5 Ideas rejected by Vince McMahon that could have been huge hits

#3 Vince McMahon rejects Jake Hager's storyline idea about him leaving for MMA, and coming back in controversial fashion

Jake Hager did fine for himself in Vince McMahon's promotion, and is a former World Champion and Money In The Bank winner. Back in early 2019, Hager was a guest on E&C's Pod Of Awesomeness, and opened up on an idea that he had pitched to Vince McMahon. Hager suggested an angle that would've seen him leave and do MMA, and later return to WWE to create some controversy with the promotion. Unfortunately, Vince McMahon didn't seem interested.

"I knew I was gonna do MMA. Before I left, Vince caught me in the hallway and he told me that they were wasting me. I said, 'Man, that's awesome to hear. Thank you for saying that. I'll be in your office next week with ideas. I pitched to him an idea about leaving and having to go fight MMA, and then come back, but have a little controversy between us or something. He didn't really want to do anything about it."

Breaking Vince Russo and Jim Cornette update HERE.

Vince McMahon has always loved MMA stars, if Brock Lesnar, Ronda Rousey, and Ken Shamrock's WWE career's are any indication. A storyline such as this would possibly have elevated Hager into much more than a mid-card act. Hager went on to fight in MMA, and one look at his record will make you realize that his pitch would probably have done wonders for his career, only if Vince McMahon had approved it. Hager is currently 3-0-0 in MMA, and is also working for AEW.

About the author

Abhilash Mendhe is a pro wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda with nearly five years of experience. He completed his MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management in 2016 and worked with multiple banking institutions, including Tech Mahindra. While he started writing WWE articles for Sportskeeda in 2019 as a hobby, it eventually became a significant part of his professional journey.

Abhilash checks his articles thrice before sending them to the editing team, ensuring his work is highly accurate and reliable.

He has interviewed prominent pro wrestling personalities like Noam Dar, Angry Miz Girl, Brendan Cobbina, and Jesse Lambert. Abhilash is a big fan of AEW star Orange Cassidy, as he believes the former International Champion’s on-screen gimmick of an extremely lazy guy resonates with him.

Given the opportunity to script WWE’s next big storyline, Abhilash would treat fans to the second installment of The Bloodline Civil War. He would book Roman Reigns to re-form The Bloodline with The Usos and Sami Zayn upon his comeback. The angle would see The Tribal Chief-led group go head-to-head with The Rock, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu in a blockbuster family feud.

When not reporting on pro wrestling, Abhilash likes to work out, go on walks, read, and explore new eateries.

Know More

One wrong move ended Big E's career - Watch Here!

Edited by Kaushik Das