The Magnificent Seven: The Top 7 On-Air Vince McMahon Moments

There is no greater figure in the history of professional wrestling than Vince McMahon. He made his brand of wrestling a national—and arguably global—brand of entertainment, and has revolutionized the business time and again through the usage of mediums like cable television, pay per-view, home video, and streaming online content. He’s the greatest combination of businessman and creative mind that wrestling ever has or is likely to see.

Most of us don’t have the opportunity to peek behind the curtain and see McMahon’s business dealings, but, particularly since The Attitude Era, we have had the opportunity to see him as an important on-air figure. So, in this countdown I’m looking back at the top seven on-air Vince McMahon moments.

#7. Giving Hulk Hogan the Finger

By the time WrestleMania 19 rolled around, Vince McMahon’s on-air character was an established and iconic villain. Pairing him off in a match with Hulk Hogan both felt like a dream match between generations, since Hogan had last topped the company a good five years before McMahon became an in-ring performer and a poetic inevitability, since the men’s histories were so completely intertwined.

The match between the two was pretty ugly, but worked on a sports entertainment level. The sweetest moment of all came after the closing bell, however, when McMahon was stretchered out of the stadium, the loser but not defeated, defiantly flipping off Hogan from beneath a crimson mask.

#6. Having Triple H’s Back

This moment doesn’t get much recognition, and perhaps I marked out disproportionately for it because it came on the eve of my departure to Houston to attend WrestleMania 25 live. All biases aside, there’s no denying the scene was electric, March 30, 2009 at the close of Monday Night Raw. Randy Orton cut a promo, only to be cut off by the return of Vince McMahon, making his first appearance on TV since Orton punted him in the head two months before, then Shane McMahon, who Orton took out that February. Finally, Triple H completed the familial triumvirate and they stormed the ring, taking out security and launching headlong into a pier six brawl with Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Ted Dibiase.

#5. The Voice of a Nation

Vince McMahon has had the responsibility more than once of having to address an audience under less than optimal circumstances. For example, I almost placed his statement on ECW to address the Chris Benoit tragedy on this list, for his tact, professionalism, and ability to refocus on the wrestling product. But as I shuffled my order and considered McMahon’s history, it became apparent that it is more important to celebrate McMahon’s leadership role, speaking in front of a live audience in Houston for not only the first Smackdown, but the first live event of its size anywhere in the US after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Perhaps McMahon leans a little heavily on generic patriotic rhetoric in his speech; just the same he said the things that wrestling fans and the general public needed to hear in that moment—celebrating the unity of a nation and reassuring us all that life would go on.

#4. Welcome to WrestleMania

From live attendance numbers, to notoriety, to general public awareness, WrestleMania 3 was the biggest wrestling show of all time. Long before he took on a well-defined character or publically came out as the owner of the World Wrestling Federation, Vince McMahon stood at the center of the Pontiac Silverdome. He was ostensibly an announcer who was part of the WWF machine, but in reality, a proud entrepreneur seeing his every aspiration come to fruition, and taking the company his father and grandfather got rolling, and truly taking it to the next level. When he iconically exclaimed, “Welcome to WrestleMania,” it wasn’t just a good introduction—it was his way of screaming his significance to the world. Sports entertainment had arrived and it was there to stay.

#3. The Montreal Screw Job

In so many ways, the Mr. McMahon character was born out of the The Montreal Screw Job—the moment when McMahon had the time keeper ring the bell, surprising Bret Hart with a humiliating submission loss to his real-life arch rival in front of a rabid Canadian crowd.

Yes, it was a bold and challenging business and booking decision, and you can question McMahon’s scruples for going forward with it (as a devout Bret Hart mark, I always have). That said, I can’t help but respect McMahon’s active participation in this moment. He didn’t delegate any ugly piece of the Screw Job to someone else—which he would have been well within his rights to do. On the contrary, he called for the bell to be rung, he endured the venom of the crowd, he stood by and let Hart spit in his face, and (afterward and off camera) he let Hart punch him out.

Hindsight is 20-20, and all of McMahon’s decisions may seem to have been easy ones with the context that the new Mr. McMahon character would go on to have one of the best box office feuds ever opposite Steve Austin, or that The Attitude Era would not only survive WCW, but position WWF/E as the undisputed and likely permanent premier wresting organization in the world. But in that moment—when he was the owner of a struggling company, faced with having to do something nasty to one of his most popular employees—McMahon handled it like a man.

#2. Winning the WWF Championship

Opinions are split on whether it was right for Vince McMahon to have ever won the WWF Championship. I get that he’s never truly been a full-time wrestler. Just the same, it’s hard to call his big win self-serving when it was so entertaining and so gratifying for the fans.

I watched McMahon’s win when it first aired on television and remember that his opponent and reigning champ, Triple H, had gathered enough heat that I dropped my young smark tendencies in favor of legitimately wanting to see that bastard get his. Trips dominated the match, only for Steve Austin to emerge, pummel Triple H and Chyna, and set up McMahon to steal the most unlikely of pins for a sensational moment.

#1. Getting Stunned

Before he became Mr. McMahon, he was still an announcer—and it grew increasingly apparent that he was more than that. In this moment, back in September of 1999, in the middle of Madison Square Garden, McMahon serves as the legitimate voice of reason, trying to calm down still-heel-but-increasingly-popular Steve Austin from getting himself arrested. Austin hears him out, tells him he appreciates his concern—and also appreciates “the fact that, hell, you can kiss my ass” and proceeds to stun the boss for the first of what must have ended up being a hundred times.

It’s one of the most unexpected moments in WWF/E history—let alone for Austin or McMahon as individuals. In all honesty, I probably could have filled more than half of this countdown with Austin-McMahon moments—their first match interrupted by Dude Love, the bedpan incident, beer truck, and “McMahon 3:16 says I just pissed my pants,” all may have ranked–but as a representation of the time, and a kick start to one of wrestlings’s all time great angles, this moment stands the test of time.

What are your favorite Vince McMahon moments? Let us know in the comments. See you in seven.

Read stories and miscellaneous criticism from Mike Chin at his website and his thoughts on a cappella music at The A Cappella Blog. Follow him on Twitter @miketchin.