Former WWE PR Rep Says Vince McMahon Doesn’t Want To See Anything Outside ‘His World’

Dawn Pappas served as WWE’s media relations manager, and she knows about the company’s inner workings. She was hired in 2004 and was present during the Ruthless Aggression days of the company. Naturally, she had face time with Vince McMahon.

John Pappas recently spoke to The Chosen Life Podcast where she went into how Vince McMahon is to work with. Although she didn’t have a ton of personal interactions with McMahon, Pappas does have a few stories to tell.

“He’s very calculating, he’s very smart, he’s very direct. I didn’t have a lot of direct interaction with Vince, but for example, there was one interview he was doing for either Sports Net or TSN, and there had been a lot of steroid controversy at the time … I was in the green room with him before the interview and I said, ‘Okay, I have the list of questions.’ And he said, ‘Put them away.’ And I said, ‘You sure? Bret – Steroids.’ He said, ‘Nope. Put it away.’ And I had a lot of respect for somebody who was ready to go into a live interview on live TV and he knows his sh*t.”

Dawn Pappas also made a very interesting correlation when she said that, “[Vince] failed wrestling by not taking the threat of MMA seriously, [like how my industry] got hammered by Napster.” The other industry she was referring to was the music world. She also went on to say that Mr. McMahon will continue operating his world in his own way.

“Vince’s world, Vince is going to do what Vince is going to do and he doesn’t want to know, or think, or see anything else that’s going on outside.”

Dawn Pappas went on to say that Shane McMahon, is the “complete opposite” of Vince McMahon. He likes to have fun when he’s backstage, unlike Mr. McMahon.

“First time I ever saw Shane McMahon was backstage at a show and he was like tippy-toeing around because he was going to sneak up on somebody and scare the crap out of them. And he saw me watching him and he’s laughing, you know, it was so cute. It was so cute, it was so friendly, it was so approachable.” As for Linda and Stephanie, their attitudes aren’t far off from what the McMahon men present. “Stephanie and her dad are very much alike, and Shane and his mom are very much alike.”

We’ll have to see what’s next for WWE as 2023 continues. Obviously, few fans would have predicted that January would kick off with Vince McMahon muscling his way back into the company. If anything, these looks into a side of Vince McMahon that we wouldn’t normally see are quite fascinating.

What’s your take on this situation with Vince McMahon? Sound off in the comments!