It's a gif used around the internet— Vince McMahon's nervous ear pull. Now, we know exactly what prompted that now infamous moment.
On an episode of Something To Wrestle, former WWE executive Bruce Pritchard talked about the WWE segment that saw Ric Flair return to the WWF in 2001, after Survivor Series and announced that he's now storyline partners with Vince McMahon after buying his and Stephanie's WWF stock.
After Flair's announcement, Flair hugged McMahon and then wide-eyed and with his mouth open, Vince pulled his own ear. Pritchard stated that it was a cue for him and Kevin Dunn to start Stone Cold Steve Austin's music.
Even though McMahon told Pritchard he would pull his ear in order to cue the music prior to everything going down, it didn't happen as quickly as he would have liked. He explained that it takes longer than people think to get the music going since Pritchard had to relay the information to the production truck.
RELATED: VINCE MCMAHON OPEN TO CASHING IN ON MASSIVE WWE SALE
You can watch the infamous ear pull below.
We all know by now that McMahon is a nut and a perfectionist, so his eyes being wide open, along with his mouth, while pulling his ear shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone. He's always given some crazy looks over the years. The one thing that we all love about McMahon is that he loves the wrestling business and is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure everything runs smoothly.
Of course, McMahon has been in the news lately after it was reported that he's applied for multiple trademarks for terms like the "XFL" and "UFL" as rumors circulate that he's looking to once again try and be successful when it comes to running his own football league.
In 2001, McMahon and NBC started the Xtreme Football League (XFL), but it only lasted one season after it lost $35 million after putting a poor product on the field.
With NFL ratings slipping amid concerns over head injuries among fans, I would love to know what McMahon's plan is when it comes to producing a lucrative football league.
Comment below and tell us why you thought McMahon was pulling his ear 16 years ago. Do you think Pritchard is telling the truth?