Former WWE Co-President George Barrios appeared on The Business of the Business podcast, where he commented on the process of being hired by WWE in 2008.

Barrios, who joined WWE in 2008 and worked with McMahon for 12 years, initially met WWE staff during the hiring process, finding them to be dedicated professionals.

“I met the people who were there at the time, and it was actually totally different than what I expected. They were incredibly professional, smart people who really cared about whatever they were doing for the company, whether it was marketing, production, finance, or something else. You could tell people cared.”

During this process, Barrios also met Vince McMahon. Having watched McMahon as a kid, Barrios initially did not realize that the announcer in the yellow jacket was the man behind WWE. He held a common perception of McMahon as a loud, extroverted individual with strong opinions.

“I met Vince during that process. Obviously, I’d watched him as a kid, but I had never put two and two together that he was actually the guy behind all of this. To me, he was the announcer in the yellow jacket. So I meet Vince, and I had my own perception of him, which I think most people still have today, that he’s a loud, extroverted guy with strong opinions.”

However, Barrios quickly discovered a different side to McMahon. From his first day and throughout their 12 years working together, McMahon was actually a quiet, more stoic, and introverted guy, very different from Barrios personally.

“But, at least during the 12 years I worked with him, and from what I saw that first day, he was actually a very quiet guy, more stoic and introverted. He was actually very different than me personally.”

Barrios noted that these fundamental personality differences could make working together difficult at times. He identified communication as the hardest and most unexpected challenge of their collaboration.

“It’s interesting because those differences can make it difficult at times. I always say the hardest part of working with Vince, and it’s not what people expect was the communication. He’s just a quiet, introverted guy.”

Barrios's insights highlight that the challenges of working closely with Vince McMahon often stemmed from personality and communication style, offering a unique perspective on their professional dynamic.