Author: We take a close look at a lesser-known side of former U.S. President Donald Trump. From his contributions and obscure backstage interactions in WWE, we explore how he found his place in the WWE Hall of Fame.
This article will not be political but will highlight Trump’s history with the WWE.
Donald Trump and His Relationship with the WWE
While many people know him as a billionaire businessman, television producer, and, most recently, former controversial President of the United States, Donald Trump is a WWE fan and long-time friend of Vince McMahon.
The top donors to the Donald J. Trump Foundation from 2004 to 2014 were Vince and Linda McMahon, who donated $5 million to the foundation after Trump appeared at WrestleMania in 2007.
Donald Trump hosted WrestleMania IV and V in 1988 and 1989 at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
After that, he appeared at WrestleMania VII while also being interviewed by former wrestler and politician Jesse Ventura at WrestleMania XX.
Trump’s contribution to WWE continued in 2007 when he stepped foot into the squared circle and actively got involved in a storyline pegged “The Battle of the Billionaires.
The deal was that either Donald Trump or McMahon would have their head shaved if their competitor lost their match at WrestleMania 23.
Trump was in the corner of Bobby Lashley, while Vince McMahon was in the corner of Lashley’s opponent Umaga with Stone Cold Steve Austin as the special guest referee.
Lashley won the match, so McMahon got the haircut, to the dismay of all those who have always wondered what lays dormant under Trump’s abandoned nest of hair!
However, it wasn’t all fun and games for Trump. Not long after shaving Vince’s hair, he was nailed by a Stone Cold Stunner!
Appearing on screen, Trump announced he would be in person at the following episode and give a full refund to the people who purchased tickets to the arena for that night’s show.
McMahon went on to “buy back” Raw the following week for twice the price.
Trump was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame’s celebrity wing in 2013 at Madison Square Garden for his contribution to WWE. He made his sixth WrestleMania appearance the following night.
In the build-up to 2016’s historic election, the media reached out to current and former WWE staff to get their thoughts on Donald Trump, hoping to dig up some dirt.
To rectify this, WWE issued a gag order to all employees forbidding anyone in the company from speaking about Donald Trump. That’s a pretty good payback for his contribution to WWE.
Despite this, we have gathered a few quotes from various people within the world of professional wrestling, showing what they have to say about Trump’s contribution to WWE.
Keep in mind that some of these quotes are a few years old and were shared before he became President of the United States.
“STONE COLD” STEVE AUSTIN (source):
"Vince went right over there, put Donald on the spot, and right before we went out [for the match at WrestleMania 23] goes, ‘Hey, you know, Stone Cold Steve Austin is refereeing the match, and he has a finishing move called the Stone Cold Stunner. Would you mind taking it?’
Back then, Donald Trump’s number one advisor, his right-hand guy at the time, gave him every single reason why he did not need to take The Stunner.
[He said] ‘Hey, man, this is not a good idea; you don’t need to do it; you’re doing enough by being here.’
Donald looked at Vince, and he goes, ‘Sure, I’ll take it.’"
MICHAEL “PS” HAYES (source):
"Donald Trump not only gets it, but he respects our business."
JIM ROSS (source):
“I don’t care what the news or the media says about Donald Trump. Donald Trump is one of the coolest, and he gets “it.” Whatever “it” is, Donald gets it, and he gets our business.”
“I think many people give [Trump] a hard time and throw things at him that I believe are not true.
There are a lot of people that say, "Trump is a big racist."
I’m a black man; I worked with him for several months and never felt that. I never came across that at all. I think he was a team player when he came into our field.
That was the largest WrestleMania in history at the time, and he played his part perfectly.”
Regardless of one’s personal opinions on Donald Trump, there is no denying that he made an intriguing impact in the world of professional wrestling.
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