Why Weak Handshakes Could Have Been a Dealbreaker in Vince McMahon’s WWE

Vince McMahon is known for his strong principles and living by his own set of rules, expecting others to follow them as well. He was particularly against weak handshakes, and JBL has revealed that someone could have been fired if they gave Vince McMahon a weak handshake.

While speaking on Something to Wrestle With, WWE Hall of Famer JBL was asked when the limp “dead fish” handshakes in wrestling ended. JBL noted that in the mid-90s, some wrestlers used to give limp noodle handshakes to show they were workers.

JBL stated that one could tell if someone was a worker just by looking at them, so the handshake wasn’t needed. He pointed out that if anyone tried that weak handshake with Vince McMahon, Vince McMahon might have just fired them.

“The mid-90s, man, I remember people used to do that. God, that was the worst thing ever, I mean, the worst thing ever. You’d get guys who would come up to you and give you that little limp noodle handshake, trying to show you they’re a worker. You could tell if the guy was a worker just by looking at his forehead, you didn’t need him shaking your hand with some limp noodle. I’ll tell you this, if you tried that with Vince McMahon, he might fire you.”

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JBL remembered shaking hands with Vince McMahon, who always had a firm handshake. If JBL missed it, Vince McMahon would make him try again. JBL noted that McMahon hated the weak handshakes, and no one dared do that with him. Over time, many wrestlers thought the handshake was stupid, especially when done in public, as it made them look silly and JBL was glad it’s no longer a thing in wrestling.

“Seriously, there’s been times when I’ve shaken hands with Vince, and he always had a firm handshake. I’d miss his hand a little, and he’d go, ‘Let’s try that again,’ and we’d literally do it again. Vince hated that working handshake. Nobody did that with Vince. I don’t know if that’s what killed it, but a lot of guys later thought it was the dumbest thing ever, this stupid handshake. You felt like an idiot, especially when you did it in public. People would look at you like, ‘What are these two big guys doing shaking hands like that?’ I thought it was awful, and I’m glad it’s gone.”

Vince McMahon made it clear that showing weakness, even in something as simple as a handshake, could cost more than just a handshake—it could cost someone their career. Therefore, JBL is simply glad that weak handshakes are no longer the norm in pro wrestling.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.