In an interview on The Bill Simmons Podcast, Triple H discussed his relationship with Vince McMahon.
Here is what he had to say:
On his relationship with Vince: “It’s unique. If you ever read stories on it or watch movies on it, family business is different because you don’t walk away from it. You don’t hang up the phone or you don’t leave the office and go home and it’s done. It’s 24/7 of your life. It affects every component of your life. So it’s very unique and very difficult. And there’s a lot of factors. And how you react in business to each other because it’s family and you can treat your family differently than you would treat everyone else. There are so many components to it that’s it difficult. But at the same point in time, while it’s difficult, it’s wonderful. We all share the same passion for doing this. It’s the greatest form of entertainment and we’re so passionate about doing it and seeing it grow for the next generation, whether it be my kids or anybody else. You just want it to continue and to see everything it can be. And we’re all hell-bent on doing that.”
On Vince’s day-to-day routine at this point in his life: “He’s a machine. It’s hard sometimes when you talk about it. People go ‘That can’t be good for him, he’s getting older.’ Yeah, but it doesn’t bother him. He probably, given the circumstances, is sleeping more than he ever has just because of the circumstances with the way things are with travel. I don’t know that he’s missed a day at the office. It’s just who he is. He’s at the office every single day even when nobody was there. He still trains every day. If you go to the office and go downstairs at 1 or 2 in the morning, he’s probably in there training. That’s what’s keeps him going. He eats incredibly well, and he’s a very routine and disciplined person. His diet is on….all those things are there. It’s hard for people to understand. When people are driven to do something, this is his passion still to this day. He’s the most passionate person about this that I know. He doesn’t get up thinking ‘I gotta go to work today and I gotta make all these calls and do all this stuff.’ He gets up looking forward to doing it.”
On what grandfather Vince is like: “They love him. He’s busy and works all the time, but Vince is a funny guy. He’ll work and do all those things, but if it comes down to it and he needs to work and do something family-wise or anything else, he’s the guy that’s right there. He’s there for the things they need to do, he’s there for their events and moments, whether it’s by video or whether they’re in person or whatever. He’s there and it’s great. He loves having a good time with them. It’s funny with family stuff because he’s an observer. He likes to sit and watch them do things that kids do. They love him, they love having him around, and he loves them. It’s awesome.”
On his biggest argument with Vince: “Probably not to do the Katie Vick angle (laughs). I think for both of us we kind of get over that when we’ve had moments. And you have moments when things happen, but you get past it. For me the other thing too, while it’s all business, if it meant the difference in having their grandfather in their life and not, I would step away. If it became that big of a problem, I would walk. It’s not worth that at the end of the day.”
On when Vince passes away: “Flair used to joke that he saw this special, and there were these people that have this gene where they never get sick or get diseases, and they can abuse themselves physically – not eat well, not work out – and they just live long healthy lives. And right up to the time when they die and they’re 100-plus years old, they’re still just going. We used to say all the time that Ric’s got the gene and it’s why he’s been able to survive everything he has and it’s why he’s Ric Flair. If anybody has that gene, it’s Vince. That is something, when he passes, and I’m convinced most of us will be gone before he is, they’ll find something like that.”
H/T to 411 Mania
