3 WWE superstars who are trying to impress Vince McMahon and 3 who aren't

Vince McMahon is the #1 man in the entire professional wrestling/sports entertainment industry and has been for the past few decades. His approach with the business was radically different from his father Vince McMahon Sr. and he made sure to take a more ruthless approach, buying out all his competition and taking the company to nationalization and subsequent globalization.

For many years, they've been the monopoly of the industry and every wrestler grew up dreaming of becoming a top WWE superstar. Mick Foley even said on one occasion that for a wrestler to get pushed in WWE, Vince McMahon needs to be a big fan of them himself. To do that, you really need to have multiple factors and layers to your talent to impress him.

However, the dynamic has changed quite a bit and with the rise of AEW and other promotions, many WWE superstars are reportedly "counting the days" till their contract ends. That doesn't necessarily mean that other superstars don't want to stay in WWE, but the common feeling has seemingly spread quite a bit.

Either way, there are a few WWE superstars who really want to impress Vince McMahon and will go leaps and bounds to do so. Here are three who do and three who don't!

---

#3. Doesn't want to impress: Rusev

Rusev declared that Rusev Day is dead

Rusev is a superstar who has had momentum in WWE on multiple different occasions. As with many superstars, he was pushed to be a feeder to other superstars with bigger names. WWE never really capitalised on him and it's evident now that he has checked out.

He doesn't even seem to try anymore and doesn't necessarily hold back on Twitter either. It seems as though he has lost hope with WWE and has no desire to impress Vince McMahon anymore.

#3. Wants to impress: Velveteen Dream

"Call Me Up Vince" - Velveteen Dream's tights#NXTTakeOver pic.twitter.com/qZ4nupix5m

— GIF Skull - Greg LeMond Greatest Cyclist Ever #RAW (@GIFSkull) August 18, 2018

Velveteen Dream is a superstar who fans have no idea how well he'll fare on the main roster. While the vast majority are naturally skeptical, a few believe that he has an "it" factor to make him go a long way.

Velveteen Dream has been open about wanting a call from Vince McMahon since NXT Takeover: Brooklyn last year. Even recently on Instagram, he posted a few stories of his Performance Center lifting achievements and personally called out Vince McMahon to notice him.

Being just 24 years old, Velveteen Dream has a big future ahead of him if treated right. He's one of WWE's top prospects and hopefully, he's able to fully capture Vince McMahon's imagination. WWE knows how to make people look good if they really want to.

But until then, all fans can do is be skeptical about how he'll be treated on RAW and SmackDown.

#2. Doesn't want to impress: EC3

EC3 has seemingly lost all his passion

Where did it all go wrong? EC3 was supposed to be the perfect person for Vince McMahon to push. He isn't a great in-ring worker but he's a fantastic talker and has a solid character. He's exactly the kind of superstar who would fare better on the main roster than NXT, which is seemingly why he wasn't required to have a particularly big presence on the yellow brand.

However, due to unfortunate circumstances with Dean Ambrose, EC3 got the brunt of the blame and suffers because of it now. Just look at his entrances a year ago as compared to now. It's clear that he's lost all his passion and wants nothing to do with it.

The difference a year has made for EC3. pic.twitter.com/2mLTqPXYem

— wherearethechickennuggets (@kayfabeftw) June 9, 2019

You can notice the clear difference in mannerisms a year ago and now. He has to go down as the single most underutilized superstar since NXT came to fruition.

#2. Wants to impress: Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt's character has taken a new life

Bray Wyatt took an extensive hiatus from post-SummerSlam 2018 till post-WrestleMania 2019. In early 2019, there were rumblings that WWE was planning a complete character change for The Eater of Worlds.

As a result, the Firefly Fun House has come to be and so far, it's been really good. Bray Wyatt seems more motivated than ever and really looks to impress in his Firefly Fun House skits.

It's also unleashed a darker version of the character, one that's arguably even creepier than his previous cult leader-like persona. The rumours are that Vince McMahon is fully invested in Bray Wyatt this time and intends to give him a genuine winning streak and a big push.

With motivation evident on both sides, it's clear that Bray Wyatt really wants to impress the boss with his new character at FFH.

#1. Doesn't want to impress: Luke Harper

Luke Harper quietly returned at WrestleMania

Luke Harper has had some serious bad luck from the summer of 2018 up until now. He was injured for an extensive period of time and was cleared to wrestle around February. However, WWE decided not to use him at all and he went on a passionate rant about his frustrations in WWE and how he truly believed he was World Champion material.

He did participate in Worlds Collide, but apart from that, there was nothing. He put out a statement saying he requested his release from WWE, but unlike Tye Dillinger, TJP and a few others, his release was not granted.

There were then rumors that not only did WWE refuse his request, but they also extended his contract because the months he was injured meant that his contract was "frozen".

Vince McMahon reportedly hasn't been thrilled with Harper either, so with negative mutual feelings, it's safe to say that Harper doesn't want to impress McMahon.

#1. Wants to impress: Shane McMahon

Best in the world?

You might be wondering why Shane McMahon is on this list. He really doesn't have much to prove and he's exclusively an on-screen figure. However, from the look of his creative direction in 2019, it's obvious that there are big things planned for Shane.

Ever since his heel turn, he's been getting an increasing amount of on-screen time, so much so that he's essentially become the top heel. Which other McMahon was a top heel? Vince himself.

It seems as though Shane McMahon is being groomed to be the next version of Mr. McMahon and he's wrestling more and taking up more on-screen time. While fans may not be happy about it, Shane McMahon is likely trying to seize the opportunity and become the second coming of his father's character.

Whether or not it'll work remains to be seen, but fans have already expressed their distaste for Shane getting so much screen time.