5 Vince McMahon ideas that were pure genius and 5 that definitely weren't

Regardless of what you think of him, Vince McMahon has changed the course of pro wrestling in his lifetime. He's had a number of brilliant ideas over the years that have helped revolutionize the business, although some others haven't been as successful.

From the birth of the Mr. McMahon character to the terrible Brawl For All tournament, let's take a look at some of McMahon's best and worst ideas.

#5 Genius – WrestleMania

Mr. T teamed with Hulk Hogan at the first WrestleMania

The idea for the wrestling supershow originally came from Jim Crockett Productions with Clash of Champions but Vince McMahon soon adapted it and took it to the next level with WrestleMania. After taking the then WWF national, WrestleMania was the first step towards making wrestling a mainstream phenomenon.

The mix of wrestlers and celebrities had never been done this successfully before and the likes of Cyndi Lauper and Mr. T were a prominent part of the show. Cyndi Lauper accompanied Wendi Richter to ringside for her title match while Mr. T teamed up with Hulk Hogan in the main event. Muhammad Ali was one of the special guest referees for this match.

#5 Not Genius – Gobbledy Gooker

The Gobbledy Gooker

The Gobbledy Gooker’s reveal has to go down as one of the most underwhelming in WWE history. It was such a dumpster fire that fans still talk about it today.

It all started with an egg at ringside. In the weeks leading up to Survivor Series 1990, an egg started to appear ringside at WWE events. WWE built up the hype in the following weeks but when the shell eventually broke open, it was the Goobledy Gooker who came out. Even WWE’s own website described the Gobbledy Gooker as “one of the most disappointing personas in WWE history.”

Interesting tidbit, at some point before the reveal, Vince McMahon actually wanted The Undertaker to emerge from the egg.

#4 Genius – The Attitude Era

The Attitude Era roster was one of the most memorable in WWE history

RAW was having a hard time competing with Nitro by the time 1997 came around and Vince McMahon knew it was time to change things up. He ditched WWE’s family-friendly content and replaced it with a grittier and more adult-oriented product, giving rise to the birth of The Attitude Era.

The Attitude Era saw the rise of legends like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, Mick Foley as well as the Mr. McMahon character himself. The switch in direction helped WWE eventually crush WCW in the ratings war, leading to them buying WCW for a pittance in 2001.

#4 Not Genius – The Wildcard Rule

Mr. McMahon introduced the Wildcard Rule after WrestleMania 35

The Wildcard Rule is Mr. McMahon’s most recent idea to have made this list. Introduced by him following the Superstar Shake-Up after WrestleMania 35, the Wildcard Rule saw Superstars from RAW and SmackDown appearing on such a regular basis that it nullified the whole concept of the brand split.

WWE officially put an end to the Wildcard Rule during the 2019 WWE Draft earlier this month.

#3 Genius – The Mr. McMahon character

Mr. McMahon is one of the greatest heels in wrestling history

Vince McMahon spent the early part of his on-screen career in WWE as an announcer. At the time, most fans still thought Jack Tunney was the man in charge. Things changed after the Montreal Screwjob and after his infamous promo explaining his actions on RAW, he and Vince Russo decide to run with the heat McMahon was getting from fans. Thus the Mr. McMahon character was born.

Mr. McMahon ended up becoming one of the most iconic characters in the history of professional wrestling and led to McMahon vs Austin which we will get to later.

#3 Not Genius – The original XFL

The original XFL ended up being a failure

The original XFL was a total disaster. WWE’s attempt at running their own football league just didn’t work out and both WWE and NBC took a massive financial hit from it. When ratings took a hit after the first week or so, Vince tried to salvage it by adding more WWE like elements to it but it never worked out.

The XFL will return once again in 2020 and let’s hope Vince has learned his lesson from the original disaster.

#2 Genius – McMahon vs Austin

The McMahon-Austin feud is legendary

The feud between Mr. McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin was one which defined an entire era. It helped WWE reach the zenith of their popularity during the Attitude Era. WWE did business at levels they had never done before, reaching all-time ratings highs as Austin, who represented the everyman anti-hero, took on his crooked boss.

Countless stunners and beers later, the McMahon-Austin feud remains enshrined in wrestling lore as one of the greatest feuds of all time.

#2 Not Genius – Brawl For All

Bart Gunn (L) won the Brawl For All

The 1998 Brawl For All tournament ended up being a disaster for WWE. Taking a leaf out of the rise of MMA book, the Brawl For All tournament put WWE Superstars in shoot fights on the same shows as traditional wrestling matches.

The tournament was supposed to be a vehicle to get Dr. Death over as a fearsome monster after WWE signed him. Calamitously for the WWE, Steve Williams was defeated by Bart Gunn, who went on to beat Bradshaw aka JBL in the final.

Not only did the Brawl For All lead to bad blood backstage amongst the wrestlers, it confused fans, most of whom thought that the Brawl For All fights also had predetermined outcomes. Let’s also mention that a number of Superstars picked up injuries during the tournament including Dr. Death, Steve Williams himself.

#1 Genius – Hulkamania

Vince McMahon was the brains behind the rise of Hulkamania

Vince McMahon signing Hulk Hogan for the AWA was a big deal but it wasn’t this singular act that changed pro wrestling history forever. It was how McMahon used his new signing that made history and took wrestling mainstream.

The birth of Hulkamania left an indelible impression in the history of professional wrestling. Vince had handpicked Hogan to be the face of the then WWF during his national expansion plan and it worked better than even Vince could have expected. Hulkamania ran wild in the mid to late 80s, making both Hogan and the WWF a household name.

#1 Not Genius – Fake Diesel and Fake Razor Ramon

These replacements fooled no one

When Kevin Nash and Scott Hall left for WCW, it was a big blow to the WWE. With business down already, Vince McMahon decided to bring back the Diesel and Razor Ramon characters with different wrestlers portraying them. Glenn Jacobs (aka Kane) and Rick Bognar played the part of Fake Diesel and Fake Razor Ramon but the fans didn’t take to it at all.

Glenn Jacobs spoke about his experience as Fake Razor Ramon on X-Pac’s podcast last year:

"Conceptually it sounded pretty cool. But it just didn't take off that way and I don't think the audience really got behind it. For me it got me more experience and I was determined to make that succeed."

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