The giant American flag outside WWE headquarters came with a warning before it ever went up, but Vince McMahon allegedly was not backing down from the idea.
The massive flag at WWE’s Stamford headquarters became a major talking point after it was ripped during a storm, got tangled in power lines, caught fire, and contributed to outages in the area. Now, new details suggest WWE had been warned from the start that flying a flag that large above the building could come with serious challenges.
Speaking during a Q&A session, WrestleVotes’ TC said he heard from the company responsible for building the flag installation that they originally advised WWE against moving forward with it. According to TC, the builders warned Vince McMahon that the winds in the area might not be able to support a flag of that size.
“This is what I heard from the company that built the flag. They said, ‘Vince, we’re sorry—we can’t do it. The winds here won’t be able to sustain a flag of this nature. It’s too big, it’s a danger, we highly suggest not to do it. Not only that, but it’ll cost a lot of money.’”
That warning apparently did not scare Vince off. TC said McMahon’s response was very much in line with the way fans have heard Vince described for years. Instead of backing away from the oversized flag idea, he allegedly wanted to know the price.
“Vince McMahon said, ‘How much?’”
The answer was not cheap. According to TC, WWE spent a massive amount of money reinforcing the top of the company’s new 707 Washington Boulevard headquarters so the flagpole could be structurally sound.
“It cost $330,000 to reinforce the steel on top of this building in order for this flagpole to be structurally sound enough to fly above the new 707, and Vince had no problem putting that money down.”
That detail makes the storm incident even more interesting. TC said the company responsible for the work did secure the actual flagpole, but the issue was not the pole giving out. Instead, the flag itself tore apart during the severe weather.
“The company went to work and did everything to secure the flagpole, but they never thought the flag would tear and rip like we saw Saturday night during a windy rainstorm that came through the Connecticut area and found itself tied up to the electrical power lines.”
The incident created a wild visual outside WWE headquarters, with the giant American flag ripped loose and tangled in high-voltage wires. It also raised questions about whether a flag of that size should continue flying above the building after this kind of scare.
For WWE, the flag was clearly not some small decorative touch. Based on TC’s account, Vince McMahon was willing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to make sure the massive flagpole became part of the company’s new headquarters. The storm may have damaged the flag, but the structure itself was apparently built to handle the spotlight.
What do you think about Vince McMahon allegedly pushing forward with the giant WWE headquarters flag despite the warning? Should WWE keep flying a flag that size, or is it time to scale it back? Leave your thoughts and feedback below.