In a recent episode of his “Something To Wrestle” podcast, Bruce Prichard, a WWE executive, delved into the details of Vince McMahon’s Million Dollar Mania, featured on Monday Night RAW.
The segment involved McMahon randomly selecting a phone number and rewarding one or more viewers with a million dollars.
Below are some key points from the podcast discussion:
On the intention behind the concept: “This was never about just creating a mailing list. It was designed to raise awareness and get people discussing this billionaire, actually giving away million of his own money. This is because company funds couldn’t be used for this due to it being a publicly-traded company. The board stated, ‘You can’t use company capital to simply give away.’ Vince responded, ‘Fine, I’ll fund it myself.’ It was basically a publicity ploy. It generated a lot of buzz. Local media, and at each location we visited, the talk was about the million dollar giveaway… It became a value proposition for viewers to not only tune into the show but also attend a live event, enjoy a fantastic show, whilst also having a chance to win money.”
On any opposition within WWE for the idea: “Not at all. To put it another way, you would normally pay for advertising and this was just another method of gaining exposure, and you’re rewarding your customer as well. So it pleases all parties. Absolutely, it’s a great idea. There is nothing objectionable about it.”
On the concept culminating with the stage falling on McMahon: “That was a disappointment. When you visualize ideas and think, ‘Oh, this is going to be amazing.’ But when it comes to transmitting your vision to someone else to translate into reality, a lot can be misinterpreted. And then there’s the effort required for it to be implemented safely. We tried something, it didn’t quite work out. I didn’t think it was properly executed. Honestly, I didn’t like it and didn’t care much for it.”