{"id":247365,"date":"2026-06-11T07:02:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T11:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=247365"},"modified":"2026-06-11T10:10:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T14:10:56","slug":"former-wwe-president-george-aldo-barrios-87-offers-career-life-advice-in-new-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/06\/former-wwe-president-george-aldo-barrios-87-offers-career-life-advice-in-new-book\/","title":{"rendered":"Former WWE President George Aldo Barrios ’87 Offers Career, Life Advice in New Book"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/strong>In one of the most harrowing descriptions in his new book, two-time alum George Aldo Barrios \u201987 (CLAS) \u201989 MBA, a transformative business strategist and former co-President of WWE, recounted a trip to Saudia Arabia to close an important deal to bring wrestling entertainment to the kingdom.<\/p>\n

The company was in the home stretch of the deal when journalist Jamal Khashoggi was assassinated at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, in October 2018. His death was believed to be at the behest of the Saudi Crown Prince. Everyone at WWE was nervous about moving forward.<\/p>\n

Sensing that the important deal was going to collapse, Barrios agreed to go to Saudi Arabia. First, he had to sign a disclaimer acknowledging that drinking alcohol, showing public affection, or viewing pornography were infractions that were punishable by death.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe car drove us straight to a compound that was something out of a movie,\u2019\u2019 he writes. \u201cRoving guards were everywhere. They carried machine guns and wore bandoliers of ammunition \u2026I have never been so uncomfortable before–or since.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

They met with an official who seemed very angry and, through a translator, told Barrios and a WWE colleague that the wrestling empire was asking for too much in negotiations. The two men were ushered into a room to work out a deal, while guards with machine guns and long, black, tactical knives, kept entering the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember thinking, \u2018This cannot be happening. What the f*&k was I thinking coming here in the middle of the night?\u2019\u2019\u2019 he writes.<\/p>\n

The deal eventually was approved, and the WWE team was invited to a banquet. Afterward, Barrios, still shaken to the core, left the country on the first plane out at 4 a.m.<\/p>\n

Barrios\u2019 Advice: Always Believe in Yourself<\/strong><\/p>\n

During the time that Barrios worked at WWE, he helped grow the business from an $800 million wrestling company into a $9.3 billion, multi-platform, international sports and entertainment giant.<\/p>\n

But much of what goes on behind closed doors never gets shared, and Barrios wanted to impart some of those lessons.<\/p>\n

In his new book, titled \u201c<\/strong>Sometimes Wrong But Never In Doubt: How a Cuban Kid from Queens Transformed WWE,\u2019\u2019<\/strong> Barrios tells the story of his experiences — from his childhood in Queens, to his life-changing years at the University of Connecticut, to the skills and beliefs that gave him the courage to disrupt multiple industries.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe book was a labor of love\u2014and hate,\u2019\u2019 Barrios says, laughing. \u201cIt was five years in the works and the fact that it\u2019s done is rewarding and a nice relief.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

The book was originally intended as a how-to guide to business, but morphed into a deeper look into the factors that gave him the courage to excel, even in the most difficult times. He emphasizes the importance of bold but thoughtful decision-making, resilience, and reinvention.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re going to do hard things, have confidence you can do them. But you also have to do the hard work,\u2019\u2019 Barrios tells UConn Today. \u201cI\u2019ve always been able to bet on myself.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

But that doesn\u2019t mean it’s easy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the loneliest feeling in the world to find yourself standing up when everybody else is sitting down,\u2019\u2019 he writes. \u201cTo have everybody look at you and say, \u2018What\u2019s the matter with him?\u2019 I know what it feels like.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

He says a great business leader must be knowledgeable, prepared, insightful, have the right temperament, possess tremendous courage, and believe in him or herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m living proof that you can start with nothing in life. You can get punched in the face, ridiculed by the media, fired from a job you love. So what? Life sucks sometimes. That\u2019s a fact,\u2019\u2019 he writes. \u201cBut if you\u2019re willing to get back up each time, to punch back\u2026if you\u2019ve got good people around you\u2014people you love and who love you back–if you keep moving forward always, then you are a hero\u2026Bottom line, it\u2019s all up to you.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

UConn Gave Him All the Tools He Needed to Succeed<\/strong><\/p>\n

Barrios earned two degrees at UConn, a bachelor\u2019s degree, with a major in economics, in 1987 and an MBA in finance two years later. He held several senior financial and general management roles at The New York Times Co., Praxair, and Time-Warner, before joining WWE in 2008.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first big job was at Time-Warner and all the other employees were Ivy League MBAs,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cAbout six months in I came to realize that I know everything they know. I had all the tools I needed to succeed.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

One day Barrios was collaborating with a friendly colleague who was a few years older and had earned an MBA at Wharton. The two had been assigned to run a P&L analysis.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s divvy up the workload,\u2019\u2019 the colleague said. \u201cWhich do you want to do? The P&L or the income statement?\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Barrios responded: \u201cThe P&L is<\/em> the income statement!\u2019\u2019 Any feelings of inadequacy vanished that day, he says.<\/p>\n

Although he didn\u2019t go to Harvard or play lacrosse at boarding school, Barrios says he had something better: \u201cWhat I had instead were brains and an edge. I was grittier. Tougher. More real,\u2019\u2019 he writes.<\/p>\n

UConn is also where Barrios met his wife, Carol \u201988 (BUS) \u201997 MBA, and many of his closest friends. He describes his wife as his rock. \u201cEveryone should have a Carol in their life, a life partner who always has your back and provides you with beautiful, talented kids, unflinching assessments, the truth and a home!\u2019\u2019 he writes.<\/p>\n

Cuban Family Provided \u2018Role Models\u2019 for Life <\/strong><\/p>\n

Barrios is the son of Cuban immigrants and grew up in a tiny apartment in \u201cin the steel and concrete jungle of Flushing, Queens,\u2019\u2019 not far from LaGuardia Airport. He almost flunked out of high school, not because he lacked the ability, but because he just wasn\u2019t interested.<\/p>\n

His father, a gregarious man with a short temper, passed away from a stroke when George was just 9. His mother was a scholar and professor in Cuba. To support her son, she got a job teaching Spanish in Bridgeport. With no driver\u2019s license, she left Flushing at 4 a.m., traveling first into Manhattan and then Bridgeport by train, and took several buses to get to school. Her commute was six hours a day, Monday to Friday.<\/p>\n

In his book dedication, Barrios thanks his parents who \u201ctaught me the virtues that matter most: love, an unrelenting spirit, laughter, and the unbreakable bonds of family and friendship.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cSections of the book are hard for me to read without getting emotional,\u2019\u2019 Barrios says. \u201cOnce you\u2019re a parent you realize how difficult that job is. My family had nothing. Wouldn\u2019t it be normal to be bitter? I never saw that! I came from a giving, nurturing family that wasn\u2019t going to be deterred. I couldn\u2019t have had better role models to live my life. I only saw joy and happiness. I was very lucky.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

‘A Price for Pursuing Your Vision’ <\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite his successes at WWE, Barrios grew restless. Eleven years in, both he and co-president Michelle Wilson wanted more autonomy. They were both ready to leave, but WWE founder Vince McMahon pleaded with them to stay.<\/p>\n

Barrios credits McMahon for making him a better leader, a more creative thinker, and a deeper human being. But, as he promised at the beginning of the book, Barrios doesn\u2019t sugarcoat his experiences.<\/p>\n

After 12 years of “pouring blood, sweat and tears\u201d into the company, McMahon fired Barrios and Wilson and had them escorted out of the building.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter 12 years and all that we\u2019d done,\u2019\u2019 Barrios writes. \u201cSmackdown!\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Barrios and Wilson went on to form a new company, Isos Capital Management, where they took on new challenges, including the growth of Bowlero, the largest bowling center in the nation with some 300 bowling alleys.<\/p>\n

Several years later, McMahon, contacted Barrios and asked if he and Wilson would rejoin the wrestling company. They agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vindication I enjoyed was something that doesn\u2019t happen often in business or in life,\u2019\u2019 Barrios writes. \u201cDid I savor it? You\u2019d better f*cking believe I did.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Eventually they arranged for the sale of WWE, for $9.3 billion, to the parent company of mixed martial arts company Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), which merged the two brands in the new TKO Group Holdings company.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a price for pursuing your vision,\u2019\u2019 Barrios writes. \u201cExtras get to hide in the wings and pray that people will forget about them. Heroes have to dream big, then go on a quest that turns their dream into a reality. Along the way, they must face the demons of doubt, the monsters called ridicule, foes called failure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat will feel awful, but just remember this: Getting knocked down isn\u2019t a sign of failure. Success is always a hard-won battle, but the hardest battle you\u2019ll ever end up fighting is with yourself,\u2019\u2019 he writes. \u201cBe willing to blaze your own path. Bet on yourself when no one else will.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

What to Do When Life Throws More at You?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today Barrios is an investor, director, and board member of Global Sports Group, a $14 billion holding company focused on growing iconic sports. He co-chairs the Equine Network.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wife, Carol, likes to point out that I\u2019ve gotten on a horse only three times in my life, but now here I am, the chair of the largest equestrian sport company in North America,\u2019\u2019 he says with delight.<\/p>\n

Looking back, Barrios says that every job he took during his career prepared him for the next challenge, and that the personal struggles he experienced taught him valuable lessons in resilience and in life.<\/p>\n

He ends the book with his trademark optimism: \u201cLife, as I\u2019ve learned, always has more to throw at you. You know what I say? Bring it on.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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