In the Netflix docuseries “Mr. McMahon,” viewers quickly learn that the titular subject keeps most people at an arm’s length, claiming at one point that “Nobody knows the real me.” Nic Nemeth, formerly WWE’s Dolph Ziggler, spent nearly two decades working for Vince McMahon before being released in 2023. He admitted even he was surprised at some of the humanity that crept out of McMahon during the series.

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“Just seeing a somewhat human side. I believed it. I bought it,” Nemeth said on “Busted Open Radio.” “Whether he’s telling the truth or not, it seemed like this is real; he wants to make his father proud, he wanted to take over. He just wanted to hear, ‘Hey, you’re doing great with this business.’ And then you watch it go full circle with Shane.”

Nemeth pointed out parallels between Vince seeking his father’s approval early on and similar sentiments expressed by his son, Shane. The key difference was that Vince had the opportunity to take over from his father — a chance Shane never received. Nemeth lamented that fact and praised Shane McMahon’s creative on occasions when he had room to show it.  

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“[Shane] had all these ideas when I was around him,” Nemeth said. “It was awesome. It was like a breath of fresh air seeing him when he would walk in. … in real life, behind the scenes, he was a very business-oriented, normal guy … I always liked working with him.”

Nemeth said no matter how autocratic Vince McMahon seemed, he still always had people like Pat Patterson and Bruce Prichard to refine his ideas. Nemeth wondered if Shane could offer Tony Khan the same value in AEW. A meeting between Shane and Khan sparked massive speculation on what could be cooking, and the McMahon family member was also photographed with AEW EVPs Matt and Nick Jackson, suggesting hat something is in the works.