Former WWE writer says Vince McMahon was a “micromanager” who criticized “almost everyone at some point”
While speaking to sportshadow.com, former WWE writer Jimmy Jacobs reflected on his time working for Vince McMahon….
“Vince McMahon was a micromanager. While I loved working for WWE and enjoyed so much of it, I had a very difficult time working for Vince. I do not think I was alone in that experience; much of the culture there was based on a fear of him.
I saw this transition within myself: I went from trying to do the best possible thing to simply trying to figure out what would not get me in trouble. I stopped taking risks and instead focused on what Vince would not yell at me for.
This resulted in a roster of people playing ‘not to lose’ as opposed to playing to win. In my observation, Vince McMahon acted as the archetype of the withholding father.
He was a master at withholding praise until he was ready to give it. Consequently, you had a group of people constantly looking to one man for validation, asking, ‘Am I okay? Is this good?’
Vince criticized almost everyone at some point; nearly everyone ended up in the ‘doghouse.’ While performers like Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, and legends like The Undertaker were on a different level with him, Vince would regularly disparage the rest of the roster.
I remember high-level, top-tier performers main-eventing Raw in matches they—and I—thought were good, only for Vince to completely tear them down.
These performers would walk away wondering if they even knew what was good anymore because Vince had just yelled at them about their match.
The culture essentially cast Vince as a bully. People spent their time trying to avoid his anger or being fired, all while desperately searching for his praise.
This happened to me, and I saw it happen to others. People craved his approval, but he would give it and then withhold it again, running hot and cold.”