New York -- Donald Trump and Vince McMahon did their best to hype Sunday’s WrestleMania 23 pay-per-view event, with Trump slapping the World Wrestling Entertainment founder across the face during a press conference at Trump Towers here Wednesday.
“He treats his fans like crap and he treats his people like crap,” Trump said of McMahon. Trump, the real estate developer and star of NBC’sThe Apprentice, later slapped McMahon across the face after McMahon tugged at Trump’s tie while posing for photos.
McMahon and Trump won’t actually duke it out during WrestleMania, scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. April 1 at Ford Field in Detroit.
Instead, Trump will be represented in the ring by ECW World Champion Bobby Lashley, while McMahon’s designated Wrestler is Umaga, also known as “The Samoan Bulldozer.”
WWE promised that either Trump or McMahon will be bald by the end of Sunday night, as the loser of the “hair match” gets to shave his opponent’s head.
About 200 WWE fans packed Wednesday’s press conference, held on the basement level of Trump Plaza, with other fans lining the escalators in the building and many waiting in lines outside of the building hoping to catch a glimpse of WWE stars in attendance.
As Trump, McMahon and several WWE wrestlers spoke to reporters, WWE fans in attendance would shout down each speaker. The only person on stage who did not illicit a response from the crowd Wednesday was Rachel Smith, who was crowned winner of Trump’s Miss USA 2007 beauty pageant March 23.
WrestleMania is traditionally WWE’s biggest pay-per-view event of the year.
