Late Night Show Baby." It is quite funny to see so many amusing comments and quips by Letterman towards Vince, making him the butt of the joke. It feels like it is a rib of sorts, as Letterman constantly teased Vince, possibly aware of his ownership in WWE as Letterman is quite familiar with wrestling. He admitted to knowing Bobby Heenan and featured some of the best appearances by wrestlers on late night television.
7 How Uncharacteristically Goofy He Was With Jesse Ventura On Rare Occasions
Throughout most of his tenure as the play-by-play commentator for WWE, Vince was known for being routinely professional with his choice of words and television-friendly presentation. However, sometimes his former legendary announce partner Jesse "The Body" Ventura would bring out his playful energy with hilarious banter.
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On multiple occasions, Ventura and McMahon would go back and forth on insults, comebacks and constant rebuttals. This made them sound closer to a bickering couple rather than a professional wrestling announce team, but it always seemed like they were having a lot of fun together while doing so.
6 The Times He Was Attacked During His Golden Era/New Generation Run
Many fans seem to forget how volatile the storytelling could get at the time of the Golden Era, and the tumultulous booking of the New Generation in WWE. Surprisingly, none other than Vince McMahon has been on the wrong end of an attack on multiple times. There were incidents like when he was attacked by Roddy Piper or Randy Savage throwing him to the ground. Usually, it would be a one-off incident that was just there to give heat to the person attacking him as a defenseless official. This was until 1997 with the infamous Bret Hart rivalry, and he developed into the owner character.
5 The Time He Went Heel During A Rivalry With Jerry Lawler
An intriguing moment that is not talked about enough in terms of his character is this brief run as a heel character during his rivalry with Jerry Lawler in Lawler's United States Wrestling Association. This is long before his Mr. McMahon character was anywhere close to being around, but this is an interesting stepping stone of a moment as he was seemingly testing the waters of playing a heel. He could also just have been having fun with this temporary and seemingly insignificant feud to him, as it was a short-lived collaboration with Lawler. However, seeing him with a championship belt around his waist while wearing a suit is eerily similar to the way he would wear the WWE Championship later in 1999 during his brief run before vacating the belt.
4 When Jim Ross Exposed Him As The Chairman And Owner
Just one year before the controversial rivalry between Vince and Bret Hart in 1997 that led to The Hitman's exit from WWE, Jim Ross cut this notorious promo where he attempted to turn heel by verbally attacking Vince. It was bizarre to see such a normally professional announcer like Jim to try and get boo's from the crowd.
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Furthermore, Good Ol' JR brought up a lot of accurate criticisms of WWE, specifically how Vince was the boss that was responsible for treating him, along with many others, poorly. The fans in attendance even cheered him when he proclaimed himself as the best play-by-play commentator on the roster, although they would eventually turn and boo him for bringing out a "new" Razor Ramon not played by Scott Hall. It was a strange turn for what started as a genuinely great sounding shoot promo, but the main takeaway from it was the admission of Vince being the owner of the company.
3 The Constant Amount Of Times He Said "Unbelievable"
On commentary, Vince had a lot of notable sayings and phrases, but none compared to "unbelievable" as his go-to response for anything remotely impressive during the New Generation Era. Notably, this is probably a part of his legendary coverage in WWE the fans likely remember well, but the actual sheer amount of times he would say it is baffling. It is a surprise that either no one told him to tone it down or that he actually thought it was a good idea to try to get the word over. It maintains to be one of the weirdest quirks of his broadcast style that made it seem like a running joke instead of an actual trait of good wrestling coverage.
2 His Hiatus From Commentary, And The Reason Behind It
The ongoing Steroid Trial of 1994 was a huge blotch on the reputation of WWE and is known for how much the media covered it at the time. It has remained one of the most talked-about moments in the history of the entire business, and is still a close call for Vince McMahon, who walked away from the trial unscathed. Something that is forgotten about this era is that in the time leading up to the trial, Vince had to let go of his position on commentary to focus on the trial and hired Jim Ross to cover for him. His absence from the commentary team went relatively unnoticed as he would both leave and return without much fanfare due to his role as a commentator.
1 His One Night Return To The Monday Night Raw Commentary Desk With Jesse Ventura
This should be seen as a bigger deal in terms of unpredictable reuinions that have happened in WWE. Jesse Ventura was brought on to be a guest host of Monday Night Raw in 2009 and asked for Vince to join him on commentary for a match, one more time. McMahon agreed and joined Jesse, but immediately seemed to joke about the segment when he discussed how it was a "bad idea" to do it. At first, the two did not have the snappy back and forth energy that they were known for in their primes, but they quickly changed gears. During the match, Vince stuck to his heel persona as Ventura lambasted him for his dastardly ways.
