Vincent J. McMahon and a shirtless Ed Asner

There are many significant moments in the history of cinema:

Rhett Butler saying "Frankly Scarlett, I don't give a damn."

The end of E. T. when Elliot told him "I do give a damn."

and

Vincent J. McMahon chatting with a shirtless Ed Asner.


Sadly, the moment with Vince and Ed is not as well known as it should be.

First, let me explain who Vincent J. McMahon is. He is the late father of the WWE head Vincent K. McMahon.

The senior McMahon ran the WWF before it became the WWE back when it was called the WWWF.

Did that make sense to anyone but me?

Anyway, he was responsible for naming Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant. He helped along the careers of many great wrestlers and once sat next to a shirtless Ed Asner.

The image is fantastic. Here a dour looking Asner looks down at his left hand as his right hand holds a cigar. Seated beside him is a tanned and concerned Vincent J. McMahon.

What is he concerned about? Is he wondering who the sexy pair of legs belong to behind Asner? Is he wonder if Asner is also "pants-less?" Is he wondering when the scene will be over so he can drink his screwdriver?

Yeah, thats probably it.

The scene is from a mid 1970's film called The Wrestler.

It's an odd bit of cinema about some wrestlers trying to fix a match. The plot is easy to follow and really not that bad (for a wrestling movie.)

Among the way you get to see such fun sights as Ric Flair wrestling Pedro Morales, Ken Patera lifting weights and Dick Murdoch & Dusty Rhodes pouring beer in some guys hat.

It's quite a treat to a classic wrestling fan.

But the scene that grabbed me most was the McMahon/Asner scene. It features Asner (playing a promoter) sitting around a table with a half dozen REAL promoters of the day, most notably McMahon.

McMahon delivers a few lines and isn't half bad. Some of the other promoters have lines and some are a bit stiff in their delivery.

Of course, that could just be due to the presence of a shirtless Ed Asner.