Vince McMahon has struggled to separate himself from his on-screen character.
Since debuting on commentary for the company in 1971, the former WWE Chairman has been playing a character in the WWE. This ramped up in 1996, where he transitioned to the evil “Mr McMahon” character, following the Montreal Screwjob.
After that incident, he became a more regular fixture of television. This led to Vince McMahon in more and more deplorable acts on screen, settling himself even deeper into his television character.
However, separating “Mr McMahon” and Vince McMahon seem to be an issue for the former WWE Champion.
Vince McMahon spoke about this during filming for his Mr McMahon documentary on Netflix. He talked about how people confuse him for his on-screen persona, before revealing that he struggles doing that too. Vince McMahon reveals he is a blend of his character and himself, and isn’t sure which side is the real him.
“What’s my legacy? You know, I don’t have one. Everyone has a certain feeling about who they think Vince McMahon is. People really don’t know me at all. A lot of people have confused who my character was on television and who I am. When I look in the mirror, I know who I’m looking at. I know the reflection.”
“Sometimes the lines of reality or fact and fiction are very blurred in our business. Sometimes what happens is performers start believing in themselves. They start believing in their own character. The individual loses all sense of who they really are personally. They become the character. I’m wondering myself now. Which is the character, and which is me? I guess maybe it’s a blend. I would suggest that one is exaggerated a little bit, but I’m not so sure which one.” (H/T Fightful)
