2 WWE gimmicks that Vince McMahon hated and 3 that he loved

In modern-day WWE, there are over 20 writers who work behind the scenes to come up with ideas and storylines for characters. However, as has always been the case over the last four decades, the final decision on who we see and don’t see on television is down to one man: Vince McMahon.

The WWE owner is ultimately responsible for everything we witness on WWE programming, for good and for bad, and nobody has had a bigger influence on the world of pro wrestling/sports entertainment over the last 40 years than Vinny Mac.

Right now, no matter what fans are told in storylines, it’s pretty clear that Vince has been a huge fan of Roman Reigns for a long time, while various reports over the last year have suggested that the company’s biggest decision-maker is also high on Braun Strowman, Baron Corbin and Alexa Bliss.

But did you know that there are some characters that Vince has used on Raw and SmackDown over the years that he didn't even like, including one of the most famous gimmicks of all time?

In this article, let’s take a look at two WWE personas that Vince hated and three that he loved.

#5 Hated: Gangrel

Gangrel portrayed the gimmick despite Vince McMahon's disapproval

In 1998, Gangrel began appearing in WWE alongside Edge & Christian, aka The Brood, as a vampire character who made his entrance through a ring of fire on the stage and regularly gave “bloodbaths” to opponents/rivals when the lights went out during matches.

Speaking to his former faction members on E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness in June 2018, Gangrel revealed that Vince McMahon hated the gimmick and told him that he would never be allowed to use it on WWE television.

A week later, he received a call from former WWE writer Vince Russo, who asked him to debut the gimmick two days later in a match against Scotty 2 Hotty.

Gangrel said Russo and Bruce Prichard, another former WWE writer/producer, understood the vampire character but he “never heard anybody heel on vampires besides Vince McMahon”.

#4 Loved: Mordecai

Vince McMahon loved the Mordecai gimmick so much that he was going to give Kevin Thorn a year-long push with the character, starting at Judgment Day in May 2004 and leading to a match against The Undertaker at WrestleMania 21.

Dressed all in white, Mordecai was “a religious zealot who was enraged by sin”, in the words of Thorn, who debuted the character with a victory over Scotty 2 Hotty at Judgment Day.

Despite praise from Vince and The Undertaker, Mordecai was gone from WWE television in less than two months, with Thorn revealing to Sports Illustrated in 2017 that Vince ended his push after he got into a bar fight that led to a lawsuit.

#3 Loved: The Godfather

We want to keep this article PG, so let’s just say that former WWE Superstar Charles Wright, aka The Godfather, had a lot of fun alongside some female acquaintances during the Attitude Era.

Speaking at a "Breakfast With Champions" event in Los Angeles in 2012, Wright said Vince McMahon regularly defended the controversial Godfather character when it was questioned by television executives.

He added that Vince “loved the gimmick” and would often joke that Wright should have to pay to work for WWE because he looked like he was having so much fun.

#2 Loved: Sycho Sid

Sycho Sid spent three years with WWE over two different spells in the 1990s (May 1991-April 1992 and February 1995-July 1997), and you only have to look at his accolades during that short amount of time to realise that Vince McMahon was a big fan of him.

The 317-pounder held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on two occasions, while he headlined WrestleMania VIII against Hulk Hogan and WrestleMania 13 against The Undertaker.

Speaking on Prime Time with Sean Mooney in June 2018, Sid revealed that Vince had even agreed to make him one of WWE’s most high-profile Superstars by giving him “Hulk Hogan’s spot”. However, he accepted a guaranteed $750,000 deal from WCW and joined WWE's rivals instead.

#1 Hated: “American Badass” Undertaker

WWE fans have fond memories of The Undertaker’s “American Badass” biker gimmick – an exaggerated version of the man behind the character, Mark Calaway, which he played between 2000 and 2003.

Vince McMahon, on the other hand, wasn’t such a fan and always wanted Calaway to revive the original Undertaker gimmick, which is why we haven’t seen the “American Badass” character return since ‘Taker turned back to the dark side 15 years ago.

Former WWE creative team member Andrew Goldstein told PWTorch in 2012 that Vince hates it when anybody even brings up the character.