Santino Marella Comments On His Relationship With Vince McMahon
Former WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon has been in the news recently and not for good reason. The WWE lifer has been involved in ongoing investigations first reported by the "Wall Street Journal" regarding an affair he had with a former employee. The investigation claimed that McMahon increased the salary of said employee during the time the misconduct was occurring and then supplied the employee with a large sum of money to keep quiet about the situation. This led to Vince dropping his title of Chairman and CEO and handing it over to his daughter, Stephanie, for the foreseeable future.
The reaction to the situation, however, has been all over the place, with many assuming the move by Vince was done in writing but that nothing had changed internally. Since these allegations were made, Vince has made it a goal to appear on WWE television on a regular basis.
Since Vince has been in the news, former WWE superstar Santino Marella joined the "Monday Mailbag with Mike Chioda" to talk about his former boss, heaping praise on him for inspiring him to handle his role as Owner of "Battle Arts Academy."
"I opened Battle Arts Academy in 2013 and I became the Vince of my world," Marella said. "I had to approve everything. I was steering the ship, we had several programs running at one time and I had to decide the direction of every single program. Payroll, creative, putting on shows, everything. I had to make a decision on it or it had to pass through me, or I did it myself.
"I just understood Vince a lot more and sometimes, I get hot for stupid [reasons] because it's your baby. I had a problem delegating because I wanted things done right and I wanted them done perfect, and I guess that's why I get hot sometimes at people because I want everything done perfect. I understand why he got hot sometimes. You need those key people just beneath you that you can trust, you know, this guy has your best intentions in mind and it's good to have a couple of key people. Vince had his fingerprints on every single aspect of the business, everything from a creative design of a pay-per-view poster to programming. There's a lot of people out there that it's popular or cool to hate on Vince, but how can you hate on Vince when you enjoyed this product for so long?"
Marella also praised Vince's ability to be easy to talk to, a comment several talents have refuted in the past, detailing the difficulties working for Vince.
"There were times where I didn't want to approach him because he was busy or working, but every time I ever approached Vince with an idea, I was very welcomed at all times," Marella said. "He's an awesome guy. I never had a bad experience with Vince, ever. I know other people or people that have, but I have not. He was always like, 'Knock on the door any time,' put's his phone down, glasses off, turns, [and gives] undivided intention. I'm like 'Wow, this guy is a class act, man.' The whole family is, actually."