Tony Schiavone Recalls Hilarious Line By WWE's Vince McMahon At Past Survivor Series

Vince McMahon's charismatic onscreen persona is well-known by wrestling fans worldwide, but over the years, his backstage humor has been accounted for by those who worked with him. On his "What Happened When?" podcast, Tony Schiavone recalled McMahon's hilarious response to a failed planned angle for Survivor Series 1989. According to Schiavone, WWE planned to have Jake "The Snake" Roberts enter the event with a "gigantic" snake that five men would've carried to the ring. However, when the handlers opened its crate, the snake resisted.

"They opened up the crate — we're all standing in the back — they opened up the crate and that f—king snake was in no mood to be taken out of his f—king crate. They picked him up and he flipped around, his mouth went open, he wanted to bite people, [and] he p—ssed all over everything. And it stunk," Schiavone said.

Following the commotion, McMahon stepped in and commented on the situation. "Vince McMahon said: 'Put that snake back in the crate, he doesn't want to work today!' And they put him back in the crate, and there it was. Great line from Vince," Schiavone recalled. Modern wrestling fans might have a different perception of McMahon, but in light of accounts like these, it seems like he wasn't all business all the time. Even WWE's widely acclaimed Chief Content Officer Triple H praised McMahon recently when he recalled the important advice his father-in-law gave him that's shaped the way he handles creative decisions.