When Vince McMahon orchestrated a prank and freaked out USA Network using John Cena’s star power

Former CEO and founder of WWE, Vince McMahon, is known for his easygoing actions in the company. While being a performer or even during his executive role, Vince brought amusement to his desired work. A quintessential example of McMahon’s attitude was given by Freddie Prinze Jr. during a podcast. He stated how Vince once pranked the USA network in 2011, putting them in a stressful situation.

Speaking on an episode of Wrestling with Freddie, Prinze recalled the well known incident of the 2011 WWE Draft. Vince McMahon played a prank on the USA Network, which aired the Draft event that day. As the network aired Monday Night RAW, they required John Cena on their roster as he was the face of the company. Targeting this need of the network, Mr. McMahon saw an opportunity to pull off a major trick.

As the WWE Draft kicked off with Kofi Kingston and Big Show’s win in the Battle Royale, SmackDown was able to have the first pick. With this privilege, SmackDown picked John Cena and gave the USA Network a massive shock. The network went berserk as they saw their only source of ratings going to the Syfy channel. They freaked out and started calling Vince McMahon, asking about the situation.

Despite the initial draft, John Cena was then again drafted to RAW, giving relief to the USA network but a shock to the viewers. This act was purely scripted and was done out of enjoyment, but this time the networks were also the audience. This prank gave Vince joy but was perceived by the audience as a foolish move. Also, the integrity of the USA network changed with the pulled-out prank.

Related: Vince McMahon’s uncalled script changes are demoralizing the backstage environment in WWE

Brock Lesnar favors Vince McMahon on booking his matches

Since last year, Vince McMahon has stepped down from the position of CEO of WWE. As a result, Triple H became the Chief Content Officer. Hunter’s decisions in the creative section are liked by fans and mostly by the superstars who enjoy their bookings under his reign.

But the reports provided by Xero News suggest Brock Lesnar wants Vince to book his matches. Lesnar has experienced some of the best moments of his career during Vince’s bookings. Hence, he favored the former WWE Chairman over The Game because of the latter’s fairly booked matches.

His admiration for Vince’s decisions came as a result of his somewhat biased bookings. Vince McMahon focused on one star and pushed him despite fans’ disliking him. And Brock Lesnar received such a treatment in the company. Lesnar was liked as well as hated by the crowd at times.

In case you missed it:

• WATCH: Edge blatantly slaps John Cena’s father and squashes him on a couch
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