During an interview with Chris Van Vliet, former WWE star Paul London revisited one of the most infamous backstage moments of his career — smiling during Vince McMahon’s 2007 limousine explosion storyline.
London confirmed that McMahon was not amused. “Yeah, it’s funny, it’s cute how sensitive millionaires are,” London said, explaining how power, money, and image can become a “smokescreen” used to keep people fearful and compliant backstage. “Extremely sensitive — very easy to hurt their feelings.”
London then detailed the context surrounding the incident, which took place in Hershey, noting that he was already in trouble before the limo segment was filmed. He claimed he had been reprimanded over allegations that he leaked information about Ashley Massaro’s appearance in Playboy — something he insists was falsely attributed to him by another wrestler.
Despite management allegedly knowing who was responsible, London said he was still pulled into the office. “If you know who did it, why are you talking to me?” he recalled thinking at the time.
The situation escalated when wrestlers with no creative plans were gathered and given vague instructions for McMahon’s backstage walk-through prior to the explosion angle.
According to London, producers repeatedly described McMahon’s performance as “very queer,” “very odd,” and “very bizarre,” terminology London found confusing and poorly explained. “They didn’t tell us about the limo explosion. They didn’t tell us anything,” London said. “Just that Vince was going to act strange, and if he looked at you, you play off it.”
London admitted that each time McMahon locked eyes with him during filming, he couldn’t help but smile — something that happened across nine takes. Afterward, a backstage staffer reportedly pointed out the smile using a visual reference, which immediately caught McMahon’s attention. “Why were you smiling?!” McMahon allegedly shouted, storming over to confront him.
London’s response was blunt. “Because you’re acting bizarre, and I don’t know?” he said. “Don’t kill the messenger. I don’t get that.”
The incident has since become one of the more infamous behind-the-scenes stories from WWE’s mid-2000s era, emblematic of the strict backstage culture and McMahon’s intolerance for anything that disrupted on-screen illusion — intentional or not.
