5 Times Vince McMahon seemingly punished WWE Superstars on live TV

Being a WWE Superstar isn't all roses. WWE is run by Vince McMahon, one of the most successful businessmen in the wrestling industry. The WWE Chairman has made it a point to act in a ruthless and no-nonsense manner whenever he needs to.

Back in the 80s, Vince McMahon didn't flinch one bit while putting down the territorial system. He brought the fight to WCW in the late 90s and kept going until he finally bought off his competition. Vince McMahon, as per several Superstars, is incredibly caring and has helped wrestlers by going out of his way at times. There are a bunch of instances though, where Vince McMahon seemingly punished his employees on live TV, for a variety of reasons. In the following list, we will be taking a look at five such instances.

#5 Vince McMahon reportedly punishes Lana after Rusev debuts in AEW

Former WWE Superstar Rusev recently made his AEW debut and was revealed as the best man for Kip Sabian's wedding with Penelope Ford. Soon after, fans began noticing that Lana wasn't doing too well on RAW. She recently lost a tag team match and was later put through a table by Nia Jax. On the latest episode of RAW as well, Lana was driven through a table by Jax. These attacks are being heavily criticized by fans.

Former WWE booker Vince Russo blasted Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard for the angle and dubbed the duo as being children for trying to get back at Rusev. Going by the moniker of Miro, he recently revealed that he's worried WWE could punish Lana for his AEW promo bashing the company.

Absolutely. At the same time, they should be professional and treat it as it is. It's nothing personal; it's a business. Hopefully, they treat it like that. I hope that it won't hurt her. I pray everything will be fine, and we should move on.

It seems Rusev's fears have come to fruition if Lana's recent booking is any indication. It would be interesting to see what's the payoff to Jax's constant attacks on Lana. Will Lana be able to exact revenge on Nia Jax, or will the angle get swept inside the rug as was done with the Lana-Rusev-Bobby Lashley storyline?

#4 Vince McMahon has Big Cass buried at the hands of Daniel Bryan

It has been around two years since Big Cass was let go by WWE. Shortly before he was released, Big Cass lost a feud to Daniel Bryan on SmackDown. Cass lost two matches to Bryan at the Backlash and Money In The Bank pay-per-views. In reality, this was Vince McMahon's way to punish Cass after he went ahead with an idea that the boss had rejected.

Cass went to Vince McMahon to seek permission to lay a beatdown on a "little person" on WWE SmackDown, to advance his angle with Bryan. Vince rejected the idea and the original plan was for Cass to simply hit the guy with a big boot. Cass went ahead with the beatdown anyway. He didn't even last 10 minutes against Bryan at Backlash. Following their second match, Cass was let go and it seems highly unlikely that we will see Cass back in a WWE ring ever again. Cass performed in the independent scene for a short while after his release, which also included a match against Jon Moxley.

#3 Vince McMahon lets WWE Superstars teach Daniel Puder a lesson

Back in 2004-05, Daniel Puder had won the Tough Enough competition by defeating The Miz in the finals. On an episode of SmackDown, Puder put WWE legend Kurt Angle in a Kimura Lock for real, and this didn't sit well with the company. Angle looked genuinely angry at Puder following the incident. Following his Tough Enough victory, Puder made an appearance in the 2005 Royal Rumble match.

Immediately, Puder was targeted by Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit. The duo hit Puder as hard as they could with a series of chops on his chest. Soon after, Hardcore Holly joined Guerrero and Benoit, and the trio laid a brutal beatdown on Puder in the middle of the ring, before throwing him out. Following the match, Puder never appeared on SmackDown for another bout and was later released by the company. The Miz, on the other hand, became a mainstay on the WWE roster and went on to headline WrestleMania with John Cena.

#2 Vince McMahon punishes JBL for attacking Blue Meanie for real

Back in 2005, WWE presented ECW One Night Stand as a tribute to the fallen brand. On the road to the event, Blue Meanie was seen criticizing JBL publically, and the former WWE Champion didn't take it well. During the brawl that closed the show, JBL hit Meanie for real, thus leaving him a bloody mess. This didn't sit well with the higher-ups, and Vince McMahon seemingly decided to punish The Wrestling God for his behavior.

Soon after, JBL and Blue Meanie had a match on WWE SmackDown. The match is remembered by fans for Meanie exacting revenge on JBL after what had happened at One Night Stand. During the closing moments of the match, Blue Meanie's associate Stevie Richards hit JBL with an incredibly scary-looking chair shot. Meanie picked up the win over JBL and the matter was put to rest. Blue Meanie later revealed that he had patched things up with JBL a long time ago, and the duo is on good terms.

#1 Jon Moxley says Vince McMahon tried to bury him with the Nia Jax segment

In early 2019, Jon Moxley made it clear to WWE that he was going to part ways with the company. Soon after, Jon Moxley was put in a segment with Nia Jax, which saw the latter dominating the Shield member. Moxley later stated that he was used in that capacity in order to bury him before he left WWE.

“I was hoping that he would write me off TV that night, but he was like, ‘We’ll just finish you up at ‘Mania.' He was like, ‘We’re not gonna bury you on the way out or anything’ and I went, ‘Well, actually, it’s funny you mention that because that’s the reason I stormed in here, because it looks to me that that’s exactly what you’re doing.’”

Moxley also lost to EC3 in quick fashion, and also wasn't a part of WrestleMania that year. Following "The Shield's Final Chapter", Moxley left WWE and soon made his way to AEW. Currently, Moxley is the promotion's World Champion, and is doing well for himself.