I don’t think many people know about this story, so I’m going to share it with you.
It all started one day around Vince McMahon’s dining room table when he nonchalantly turned to me and asked, “Vince…have you ever heard of Gene Simmons?” Now, to put that question in its proper perspective, those that know me fully understand that I have been a full-fledged—paying—member of the KISS ARMY since 1977. Growing up “The Demon” was the man that I looked to everyday, simply because his poster was tacked into my wall just above my bed.
“Gene Simmons?” I asked.
“Yeah, I think he’s with the rock band called KISS.”
That right there is just typical Vince, just many of the reasons why you love him if you personally know him.
“Yeah, Vince…I know a little something about Gene Simmons and KISS.”
From there Vince went on to tell me that Gene Simmons had been calling him because he wanted to pitch him an idea. I swear to you, Gene Simmons meant NOTHING to Vince; he was basically just another mark wanting to jump on the WWF bandwagon at the time. After displaying my true “markism” of Gene and KISS to Vince, I encouraged him to at least set-up a meeting to hear what the bad-hair-day bassist had to say. I think seeing what a fan I was of KISS helped Vince in his decision to take the meeting.
So Vince took the meeting. I was humbled when Vince told me that he informed Gene about me, and Gene graciously gave Vince a copy of the latest issue of Playboy that at the time featured KISS on the cover. It was personally signed to yours truly. Vince told me he didn’t think he was interested in doing business with Gene, and I respected his decision.
