Dolph Ziggler Reveals Whether Vince McMahon Taught Him How To Kiss CJ Perry

Since the allegations against Vince McMahon started piling up months ago, the wrestling world has been morbidly curious about the relationship between McMahon and any or all of the women on his roster, particularly when it comes to anything even remotely sexual. That's probably the reason for the frenzy surrounding a recent interview given by former WWE star CJ Perry, who dropped some intriguing bits of information regarding her televised kiss with Dolph Ziggler — and the pre-kiss backstage rehearsal they had to endure at the behest of McMahon. According to Perry, who at the time went by the ring name of Lana, McMahon used John Laurinaitis as a prop to help demonstrate what he was looking for in the kiss, demanding it be "way slower" than the wrestlers first rehearsed, and for the kiss to exude "innocence" on television.

Perry also revealed that Summer Rae and Ziggler underwent a similar backstage routine prior to their kiss on the July 14th, 2014 episode of "WWE Raw," and speaking to Rae a week before her kiss with Ziggler proved to be both comforting and reassuring. In fact, Perry also touched upon her husband, Miro (formerly WWE's Rusev, currently using his real name in AEW) and how supportive he was about the whole storyline, encouraging her to be a "storyteller" and perform the job asked of her. Now, Ziggler himself has weighed in on the story.

In the aftermath of Perry's comments going viral within the wrestling world, Ziggler was recently asked outright if McMahon taught him how to kiss the Ravishing Russian.

"Oh no, no, he didn't teach how ... but to be fair, I mean, this is show business," Ziggler told Cleveland's Morning News with Wills & Snyder. "We did have to become on-screen a pair together, so that's always awkward, especially when you're friends with them already, or if they're in a relationship with your buddy. But, yeah, that's part of the deal ... My character has had tons of girlfriends, and the first couple of times it's really weird and awkward. But you learn what this is, it's a business, and you get down to it and go out there and steal the show, no matter what."

Perry was released from her WWE in contract in June 2021, just over a year before McMahon resigned from his positions in WWE in the wake of the investigations surrounding him. Ziggler has recently returned to "WWE Raw" after a brief absence from WWE programming.