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WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is one of the most eccentric people in the history of the pro wrestling/sports entertainment industry.
The 75-year-old no longer has a prominent role on WWE television these days, but anybody who follows WWE-related topics on social media will know that his on-screen appearances as the villainous Mr. McMahon character have lived long in fans’ memories.
Whether he is falling off a chair or comically tugging at his ear, there is barely a day that goes by without Vince McMahon’s absurd antics appearing on social media in a looping animation (aka a GIF).
In this article, let’s take a look at five Vince McMahon GIFs that are frequently used online, as well as the real stories behind them.
#5 The Vince McMahon ear pull GIF
The November 19, 2001 episode of WWE RAW saw the returning Ric Flair interrupt a segment involving Vince McMahon and Kurt Angle.
After Flair revealed that he was the new storyline co-owner of WWE, Vince McMahon tugged on his ear in comical fashion until Steve Austin’s music hit.
Speaking on a Vengeance 2001 episode of his Something to Wrestle With podcast in December 2017, WWE director Bruce Prichard gave a fascinating insight into the real story behind the Vince McMahon ear pull GIF.
“The ear pull came from a cue where Vince was in the ring. We would cue whoever’s music to interrupt Vince, and a lot of times, 99 percent of the time, that was me cueing the music. I would wait for the right moment, hit the music to interrupt him or whatever.”
Vince McMahon often had arguments with Prichard because he felt that Superstars’ music was either played too early or too late.
On this occasion, Vince McMahon wanted Austin's music to hit at exactly the right time, so he told Prichard to play the music as soon as he touched his ear.
“His [Vince McMahon’s] cue for this one night was, ‘When I pull my ear, that’s the cue to hit the music.’ And instead of a little, subtle reach up and tug of the ear, which I would’ve gotten, Vince starts playing with his ear and pulling on his ear because he thought, ‘Well, God damn, why aren’t you playing the music?’”
Prichard explained that it took a second for him to let the person in charge of the music know that the music had to be played.
However, Vince McMahon expected the music to play immediately after he touched his ear, which is why he looks so worried in the GIF.
#4 The Vince McMahon money GIF
The Vince McMahon money GIF dates back to the time that the WWE Chairman decided to give away a total of $1 million on three episodes of WWE RAW in June 2008.
The weekly segments, titled McMahon’s Million Dollar Mania, saw Vince McMahon call up WWE fans on the phone. Fans would then have to successfully repeat that night’s password in order to win a portion of Vince McMahon’s money.
One WWE fan won $500,000 after giving the correct password, while another caller only received $2.
Speaking in a WWE interview, Vince McMahon made it clear that he has no plans to ever bring back his Million Dollar Mania competition.
“I’ve made some bonehead maneuvers in the past. That was probably one of them.”
After three weeks of giveaways, the segments came to an abrupt end when the WWE RAW set collapsed on top of Vince McMahon while he was speaking to a caller.
In reality, this was done as a way to end the competition and to write Vince McMahon off television for the next six months.
#3 The Vince McMahon walk GIF
Vince McMahon’s power walk (aka The Billionaire Strut) is one of the most popular WWE GIFs on social media.
The walk has become so famous that it has been replicated by people outside of WWE, including UFC megastar Conor McGregor.
The Irishman admitted during a Q&A session in Manchester in 2017 that his very own Billionaire Strut was stolen from Vince McMahon.
“Vince McMahon must be p*****. I don’t give a f*** about Vince McMahon. I stole that walk and that walk is now mine. Not Vince or any of those f***ers over in the WWE will do anything about it. That’s my walk. I created that walk. I made that walk.” [H/T Wrestling Inc.]
Triple H even joked in an interview with TMZ Sports in 2020 that McGregor should face Vince McMahon in WWE one day, with the winner gaining exclusive rights to The Billionaire Strut.
“I think that Conor McGregor versus Vince McMahon with that Billion Dollar Walk on the line? I mean, I think that’s a match made in heaven!”
McGregor has never appeared on WWE programming, but an on-screen interaction with Vince McMahon is inevitable if he ever shows up in WWE.
#2 The Vince McMahon “You’re fired!” GIF
Vince McMahon’s famous “You’re fired!” quote can be seen in various GIFs, but his firing of Eric Bischoff on the December 5, 2005 episode of WWE RAW is probably the most popular.
After a three-and-a-half-year run as a WWE authority figure, it was time for Bischoff’s villainous character to be relieved of his duties as RAW General Manager.
The 30-minute segment, known as The Trial of Eric Bischoff, saw several WWE Superstars give their opinion on how well the former WCW executive had performed in his General Manager position.
Towards the end of the segment, Judge Vince McMahon agreed with Bischoff’s suggestion that John Cena should put his WWE Championship on the line in an Elimination Chamber match at New Year’s Revolution.
In doing so, he also informed the RAW GM that he would not be in charge when the PPV took place.
“You will all see it [Elimination Chamber match]. I will see it. Millions all over the world will see it. It’s just unfortunate, Mr. Bischoff, that you won’t. Eric Bischoff… YOU’RE FIRED!”
Bischoff then received an Attitude Adjustment from Cena before being thrown into the back of a garbage truck by Vince McMahon.
#1 The Vince McMahon chair fall GIF
Vince McMahon decided to hire a personal assistant on the April 11, 2002 episode of WWE SmackDown.
Instead of conducting the interviews in a private setting backstage, Vince McMahon wanted to gauge the reaction of the WWE Universe by speaking to the candidates in the middle of the ring.
The first candidate (top left in the picture above) explained to Vince McMahon that she could type 95 words a minute and she was fluent in three languages, as well as most computer languages.
The second candidate (top right) did not even get a chance to speak before Vince McMahon ordered him to get out of the ring.
As for the third candidate (bottom left), Vince McMahon seemed impressed by her professionalism but he was hesitant to hire her until he had seen the final candidate.
That person, Stacy Keibler (bottom right), is the one who created the moment that is still replayed as a GIF over 18 years later.
Keibler convinced Vince McMahon to appoint her as his assistant after she danced on top of his office table in the middle of the ring, causing the WWE Chairman to fall backward in his chair and onto the ring canvas.
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