In 2009, Vince McMahon and WWE had to suffer because of Denver Nuggets and change their venue because of their schedule.
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WWE and its Chairman Vince McMahon suffered due to the schedule of the Denver Nuggets in 2009. They fell victim to the NBA’s ever-changing schedule and had to shift their venue from Pepsi Arena in Denver to Staples Center. Due to the dynamic nature of the NBA, the league has to change fixtures and venues regularly. This often impacts players, fans, arenas, and even other entertainment companies.
The reason behind the rift between Vince Mcmahon and Nuggets Owner
Vince McMahon had prearranged the Pepsi Arena in Denver for the May 25th, 2009 edition of WWE Monday Night Raw. The owner of WWE had booked the venue one-year prior in August of 2008. But unfortunately, he had to change his plans. The Lakers and Denver Nuggets made it to the Western Conference Finals of the NBA’s 2009 season. The Lakers held the home-court advantage, which meant that Denver would host Games 3 and 4.
Unfortunately for WWE, Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals fell on May 25th, 2009. This was on the same date as Monday Night Raw and at the same Arena. WWE had already sold 10,000 tickets, but the NBA’s scheduling created a massive problem for WWE going forward.
Vince McMahon Took Shots at Stan Kroenke for being a bad businessman.
Vince McMahon was unhappy with the change, and even took shots at the Nuggets and their owner Stan Kroenke. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon said that Kroenke allowed them to use the arena before the season. WWE owner further stated Kroenke did not believe his team would reach the Western Conference Finals.
“Even though the Denver Nuggets had a strong team this year and were projected to make the playoffs, obviously Nuggets and Pepsi Center owner Stan Kroenke did not have enough faith in his own team to hold the May 25 date for a potential playoff game,” Vince said.
The NBA could not risk rescheduling the venue and interfering (TV schedule-wise) with one of the Cavaliers/Magic games, which was as popular as this series. Therefore, it was WWE who had to change its venue to Staples Center.
Mr. McMahon thought Stan Kroenke should be arrested for doing so.
Vince McMahon appeared for an interview with SportsCenter and said that Stan Kroenke should be arrested for impersonating a good businessman. He even said that they were bumped out of the arena without any apology. Vince Said:
“It’s my view that Stan Kroenke should be arrested for impersonating a good businessman. Because he is not a good businessman.”
“They bumped us right out of the building, hardly an apology… they wanted to give us a Sunday night. And the name of the show is Monday Night Raw.”
WWE takes revenge on Denver Nuggets in the most McMahon way
The WWE could have moved to the Denver Coliseum and kept the tickets valid. Doing so would have still allowed them to run from a large arena as planned. However, Vince decided to run Monday Night Raw from the home of the Los Angeles Lakers that night instead.
He even brought out Stan Kroenke’s impersonator to the show. The WWE owner mocked Nuggets Owner through that segment. Not only that, Vince took another jab at Kroenke and the Nuggets through the main event. He organized a 10-man tag team match but with a twist.
The babyfaces led by John Cena wore Los Angeles Lakers jerseys and the heels led by Randy Orton wore Denver Nuggets jerseys. Team Lakers got the win over the Nuggets, which was another insult from McMahon, directed at Kroenke and the Nuggets.
Although Team Lakers did win on Raw. But in Denver, the Nuggets defeated the Lakers in Game 4 (120-101). Eventually, the Lakers won the series in 6 games. The Lakers also won the NBA Championship that year by beating Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic.
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