10 Times Vince McMahon lost his cool after a WWE Superstar broke script
As you know, the WWE is not a legitimate wrestling contest but a pure entertainment based theater. The storylines, the shows and matches are choreographed and scripted to make it watchable for the WWE universe.
If there is one rule you learn in this company, it is to never cross the boss. Some wrestlers unfortunately had to learn this the hard way.
Vince McMahon can sometimes be a difficult person to work under because of his many eccentricities. He is also very particular in the way he likes things done. Many a WWE superstar has faced Vince McMahon's wrath over the years for going off-script.
Here are 10 incidents which made Vince lose his cool.
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#10 Backstage after Jericho vs Owens
The main card of WrestleMania 33 started off with the United States title match between Chris Jericho and former best friend Kevin Owens. This was the final chapter in the storyline between the two, the turn from KO coming during the Festival of Friendship in Vegas.
Although the match wasn’t an instant classic, almost anyone watching could attest that at the very least it was enjoyable. One person who did not feel the same way was Vince McMahon who was livid backstage.
Both Chris Jericho and KO were surprised that Vince felt this way and you can check out Jericho giving his thoughts on the incident below:
#9 Perry Saturn and the Mike Bell incident
Perry Saturn came into WWE along with Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko. He was the least successful of The Radicalz and a big part of that was the Mike Bell incident which caused Vince to mistrust Saturn.
Saturn faced local enhancement talent Mike Bell in an episode of WWE Jakked in 2001. Bell botched a snapmare early in the match and Saturn just snapped. He beat the living hell out of Bell and even dropped him on the top of his head.
Bell luckily escaped any serious injury and didn’t sue the WWE but Vince was livid regardless, and understandably so.
Saturn's actions did not go unpunished. From a tough brawler persona, he was repackaged into a gimmick that underwent head trauma and fell in love with a mop. Even though this gimmick went over well with the fans, Saturn would never reach the heights his counterparts did and will always be remembered for playing this silly gimmick.
#8 Braun Strowman fails to follow Vince’s instructions
Vince McMahon took a hands-on approach to Braun Strowman after he split from the Wyatt Family. Vince gave Strowman a specific set of instructions but he repeatedly failed to follow them.
An incensed Vince finally lost patience backstage and shared his feelings with Triple H. HHH had Strowman’s back and managed to convince Vince that Strowman was just inexperienced in the ring.
Considering how Storwman has evolved as a wrestler, we can be rest assured that both parties have put this epidode behind them.
#7 The Balls on Miz TV
For some reason, WWE had LaVar Ball as a guest on Miz TV on an episode of RAW in 2017. Ball was there along with his sons LaMelo and Lonzo.
Not only did Ball totally go off script in what was one of the worst segments of the year, his son LaMelo also uttered a racial slur on live TV. Vince McMahon was not happy and it’s safe to say we won’t see LaVar on WWE television again anytime soon. WWE also offered a public apology for what had taken place.
#6 Titus pulls Vince McMahon
This is one of the strangest ones on this list. It took place on the episode of RAW where Daniel Bryan announced his retirement. Everyone in the back gathered on the entrance ramp including the McMahons and Triple H.
As Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella were leaving, Vince McMahon made a motion to follow them. For some reason, Titus O’Neil pulled Vince by the arm. Vince was instantly livid and reportedly wanted to fire O’Neil. However, his punishment was eventually reduced to a 60-day suspension.
#5 Heel Ambrose gets cheered by fans at a Live Event
Before Dean Ambrose, aka Jon Moxley’s contract ended, WWE had him face EC3. This led to EC3 beating Ambrose on RAW in around 2 minutes. Fans rightly saw this as WWE trying to bury him before he left and despite being heel, he got cheered by fans at Live Events in his matches against EC3.
On Chris Jericho’s podcast, Ambrose revealed how livid Vince was when he found out that he was getting cheered:
So by the time we get to that Monday there are, from what I understand, the reports from the house shows, the producers telling him what happened, and he’s pis***. Apparently he’s like, mad about this. That like, god forbid, so sorry that the fans, who I’ve busted my a** for for years, might be upset at the fact that you want to bury me on the way out, y’know, like… Sorry, dude, y’know?
Vince took his anger out on EC3 who was later demoted to WWE's secondary shows before being released owing to budget cuts.
#4 The Rock gives CM Punk a call from the ring
One of the scenes from Fighting With My Family was filmed after RAW. The scene had Paige beating AJ Lee for the Divas Championship. The crowd chanted CM Punk over and over again and The Rock acknowledged it and actually gave Punk a call.
As you probably guessed, Vince McMahon was not happy about this.
CM Punk was one of WWE's most popular superstars who unfortunately had a bitter end to his WWE career after a fallout with the management.
Punk, is a topic the WWE tread on carefully and hence, Mr McMahon was legitimately upset about this entire incident.
Check out a video of the incident below:
#3 Hulk Hogan goes into business for himself at SummerSlam 2006
Hulk Hogan faced a young Randy Orton at SummerSlam 2006. Of course Hogan lobbied to win the match and got his way but it’s what happened immediately after his win that ticked people off. Hogan went into business for himself after the match with an overtly long celebration, forcing time to be cut from the Shawn Michaels vs Triple H match.
Michaels and Triple H were not happy and Vince McMahon felt the same way. This was Hogan’s last match in WWE for a while after.
#2 Batista and Jericho show colour
Chris Jericho and Batista faced each other inside 4 sides of steel on RAW in 2008. Batista decided to blade during the match, which was totally against WWE’s policy in the PG Era. To say Vince McMahon was livid is an understatement.
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He called Jericho and Batista to a meeting backstage a few days later. A secret ceiling camera had captured Batista blading himself and McMahon was in no mood to forgive the animal.
Batista described what happened in a later interview:
"Then he starts passing out fines. So my fine was $100,000…My heart dropped. I thought it would be like $25,000…When he said $100,000, I was just heartbroken. I literally think that he sucked the life out of me that day. I think that's the day that I knew things were never going to be the same."
Jericho was also fined $5000 for the incident.
#1 The Curtain Call
The Curtain Call is one of the most infamous incidents in pro wrestling history. The incident took place at a house show in MSG in 1996 right before Kevin Nash and Scott Hall left WWE for WCW.
Triple H and Shawn Michaels broke kayfabe and entered the ring to embrace the departing Hall and Nash. The pair had been feuding as per the storyline and hence it came as a rude shock to fans and management alike.
It wasn’t just Vince McMahon who was livid after the incident but also a number of people in WWE management who felt offended and disrespected. Bruce Prichard described the feeling backstage:
"It was simply a feeling of what they did being disrespectful to Vince [McMahon], being disrespectful to the memory of Vince's dad doing it in the Garden, our home. It was something that hadn't been done before and something everybody was upset about, not just me, not just Cornette, but Vince McMahon, pretty much every one of the boys who wasn't involved in the Curtain Call."
Triple H was the one who took the brunt of Vince’s anger afterward. He was booked to lose more often than not, including his loss to Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania 12 where HHH was defeated in under 2 minutes.
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Arvind Sriram