WWE was still milking the moment Thursday, securing space at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square for a news conference complete with star wrestler Triple H. Giant flat-screen TVs blared WWE highlights and supporters clapped and hollered as McMahon stepped to the podium.

No matter whether Kroenke, an owner who prefers to stay in the shadows, was closely involved in the arena being double-booked for WWE’s Monday Night Raw and a Nuggets-Lakers playoff game on the same night. WWE isn’t letting this go easily. And Kroenke himself makes a much more appealing target than the faceless entity of his company, Kroenke Sports Enterprises.

McMahon boiled down the dispute to a basic element of human conflict.

“It makes me feel like our organization and all of WWE fans have been disrespected,” he said.

McMahon insisted all he wanted was a simple apology from Kroenke.

“Had he called me and said, ‘You know what, Vince, we screwed up. We had your event and I didn’t know my team was going to make the playoffs and my management screwed up somehow. I want to apologize to you and I want to make it right in some way,” McMahon said.

“Had he picked up the phone and called me and said that, I really don’t know what I would have done, except I wouldn’t have done this.”

Kroenke Sports no longer wanted to engage in the debate. But it was too late to stop the publicity machine of WWE, clearly intent on inflicting as much embarrassment on the organization as possible.

“We’re not going to fuel the media fire that this guy would like us to,” said Kroenke Sports executive vice president Paul Andrews. “We’re preparing for basketball games. Whatever he does from here is of no concern.”

A lot more people will know who E. Stanley Kroenke is after Monday night, when Raw airs on USA Network from Staples Center, home of the Lakers. WWE plans a parody pitting McMahon’s character against Kroenke’s.