3 Times Vince McMahon 'screwed' wrestlers at the last moment

Tonight on WWE SmackDown, the fans were left in a state of shock as Vince McMahon interrupted the contract signing for the WWE title match at the Fastlane PPV. As an elated Kofi Kingston was about to sign the contract, Vince McMahon came out of nowhere and announced that he was replacing Kofi with a more deserving superstar, Kevin Owens.

A dejected Kofi along with his visibly furious brothers left the ring and Owens signed the contract, making the match official.

This isn't the first time Vince McMahon has pulled something like this. He has been notorious for screwing popular WWE superstars at the last moment. Let's take a look at three of these instances.

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#3 John Cena, Elimination Chamber 2010

McMahon screwed Cena at Elimination Chamber 2010

As WrestleMania 26 grew closer, John Cena successfully defended his WWE title against 5 men inside the hellish structure. As Cena was about to leave the ring, he was interrupted by Vince McMahon, who announced that Cena could go on to defend his championship at the grandest stage of them all, but only if he managed to defend it successfully against Batista.

Out came The Animal, who made short work of Cena, and won the WWE championship in the process. The match wasn't announced beforehand and Cena was screwed over by the owner of the company, though Cena managed to even the odds by taking his title back from Batista at WrestleMania 26.

#2 Shawn Michaels, Royal Rumble 2006

The rivalry that cost Michaels a shot at the WWE title

The McMahon-Michaels rivalry had kicked off a few weeks ago when Vince McMahon slapped HBK in the middle of the ring on Monday Night Raw.

Shawn Michaels entered the Royal Rumble match, determined to remain the last man standing in the ring and go on to headline the show of shows. But Vince had other plans in mind.

As the match reached a thrilling climax, with only a handful of superstars left in the ring, out came Mr MaMahon and began taunting an exhausted HBK. Michaels was so focused on McMahon, he didn't see Shane jumping him from behind and eliminating him from the Royal Rumble match.

Michaels took his revenge at WrestleMania 22 when he beat Mr McMahon to a bloody pulp, but McMahon kept going at it for weeks to come, resulting in the reformation of The original DX.

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#1 The Rock, WrestleMania 2000

WrestleMania 2000: A McMahon in every corner

The main event of WrestleMania 2000 was a fatal four-way elimination match, with a McMahon in every corner. The lineup included Triple H (with Stephanie), The Rock (with Vince McMahon), The Big Show (with Shane McMahon) and Mick Foley (with Linda McMahon).

As the match progressed, The Big Show and Mick Foley got eliminated in quick succession. The Game and The People's Champion fought each other with everything they had, until the final moments of the match unfolded.

Vince entered the ring and grabbed a chair. It seemed as if he was going to hit Triple H with it, but left the fans gasping with shock as he hit The Rock instead. Triple H pinned The Bramha Bull to end WrestleMania on a sour note.

Vince and Stephanie embraced as The Game held the WWE title above his head. Vince had screwed The Great One at the biggest stage of them all.