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WWE is all about proving your mettle and ensuring that you stay ahead of your competition to become a major player in the company. While many Superstars such as The Rock, Hulk Hogan, and Triple H managed to impress the higher-ups early on and become big names, others weren’t so lucky.
At times, Vince McMahon and other top officials put their faith in the wrong Superstars, while they did not see the true potential of other Superstars right from the start.
However, many such Superstars managed to prove Vince wrong on different occasions in order to either become huge names in the industry or wilt away without making a huge impact.
While Vince has usually been a fan of the bigger guys in the industry, he has not always been spot on while picking the right Superstars to push to the top. However, the Chairman has managed to give every Superstar enough chances to prove themselves to him and the WWE Universe.
This article will look at the five times WWE Superstars managed to prove Vince McMahon wrong.
#5 WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan proved Vince McMahon wrong
As spelled out by Tripe H and The Authority in 2013, Daniel Bryan was seen as a “B+ Player” backstage by many officials. While many would believe this was just said as part of a storyline, there have been many reports that Vince McMahon truly saw Bryan as a secondary Superstar who’d never make it big.
According to Dave Scherer of PWInsider.com, Vince was planning to push Bryan down the card around the time this statement was made in front of the entire WWE Universe.
“When he had HHH call Bryan a B+ player, that is because Vince saw Bryan that way. Vince was just going to screw Bryan in the storylines and then push him down the card. It was so bad that Bryan was slated to wrestle fifth or sixth from the top against Sheamus at least year’s WrestleMania until the fans said, loudly, “ENOUGH!” They hijacked shows until Vince had no choice but to change his plans and Bryan won the WWE Title, giving the company one of its great WrestleMania moments, and it wasn’t even one that Vince had planned.”
Bryan not only lived up to the expectations but exceeded them by showing everybody that he is no less than an A+ player who can singlehandedly carry the company on his shoulders.
Daniel Bryan's value is now in WWE is now there was everyone to see, and Vince must be more than happy that The Planet’s Champion proved him wrong.
#4 WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley proved Vince McMahon wrong
Before Mick Foley set foot in WWE, he was known as Cactus Jack from his time in WCW and ECW. Cactus Jack was known as one of Foley’s most hardcore characters, and it helped him develop into one of the most physical competitors in the ring.
However, Vince McMahon wasn’t a big fan of how Foley looked and did not want him to bring the Cactus Jack character to WWE. During an interview with Inside The Ropes, Foley spoke about the time when he debuted in WWE back in 1996.
"I was not supposed to be a star in WWE," Foley said. "I heard in good faith that Mr. McMahon was not a fan of mine, at all. The direct quote was, 'Cactus Jack will never step foot inside of a WWE ring'. As Mick Foley, I stepped inside as Mankind."
"Even then it was just a concession to Jim Ross, he would bring up my name at every booking meeting as potential talent. Finally Mr. McMahon in the fall of 1995 slammed his hand down on a table and said, 'Alright, I'll bring him in but I'm covering up his face."
While Vince caved in and signed Foley, he knew that he wouldn’t be a big star in WWE. The Chairman also did not want Foley to set foot in a WWE ring as Cactus Jack and instead gave him the Mankind gimmick.
Just a year later, Foley proved Vince wrong by debuting the Cactus Jack gimmick in 1997 and became a major Superstar who had three distinct gimmicks. The Cactus Jack gimmick remains one of WWE’s most iconic gimmick.
#3 WWE Superstar Finn Balor proved Vince McMahon wrong
It’s no secret that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon isn’t the biggest fan of former Universal Champion Finn Balor. In case you were unaware of this fact, there have been several reports that Vince has tried to change big plans involving the former Bullet Club leader.
Even when Balor was scheduled to face then Universal Champion Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble, there were reports that Vince wasn’t in favor of the idea.
“There's some speculation that WWE may have soured on the idea of doing Brock Lesnar vs. Finn Balor, which could explain the latter's booking recently.”
However, Balor competed against Lesnar at Royal Rumble and managed to give The Beast one of the best matches of his career, thus proving Vince wrong. Balor and Lesnar had an intense match that saw The Price tap out on television for the first time in his career.
Balor himself has revealed that he is unsure of his relationship with Vince and simply goes about his business without getting worried about it too much.
"I got to be honest, I'm not sure what my relationship is with Vince McMahon. I'm not sure if he believes in me or not. He can be a man of few words. When I show up to work, I find out what I need to do and go handle my business in the ring. That's kind of how I've handled my career for the last 18 years.”
While Vince may not believe in Balor too much, possibly because he thinks the Superstar's character is too bland, The Prince has proven him wrong by winning over the WWE Universe.
Ever since returning to NXT, we've seen the 'bland' Balor portray one of the most vicious heels in WWE currently.
#2 WWE Superstar Xavier Woods proved Vince McMahon wrong
This entry is a bit different from the rest as Xavier Woods decided to put his WWE career on the line to pursue a storyline he had in mind. Kofi Kingston was known as one of the biggest babyfaces in WWE before Woods decided to approach him to form The New Day. Woods ran the idea of turning heel by Vince McMahon, who wasn’t too sure that the fans would boo Kofi.
In fact, on the New Day: Feel The Power podcast, Woods revealed that Vince was hesitant on letting the trio turn heel because he was sure that the WWE Universe would not boo Kofi, who’d been a babyface his entire career.
"I ended up going to He Who Shall Not Be Named's [Vince McMahon] office and asking again about us turning heel and giving all the points on why what we're doing is not going to get us that babyface reaction," recalled Xavier Woods. "But if we lean into it a little more and we allow it to be taken as heels, it's going to get us [the reaction]. He told me, 'Kofi Kingston is the consummate babyface. This is what people know and love. People will never buy him as heel.' That's when I asked him if I could get a microphone. I said, 'If people don't boo Kofi within four weeks, then I'm not good at my job and I shouldn't be here.'”
Woods went on to say that by the third week, fans were booing Kofi a little when he started to speak in the ring. As soon as the trio headed backstage, Vince stood up from behind the monitor, shook his head in approval, and it was like, 'Hell yeah'.
This is one case where Vince did not mind being proven wrong as he was glad to see Woods work hard enough and get the fans to boo Kofi, who turned heel for the first time in his WWE career.
#1 WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin proved Vince McMahon wrong
There is little doubt that Stone Cold Steve Austin is one of the biggest Superstars WWE has ever produced. In fact, Vince McMahon himself revealed in an interview during Off the Record with Michael Landsberg on June 1, 2004, that Austin surpassed all records and popularity, including that of Hulk Hogan.
While Vince holds Austin in very high regard today, it wasn’t always so as the Chairman of WWE never viewed Austin as a main-event talent back in the day. Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts revealed some very interesting details on how Vince first viewed Austin during an interview with Premier Live TV. Roberts was helping write television at the time and thought Stone Cold was the next big thing in the company.
“Well then one day I told Vince [McMahon], I said, ‘That guy right there is gonna be your next super, superstar.’ ‘You kidding me Jake?’”
“He [Vince] said, ‘That guy, he’ll never make it past fifth, sixth match. He’s not a main-eventer.’ I [Jake] said, ‘The **** he ain’t.’ He said, ‘Do you think so?’ I said, ‘Yeah I think so,’ and we tried the thing and I guess it might’ve worked huh?”
Vince will be happy that Austin proved him wrong with his incredible Stone Cold gimmick and helped WWE build itself during the Attitude Era. Austin is one of the biggest names who proved Vince wrong and helped him evolve his company into something even bigger.
