Getting his head shaved didn’t work for WWE Hall of Famer Donald Trump, so he reportedly made sure it couldn’t happen.
At WWE WrestleMania 23, Trump and Vince McMahon clashed in the “Battle of the Billionaires”, where their representatives, Bobby Lashley and Umaga, respectively, faced off in match where the loser got their head shaved. Lashley emerged victorious, so “The Boss” got shaved live on pay-per-view.
The Wall Street Journal, citing someone who reviewed the contract for the WrestleMania appearance, reported that Trump guaranteed that he wouldn’t lose his hair. Plus, he “directed” McMahon to donate $4 million to his charity as an appearance fee.
“Mr. Trump directed Mr. McMahon to send a $4 million appearance fee to Mr. Trump’s charity,” the source said. “Mr. Trump had his associates review the contract to ensure that under no circumstances would Mr. McMahon be allowed to shave his head, even if Mr. Trump’s wrestler dropped dead in the ring.”
The report goes on to note that, according to this source, Trump “boasted” about the success of his appearance, and McMahon agreed to give him another $1 million. The Wall Street Journal also included an email from WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt, who denied the link between the money and the success of the event.
“Mr. Trump and WWE entered into a contract whereby WWE agreed to and did pay him personally an appearance fee of $1 million,” McDevitt wrote. “At the same time, the McMahons made a personal contribution to the Trump Foundation of $4 million. There was no additional fee paid to Mr. Trump, or any additional contribution to the Trump Foundation, due to the success of the event.”
The Wall Street Journal’s report detailed more information about McMahon’s payments to Trump.
McMahon retired from WWE amid allegations that he paid former WWE employees hush money to cover up sexual misconduct. More information is available here.
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