Rate The Gimmick: Vince McMahon - Mr. McMahon.

[Ferbian]

It's time for another round of Rate The Gimmick. The purpose of this thread series is to all give a rating between 1-10 about a gimmick. What you thought about it primarily.

This week we're looking into one of, if not the most over heel in wrestling.

Aw. Doesn't he just look ruthless? Sure he does. This guy was "invented" in the late 90's. And yes I know the majority of people are probably gonna jump up "AUSTIN!". No - Bret Hart. Survivor Series Vince McMahon screwed Bret Hart over. It's been proved to the extend that I believe Vince has been said to have uttered the idea that it "started with Bret Hart. Therefore it ends with Bret Hart". Or at least so we thought. It seems that Mr. McMahon is still strutting around the WWE scenery.

Anyway. Mr. McMahon has accomplished a lot in terms of putting over talent. I've gone as far as to consider him the greatest enhancement talent one could ever ask for in terms of getting over. You do not get more over as a face if you're feuding with this guy. You do not get any more over as a heel if you're aligned with this guy.

Vince has feuded with a long list of definite future Hall of Fame wrestlers. As well as some that, well were just there trying to get a push. We know the majority of the names. Most likely all. So there's no need to go further into that.

I could probably go on and on about how I think Mr. McMahon is the epitome of a great gimmick. As well as the fact that I'm 100% certain there will be one person stepping up to disagree with me. However I won't step into that.

So I'll leave you to judge - Where does Vince McMahon's Mr. McMahon gimmick rank? An awful 1? Or an astonishing 10?

PS. Can you really blame the guy for wanting big muscular people? I mean look at him.

 

[Tenta]

It's probably the best heel gimmick in the history of professional wrestling. How can this gimmick not get anything aside from a ten?

Well, I'm giving it an eight out of ten. Yes, I just called it the greatest heel in professional wrestling, and I gave it an eight. Why would I do that? Because by the point of 2005, Mr. McMahon had lost most of his edge. When you're made to look like a fool compared to D-Generation X, you lose alot of the intimidation factor that was so prevalent with his character. Instead of looking like the Chairman of the Board, and Owner of the company, I thought I was dealing more with Wile E. Coyote than anything else. He became the heel who was not only foiled every now and then, but all the time. Any time McMahon got some of his heat back, it was almost immedialtely lost under a wave of Degeneration X jokes and feces. Even against the greatest face in the history of professional wrestling, Mr. McMahon got the upper hand, having fired him multiple times, having beaten to a bloody pulp on plenty of occasions, and overall making Steve's life a miserable hell. When he finally got to DX, he was Wile E. Coyote, watching all of his plans crumble into a big stick of dynamite he was still holding. All you needed was the black makeup and the coyote costume, and that's pretty much what you had.

mr. McMahon was fantastic working with Austin, and even in the stuff with Mr. America on Smackdown, he was pretty good. It was when he got to DX that he lost his luster. Thus, I have to give him an 8/10

 

[Money Inc.]

Arguably the most over guy in the business since the attitude era. Not to mention a top 5 gimmick during the attitude era.

I'm going to give it a strong 8.2...

Now I imagine a lot of people on here will think 8.2 is low for Mr. McMahon, but before I got any further I would like to mention when rating gimmick you'll ever see me go higher than a 8.5.

McMahon's ability to interact with the fans not to mention the majority of the roster was incredible. His ability to change tones and make it sound realistic is almost a lost art in wrestling today.

When rumors of this gimmick going away after the Wrestlemania destruction devestated me.. but fortunately for guys like me it looks like he'll be still interacting.

Not to mention Vinny Mac does back up the grapefruit references time and time again. Not only with his off camera stuff, but even in the ring.

I'll never forget when Taker cracked McMahon over the head with the Shovel at Survivor Series presents Buried Alive (I believe 2003)

 

[That Don Guy]

I for one believe that it wasn't "Mr. McMahon" that screwed Bret - it was clearly Vince. (And they are two different "personas"; Vince himself made that quite clear in the statement he gave at the beginning of RAW the night after Benoit died.)

As for the gimmick, while it was good, it was far too predictable (and I realize this is WWE we are talking about). The minute Mr. McMahon told Austin he would never get another title shot, you pretty much knew what would happen next. The only time I can think of where Mr. McMahon got over somebody in the end was when it was required by a backstage event - when "Mr. America" was fired for taking off his mask at the end of a house show and revealing that it was Hogan (even though that was something like the tenth time he had done it) because Hogan had left the company for whatever reason. Storylines would just end for no reason - example: in the "Linda wants a divorce" storyline, Vince gets a phone call during RAW "from his lawyers" saying that they had managed to delay divorce proceedings on some mysterious legal grounds, and that was the last time it was even brought up.

"You do not get more over as a face if you're feuding with this guy. You do not get any more over as a heel if you're aligned with this guy." You could say something similar about Bobby Heenan, but at least on occasion Heenan-managed wrestlers would min titles; with Mr. McMahon, you went downhill fast.

-- Don

 

[shafe_41]

Best. Gimmick. Ever. Hands down. You can't even argue that it isn't. You could, but you will superfail.

Do you think the Austin character would have worked so well without McMahon? Not even close BUD. I mean look at the feuds the man has had. To me, a feud can only be judged on the strength of the characters and the matches those characters have. He's feuded with Austin (probably the best feud in wrestling history in this storyline driven era), Hogan, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and even his own family. Mr. McMahon has never put on a bad match (until this year at Mania). Although most of it involved him getting his ass handed to him, that character is amazing. I could go into a ridiculous long rant and break it down even more, but I don't really need to. Mr. McMahon is one of the greatest characters of all time. Nuff said.

 

[Chadmw]

I would have to say an 8.5. The original Mr. Mcmahon during the attitude era was the most over heel in the business and Vince was great at playing it


Now he seems more like a parody of Mr. Mcmahon, his strut has become to forced and more comical than menacing and unfortunately he is just getting older and doesn't seem to be able to play that pure evil boss that he used to play

 

[Ferbian]

You could say something similar about Bobby Heenan, but at least on occasion Heenan-managed wrestlers would min titles; with Mr. McMahon, you went downhill fast.

Wait. What dude? Aligning with Bobby Heenan might have gotten you some championships here and there. But aligning with Vince McMahon sure as hell got you places as well.

Was it not The Rock who was aligned with Vince McMahon for a period of time? Was it not Austin who was as well? Was it not Triple H who was aligned with Vince in form of Stephanie McMahon for a period of time?

Being aligned with Vince didn't get you down hill in any way. Batista sure as hell is a great example of this. Sure Batista didn't accomplish much after the WWE championship reign. Pretty much loosing all the time against John Cena. But Batista was also at the top of his game during that heel turn.

The same way around is said for the people feuding with Vince - Shawn Michaels, Triple H (He both feuded and was aligned mind you) and Austin. Who all have numerous championships under their belt. Shawn being the guy who has won least championships after feuding with Vince (Though mind you he partially feuded with Vince on-screen / backstage during D-Generation X in the 90's, so he also won a WWE championships and an European Championship during that period).

I've already stated that I think Mr. McMahon is the greatest gimmick of all time. Besides I'm rather easy to impress if it's great. And Mr. McMahon was great. So I'm throwing it a definite 10/10. Because of all the things I've already stated in the OP.

 

[1_2_3 Kid]

Yeah... 10

Who is better than Vince?
He was so smart to go the evil route, I woulda hated to see the guy opposite from that.

He had the most memoriable feud with Austin and that really set "The Boss" off...

he is awesome everytime he is on the mic, and when he says something you can bet its going to happen. He has the voice, the ugly ass mad face and the dick up the ass walk that every billionaire pick has.

Anyone who can make you wana slap them on a constant basis is a good damn heel. Best ever hands down, everytime Vince walks thru that curtian on raw, I bow in front of my tv set because he is the fuckin man.

You can just look @ him and know prick. He just has that vibe about him. A cut throat buisness man that don't take shit. Who pollys with billions of dollarz, can buy or sell you and could actually do it. That's a fuckin bad guy ... sorry chico ..

 

[airvar]

10

You have to put McMahon in the argument for the best heel gimmick ever in wrestling history.

It was pure gold, sure he lost some of his luster in the late 2000's, but It couldn't last forever, the character has adapted and had multiple really fun feuds. If you were dealing with vince you were going someplace, and that is still the case.

If your rating the gimmick a 10 is one of the all time best gimmicks, and this was hands down one of the all time best wrestling gimmicks.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

It's arguably the best gimmick of all time. Vince went out there, capitalised on the people’s hatred of him and made sure he was one of the most universally recognisable characters in the history of the WWF/E.

What's particularly interesting about the Mr. McMahon character is that it's rooted in a real life situation. The whole thing stems from the Montreal Screwjob and how much people hated him for that. It also led to the Attitude Era's greatest feud; McMahon vs. Austin. Vince knows exactly how to push people's buttons and this was a perfect example of that. He knew that most blue-collar people have that better off, stuffy type boss who they hate and he had Austin go out there and feud with him over the next two years and the people loved it.

Vince is one of the best heels of all time. He has had such a notable impact on the wrestling world today and to this day remains on our television screens cutting good promos, even over a decade since that night in Montreal when the character was spawned. Vince gets a 10/10 from me.

 

[Takerfan93]

Definately a 10.

The best heel of all time in my opinion. I have always loved every second he is on television. I always have preferred having him on Raw every week than general managers. He has so much charisma when he walks out from the curtain and when he talks you want to listen. The guy is a natural. I admire how he has constantly pushed the limits no matter how much stick he has got from the snobs who look down on wrestling. Everything about his character is pure gold. I have loved all his storylines except for the Hornswoggle one, I still really wish we had got to see that death storyline play out as it was going to bring the whole McMahon family back as television characters which I would have loved, but obviously the Benoit tragedy prevented that. The whole illegitamate son storyline was going to be huge as well with Mr Kennedy but as we all know they changed it to Hornswoggle because it got leaked early, which was dissappointing as it was going to be a huge angle to make up for the death storyline being called off. Since then there haven't been any attempts at huge angles for McMahon, of course there was Bret Hart but that was a different situation.

I think in all honesty that the character lost some of its luster after the whole Donald Trump, WM23 storyline. It has always seemed to me that once the hair was gone so was the spark. I definately think he needs the old haircut back, it is part of the image he is known for.

 

[andjbock]

IMO the best ever. He the reason Stone Cold was so effective. Without Mr. McMahon to rebel against, Austin wouldn't have had the charisma to engage the fans.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

This character has to be without a doubt, one of the biggest heels WWE has ever seen..he was just such a prick...and because he was the 'boss'..it added to the gimmick in a big way...
He made guys with this gimmick..people popular...e.g. Austin...he made Austin what he was...the only man to stunner the boss and it was because of this...

 

[sergcavs]

9 or even a 10. Mr. Mcmahon is one of the greatest heels of all time. I know this because when he was a heel and he screwed bret and screwed with austin I HATED him. I just wanted someone to destroy him. He's a great heel. He knows EXACTLY how to get everyone to hate him and he made me hate him so I think he's one of the greatest heels of all time

 

[ccotreau1]

I would give it a 10 out of 10 if we didn't see what we saw in 2006-2007ish (storyline with DX). But we did, and that brought the character down a bit for me. So I will give him a 9 out of 10 based off the earlier stuff everyone has said in regards to Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Corporation stuff.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

You know, I hadn't really thought about it, but Vince McMahon has probably put more people over than any other guy in WWE history. I mean, if you think about it, he has nothing to gain from making himself look good. His check isn't written by the popularity of his character, and he doesn't have to work to the top to be a main event player. Vince McMahon makes money when his company is doing well, and the more over his superstars are, the better the business is doing.

The Vince character is at it's best, and this is just my opinion, when he's playing the maniacal villain boss. I love the Vince McMahon that comes out to assert his authority and put down anybody that tries to make a name for themselves. I'm glad that over the years Vince has chosen his roles well, and he's not been all over television consistently since his debut to the company. Now, Vince has a ton of flaws just like everybody else, but he has more to gain by putting other people over, and I think he realizes that. Vince is the ultimate "jobber" because he doesn't have to worry about his place on the card. Guys like John Morrison and Kofi Kingston are in that spot that they have to do anything necessary to push into the main event. Vince can be Vince. His job is secure no matter what. Yeah, a lot of times he buries people for weeks or months at a time, but eventually (and usually on a huge stage) Vince allows the other guy to beat the holy hell out of him. Don't try to mention the whole Montreal Screwjob thing...everybody knows there's a lot of different people to blame, and that wasn't meant to put anybody over so much as it was to screw people over.

If you put aside all the business dealings, character developments, and backstage things Vince McMahon was in charge of over the years, he's still a genius. His character helped put over the likes of Steve Austin, the Rock, Mic Foley, Kurt Angle, Triple H, Brock Lesnar, Shawn Michaels, and God (haha). Sure, all of these people would have been great regardless, but would they be the legends and hall of famers that this business will never forget. Mr. McMahon would always come in, bury these guys, and in the end let them beat him to a bloody pulp, for the sake of the ratings.

However, there's a bad side to the Vince character as well. Any time he turns face or tries to do this in-between thing, like he's doing now, it doesn't turn out well. Whenever the angle focusses on the character of Vince, and not the other guy involved, it doesn't work out well. Fans love to hate Vince, and they need to keep him a heel jackass. He's the boss, and everyone knows it. Taking into account all the stupid angles I think he's been in, I would give the Vince McMahon character a more-than-solid 9/10. No, people don't mark out for Vince like they do when Rock, Hogan, or Austin walk down that ramp. But, then again, Vince created Rock and Austin, and immortalized Hulkamania.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

It's easily a 10, Ferbian.

The Mr.Mcmahon character was such a great villain. His rivalry with Steve Austin was classic, and you truly wanted to hate this man. The Mr. McMahon character is something you couldn't script any better. The real life boss of the WWF/WWE reeking havoc on his employees.....it was(and still is sometimes) just great.

Vince is very good on the mic, and he is a perfect heel. He can draw an enormous amount of heat from a live crowd, and he played a crucial part in helping get some of WWE's top guys over.

 

[Viola Moonlight]

Vince McMahon is well deserving of being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame for his contribution to professional wrestling as an on-screen character alone. Recently when McMahon walks into the building people cheer for him out of respect for what he has done, but when he plays in character he has garnered quite the amount of heel heat that many wish they could receive. And yet, despite being very well know and a viable threat, he has done the job to put over so much talent through the years.

Anyone who stands besides Vince McMahon automatically got the same reaction he did and every time someone goes to face him they get the opposite reaction (whether it be face or heel heat) 95% of the time. There have been some special projects that don't go as well as they should have (like Drew McIntyre), but eventually it does work with the rub... but then again, the last couple of years he hasn't had the same impact as he did a long time ago. It's slipped down a bit, but the gimmick still work well.

So I'd give it a 9.5 at least. Unfortunately no-one is simply flawless and could warrant a perfect 10 and beyond (excluding LayCool of course. Whoa, whoa, slow down... it was a reference not an actual rating, damn)... though Mr. McMahon's gimmick could very well be close to infinity. You know what? Fuck it, let's give him 9.9 recurring.

 

[The People's Peep]

I think I have to go with the majority here and give this a 10/10. But then again, there is no other choice. This is one of, if not, the best heel gimmick in wrestling.

The funny thing about the gimmick is that its relatively easy. He has all the power in the WWE. He's the owner, the boss. Thats all there is to it. Have him screw over a face such as Stone Cold and absolute mega heat is achieved. I know that as a kid watching wrestling when I was young, I HATED him.

All of the mannerisms of the gimmick worked so well together as well. First, theres the walk. It has to be the most famous strut I can think of and it just screams of "Look at me. I'm the boss and you cant touch me". Then there's the voice. He has a very low, sort of raspy voice. When Vince screams or raises his voice, it is very intimidating. Finally, there's the build. For a guy his age, you really dont expect him to be built like he was. When he would come down to the ring for one of his rare matches, he would do his walk down the ramp in black pants and a black tank top. It was very intimidating. When you add all of it together, it makes a great heel gimmick.

 

[The Viper Orton]

I would go with 9.5 or something like that. Has he stopped before screwing himself against DX as his gimmick with "team spirit" was his downfall. I mean I loved his match against hogan in Wrestle Mania and I was annoyed he didn't win. I loved his feud with shawn michaels before triple H arrived, and I actually enjoyed his feud with DX, (but shouldve not taken the falling shit and that is y its not a perfect 10). I always thought one of the best angles ever where "Kiss my ass club" !! he is great and his gimmick other than his power backstage may be one of the top reasons That the likes of Austin and the Rock where named the best 2 in history

 

[Hazardous]

im with you 100% on this one Ferbian. a total, complete, no questions asked 10/10

anyone who says that vince had "lost it" with the DX feud, no, what he did was sell it PERFECT so more people would cheer for them, and more kids would buy the T-shirts and little glow sticks. Vince put them over (as if they needed it..really now) more then anyone else could have. and as for austin, rocky..and the endless list of others that he build JUST with his on-screen character alone? yes, he is for sure the BEST heel gimmick in history, even better than Bishoff was in WCW. hell, vince beat him up too. haha. When vince Mcmahon comes out, be it heel, or not so heel, you see people in the arena bowing to him, there is a damn good reason why.