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When one talks about the greatest minds in the history of pro wrestling, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon's name is bound to come up. Vince McMahon has been running WWE for decades on end and has successfully turned it into a global media conglomerate.
Vince McMahon has always tried to push the boundaries in regards to what he can present on WWE TV. We occasionally witness an angle or a Superstar gimmick that makes us wonder how did it get approved. The Katie Vick angle from late 2002 featuring Triple H and Kane was one such idea.
In the following slideshow, we will be taking a look at five surprising gimmicks by Vince McMahon, that were rightfully shelved, never to see the light of day again.
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#5 Vince McMahon wanted Mark Henry to end The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak
On the road to WrestleMania 22, we saw The Undertaker kicking off a rivalry with Mark Henry on SmackDown, which led to a Casket match at The Show of Shows. Originally, Vince McMahon had planned to have Henry be the one to break The Deadman's famed streak, which was at 13-0 at that point. Here's what Bruce Prichard had to say about the time Vince McMahon told him his idea.
Godd*mn, that big bas*ard Mark Henry -- he's ready!
I'm like, 'Really?' Mark had been here ten years and it wasn't anything against Mark, but I didn't think that Mark Henry beating and ending the streak would catapult him to the next level.
Thankfully, Vince McMahon decided against executing the plan, as WrestleMania drew closer. In the end, The Undertaker put down Henry in their WrestleMania encounter and extended his streak to 14-0. Prichard was right in the sense that Henry had been with WWE for around a decade and it didn't make much sense for him to break the streak. Secondly, he wasn't someone of the stature of Brock Lesnar, who could be pushed as a regular main eventer and WrestleMania headliner for years on end, after breaking the streak.
#4 Vince McMahon's plans to bring back WCW Nitro
In March 2001, Vince McMahon bought off WCW and the wrestling world would never be the same again. After years of intense competition, the WWE Chairman had finally managed to do the unthinkable. Around that time, Vince McMahon thought of an idea to revive WCW and replace RAW with Nitro on Monday nights. RAW would be shifted to another night as a result. On the July 2, 2001 edition of WWE RAW, fans witnessed a WCW World title match pitting Buff Bagwell and Booker T.
The fans hated every bit of the match, which wasn't an outing both men would be proud of. The fans loathed the match so much that they heavily cheered Stone Cold and Kurt Angle (both heels at the time), who came out and attacked the duo. This was the moment that made Vince McMahon realize that WWE fans were just not going to accept a WCW show, and the idea was dropped altogether. This turned out to be a good idea, as the months-long WWE vs. Alliance feud was a big letdown and it hammered the point down that a revived weekly brand war between WWE and WCW wasn't something fans wanted at the time.
#3 Vince McMahon's idea for Reckoning to have a seizure on WWE TV
On the latest edition of WWE RAW, fans noticed something bizarre during the multi-man match pitting RETRIBUTION and The Hurt Business. At one point during the bout, RETRIBUTION member Reckoning began acting weirdly, and it soon became clear that she wasn't looking good. Reckoning seemed to be having a seizure but later stated on social media that she had been 'possessed'. According to Fightful, Vince McMahon had originally planned for Reckoning to have a seizure on WWE TV.
“Fightful has learned that initially, Vince McMahon had wanted Reckoning, AKA Mia Yim to mimic a seizure during the spot on Monday Night Raw. We're told that she, among others spoke up that the method originally pitched was not in good taste. Vince McMahon was said to have liked the spot as it played out, outside of Yim being referred to by her real name.”
Thankfully, Vince McMahon's idea didn't come to fruition, and WWE went with the other option that saw Reckoning getting 'possessed'. This was a better idea anyway, as a barrage of fans on social media began bashing WWE for the segment, assuming that Reckoning had faked a seizure. WWE did the right thing by dropping Vince McMahon's idea and preventing a social media outrage from happening as a result.
#2 Vince McMahon's hilariously ridiculous gimmick idea for FTR that never saw the light of day
Last year, when The Revival a.k.a. FTR had made it a point to leave WWE as soon as their contracts expired, Vince McMahon attempted to make them stay. The duo had a meeting with Vince McMahon and the WWE Chairman pitched an idea to them, that would see them don new gimmicks. Here's what Vince McMahon had in mind.
Cash Wheeler later stated that he burst out laughing when he saw Vince McMahon's pitch.
We sat down, and Vince hands us these. I'll put my hand on the Bible, and tell you right now, I laughed out loud in front of everybody. It was me and David, Vince, Bruce Prichard, and Corino. They were all serious, they told us why they thought that would be a good idea.
The Revival, being the ever professionals, told Vince McMahon that they were ready to don the gimmick, but were going to leave WWE after their contracts expired. Soon after, they were informed by the company that they had been pulled from every WWE event in the near future. They spent the final few months of their WWE stint away from the in-ring action. As for the gimmick, WWE dropped it when Vince McMahon realized that The Revival wasn't planning to stay. The leaked pictures received severe backlash on Twitter, and fans hailed The Revival for leaving Vince McMahon's company.
#1 Vince McMahon almost went ahead with a Nation of Domination reboot
Earlier this year, Vince McMahon decided to bring back one of the most successful factions in company history, The Nation of Domination. Back during the Attitude Era, the faction wreaked havoc on WWE TV and helped The Rock establish himself as a credible heel. Back in July, WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry was backstage on RAW, and Vince McMahon had some big plans for him that night.
“The deal with Mark Henry was – Mark Henry and Ron Simmons were brought in for these tapings for the Nation of Domination angle that they scrapped. So I guess they just figured since Mark Henry is there, they just put him on TV for no reason.”
As mentioned by SEScoops, WWE nixed the plan altogether, and a Nation of Domination reboot didn't see the light of day. A stable such as The Nation of Domination worked flawlessly during the Attitude Era, which was more than two decades ago. The idea was incredibly controversial and perfectly suited the era, but bringing back a stable such as that in today's climate would have possibly led to a major disaster. With the BLM movement at its peak during that time, rebooting The Nation of Domination wouldn't have been a wise idea.
