A key member of WWE management during their low and high points in the 1990s recently revealed a little-known story about how company founder Vince McMahon saved a buck when things were at their worst.
When people think of professional wrestling, they think of WWE (or WWF). The company has been the top brand in the industry for much of the past five decades. However, they weren’t always a dominant force in the business that they expanded globally.
During the second half of the 1990s, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) used an edgier approach to pro wrestling, led by the most popular faction in pro wrestling history, the nWo. It created a huge surge in interest for the Atlanta-based company and a notable decline for WWE. It has been well-documented by those in the promotion at the time that McMahon’s promotion was in danger of having to shut down at one point.
In an effort to cut costs, the legendary wrestling promoter had to make tough decisions. One of them was releasing beloved star Bret Hart not long after giving him a huge contract extension. However, McMahon did other things to get the most out of the money he was using to try and keep his company afloat.
“The WWE before the Attitude era was actually in the red. If you guys remember, this was around the time we were competing with Nitro, and Vince gave Bret that big contract so he wouldn’t go to WCW,” former WWE head writer Vince Russo recalled during an appearance on the Mr. Anderson Show. “And then he realized three months later, he couldn’t afford to pay this money.
“That’s why Vince had to call Bret in and say, ‘We can’t afford to pay you.’ That’s the financial straits that WWE was in. People don’t believe this, but not only wasn’t there a private jet, but Vince McMahon didn’t even ride in first class. He rode in coach with the rest of the boys.”
As we all know now, McMahon, the creative team, and the roster were able to figure out a new and profitable direction for the company. Riding that into a huge peak period for the industry, and eventually turning WWE into a billion-dollar brand.
