History YMMV / VinceMcMahon

* NarmCharm: His [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLBUd3r1y3I Power Walk]] looks absolutely silly with him strutting down the ring while swinging his arms and bobbing his head in an exaggerated way. Yet the fans feel that this fits the Mr. [=McMahon=] character perfectly as it shows his confidence and insanity while not caring how others think of him.

* HarsherInHindsight:

** On the January 24th, 2002 [=SmackDown=], Mr. [=McMahon=], having lost control of the [=WWF=] to someone else and blindly certain that [[OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight they're going to run the company into the ground because no one but him could possibly do it right]], ranted into the camera about his plans to instead kill it himself so no one else can have it through collusion and selling out to a hostile foreign enemy: the [=nWo=]. On January 6th, 2023, having been previously ousted from the company, Vince [=McMahon=] elbowed his way back onto the board of the [=WWE=], forcing the resignations of several senior board members who might've objected including his own daughter, and began to attempt to sell the company off and/or take it private so he would no longer be beholden to anyone else, allegedly because he was blindly certain no one else could do it right and/or would rather professional wrestling die (through a sale to the Saudis or some other big foreign entity that doesn't understand the business) than lose control of it. Many comparisons were made to that specific promo when the news broke of his return. [[note]] Ironically, the aforementioned move ended up [[GoneHorriblyRight costing him his creative control permanently]], as when [=WWE=] was bought by Endeavor, CEO Ari Emmanuel removed him from all creative control in October 2023 after citing the aforementioned antics as to why [=WWE=]'s new media rights were lower than expected, leaving Vince KickedUpstairs in the company he vowed to control. Another misconduct ([[https://www.wsj.com/business/vince-mcmahon-accused-of-sex-trafficking-by-wwe-staffer-he-paid-to-keep-quiet-0b19b21c?mod=hp_lead_pos2 of sex trafficking and rape]]) would lead to his ''second'' [[https://deadline.com/2024/01/vince-mcmahon-resigns-rape-lawsuit-tko-group-holding-sex-trafficking-1235805961/ resignation]], ensuring that any remaining control he had over [=WWE=] will be gone, perhaps for good.[[/note]]

* NarmCharm: His [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLBUd3r1y3I Power Walk]] looks absolutely silly with him strutting down the ring while swinging his arms and bobbing his head in an exaggerated way. Yet the fans feel that this fits the Mr. [=McMahon=] character perfectly as it shows his confidence while not caring how others think of him.

* AssPull: The reveal that Vince [=McMahon=] himself was the "higher power" in charge of the Ministry of Darkness as part of an elaborate scheme to strip Steve Austin of the WWF title was a dramatic one that cemented his status as the BigBad of his own company and the ultimate ArchEnemy of the top babyface in the hottest era of wrestling in the history of the company. It was also ''rock stupid'' and made absolutely no sense given prior events and motivations of everyone involved, and [[FranchiseOriginalSin arguably produced, or at least reinforced the mindset that surprising audiences with "swerves" was more important than good storytelling, which caused the downfall and destruction of WCW and the slow degeneration of [=WWF/E=] storytelling for the next thirty years]].

*** [[BadassDecay BUILDING NEW STARS]][[note]]Vince would often claim to want to elevate new talent, but would constantly get angry with them for no good reason and spitefully bury them while coming back to a tiny core of aging personal favorites instead, ''especially'' if the audience he increasingly came to hate and resent started to organically get behind them without his say-so. This has held true since before the Attitude Era; if Vince wants new starts it's always on his terms, not the fans'.[[/note]]

*** [[BadassDecay BUILDING NEW STARS]][[note]]Vince would often claim to want to elevate new talent, but would constantly get angry with them for no good reason and spitefully bury them while coming back to a tiny core of aging personal favorites instead, ''especially'' if the audience he increasingly came to hate and resent started to organically get behind them without his say-so.[[/note]]

%%** His [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLBUd3r1y3I Power Walk]].

* LoveToHate: His Mr. [=McMahon=] persona... oh, ''so'' much. [[EvilGenius Diabolical]], [[CardCarryingVillain conniving to the point of cartoonish supervillainy]], but in his prime, he was possibly the best promo of his entire company, with many coming to tune in every week just to take joy in what ridiculously entertaining bit of supervillainy he'd be up to next.

* AssPull: The reveal that Vince [=McMahon=] himself was the "higher power" in charge of the Ministry of Darkness as part of an elaborate scheme to strip Steve Austin of the WWF title was a dramatic one that cemented his status as the BigBad of his own company and the ultimate ArchEnemy of the top babyface in the hottest era of wrestling in the history of the company. It was also ''rock stupid'' and made absolutely no sense given prior events and motivations of everyone involved, and [[FranchiseOriginalSin arguably led to the mindset that surprising audiences with "swerves" was more important than good storytelling, leading to the downfall and destruction of WCW and the slow degeneration of [=WWF/E=] storytelling for the next thirty years]].

%%** [on commentary] THAT'S GOTTA...THAT'S GOTTA BE {{Wrestling/KANE}}![[note]]A famous call during Kane's debut that followed Kane, and every other character named something like Kane, for the rest of his career whenever any of them did anything.[[/note]]
%%*** WHAT A MANEUVER![[note]]Vince famously could barely remember the names of any of the wrestling moves when he was taking care of commentary himself during the New Generation era, so he'd just generically gush over "maneuvers." This gained momentum when he started micromanaging his ring announcers later in his career, preventing ''them'' from listing the names of moves on the ground that he, a "genius," couldn't keep them straight so of course the mouth-breathing mongoloid fans who watch wrestling couldn't.[[/note]]
%%** Later, in the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression eras:
%%*** '''[[https://i.ytimg.com/vi/P7aQP4dXFgs/hqdefault.jpg INJECT THE POISON...]]'''[[note]]Vince pulled some... interesting facial expressions while shooting a set of promos depicting himself descending into madness over his blind certainty no one but him could possibly handle running his company and deciding to kill his own company through bringing in the nWo rather than give it up.[[/note]]
%%*** Usually on forums when something of old news or common knowledge is talked about by someone that thinks of it as brand new info a few people would throw something like "OH MY GOD! DID YOU GUYS SEE RAW!! VINCE MCMAHON'S LIMO JUST EXPLODED!!!".
%%*** [[Wrestling/MinistryOfDarkness IT'S ME AUSTIN!]] ([[Wrestling/JimRoss AW SONUVABITCH.]])[[note]]A famously dramatic but [[AssPull completely nonsensical]] plot twist that cemented [=McMahon=]'s famous heel character, and his status as the BigBad of WWF. Jim Ross's reaction is also beloved, because it can be read as either in-character anger and indignation over the deception or as JR breaking character to [[LampshadeHanging complain how stupid it is for Vince to be the higher power]].[[/note]]
%%*** EVEN MY FAMILY, EVEN MY IMMEDIATE FAMILY BOUGHT IT![[note]]An infamously awkward line from the same promo.[[/note]]
%%*** Vince didn't screw Wrestling/{{Bret|Hart}}. Bret screwed Bret. Later modified into "Austin screwed Austin," or, "The people screwed the people," or someasmuch. (Which became an AscendedMeme, which he used on Steve Austin's podcast when talking about the demise of the wrestling territories in the 1980's.)[[note]]The origin of Vince's heel turn came when he gave an interview intending to defend himself in the aftermath of the Wrestling/MontrealScrewjob. He instead came across as cold and unsympathetic, and then leaned into it, reduxing the Screwjob several times in storylines.[[/note]]
%%** The New Era...of memes. Most of these are the result of glimpses into how Vince talks and acts "behind the curtain," especially as his de-facto monopoly meant his booking could get increasingly eccentric and the writing started to cater to an effective audience of one:
%%*** [[VerbalTic DAMMIT PAL]][[note]]Apparently Vince is sometimes incapable of finishing a sentence without throwing a "dammit" and "pal" or two into it.[[/note]]
%%*** [[SeriousBusiness HAVE SOME FUN, DAMMIT]][[note]]A complaint thrown at wrestlers unhappy with their booking and/or scripts.[[/note]]
%%*** [[BerserkButton ACHOO]][[note]]Sneezing is about the only bodily function Vince hates because it's [[ControlFreak an involuntary one the body can't control]]. This may or may not include punishing wrestlers for sneezing in front of him and taking it as a sign of weakness.[[/note]]
%%*** [[BadassDecay BUILDING NEW STARS]][[note]]Vince would often claim to be wanting to elevate new talent, but would constantly get angry with them for no reason and bury them while coming back to a tiny core of aging personal favorites instead.[[/note]]
%%*** Vince does not have time for your [[http://i.imgur.com/9g1bAXk.gif flippy shit]].[[note]]Vince is famously PrejudicedForPecs and often delights in having smaller, more agile wrestlers squished and squashed by the huge brutes. He's also reliably skeptical when "big man" wrestlers move in an agile, acrobatic fashion, trying to get them to wrestle like lumbering giants instead.[[/note]]
%%*** Steve Austin's podcast gave us "Brass rings." That quote will probably [[http://33.media.tumblr.com/f989e9bda6248e8decf4f86c22a00723/tumblr_ng1qu2xanP1rnjfjfo1_r1_400.gif haunt him]] for a while.[[note]]Vince complained on the podcast that newer wrestlers don't stand up for themselves and take initiative like they used to, seemingly oblivious to [[CatchTwentyTwo his own habit of angrily burying and punishing younger wrestlers that do]].[[/note]]
%%*** [[GrumpyOldMan MILLENIALS!]][[note]]Vince complains about young people a lot, whether younger wrestlers or younger fans not appreciating his booking. If a wrestler suddenly starts complaining about millenials in a promo, it's a shoe-in that either Vince wrote it or the writers are trying to convince you he did.[[/note]]
%%*** [[BlatantLies IT'S GOOD SHIT]][[note]]Vince's frequent defense of his eternally unfunny comedy, often while trying to convince wrestlers to go along with it.[[/note]]
%%*** IT'S SO YOU[[note]]This one comes from the attempt to "Jedi Mind Trick" Wrestling/DeanAmbrose into going along with the set of distasteful promos that ultimately led to his exit from WWE as a company.[[/note]]

** The ''Monday Night Raw'' on June 26, 2006. As Wrestling/DGenerationX, Wrestling/ShawnMichaels and Wrestling/TripleH dumped crap all over Vince, Shane, and the [[Wrestling/DolphZiggler The Spirit Squad]]. While funny at the time, it hits differently given the allegations in 2024. In fact, Vince [=McMahon=]'s general weird fondness for ToilerHumor generally hits different in light of these allegations.

%%* MemeticMutation: Long before he became an infamously crazy old man, Vince was already a FountainOfMemes. Here is a list of highlights:

%%*** [[VerbalTic DAMMIT]][[note]]Apparently Vince is sometimes incapable of finishing a sentence without throwing a "dammit" or two into it.[[/note]]

%%*** [[VerbalTic Pal]].
%%*** IT'S SO YOU

%%*** EVEN MY FAMILY, EVEN MY IMMEDIATE FAMILY BOUGHT IT!
%%*** Vince didn't screw Wrestling/{{Bret|Hart}}. Bret screwed Bret. Later modified into "Austin screwed Austin," or, "The people screwed the people," or someasmuch. (Which became an AscendedMeme, which he used on Steve Austin's podcast when talking about the demise of the wrestling territories in the 1980's.)
%%** The New Era...of memes:
%%*** [[VerbalTic DAMMIT]]
%%*** [[SeriousBusiness HAVE SOME FUN, DAMMIT]]
%%*** [[BerserkButton ACHOO]]
%%*** [[BadassDecay BUILDING NEW STARS]]
%%*** Vince does not have time for your [[http://i.imgur.com/9g1bAXk.gif flippy shit]].
%%*** Steve Austin's podcast gave us "Brass rings." That quote will probably [[http://33.media.tumblr.com/f989e9bda6248e8decf4f86c22a00723/tumblr_ng1qu2xanP1rnjfjfo1_r1_400.gif haunt him]] for a while.
%%*** [[GrumpyOldMan MILLENIALS!]]
%%*** [[BlatantLies IT'S GOOD SHIT]]

%%*** '''[[https://i.ytimg.com/vi/P7aQP4dXFgs/hqdefault.jpg INJECT THE POISON...]]'''

%%*** [[Wrestling/MinistryOfDarkness IT'S ME AUSTIN!]] ([[Wrestling/JimRoss AW SONUVABITCH.]])

** The ''Monday Night Raw'' on June 26, 2006. As Wrestling/DGenerationX, Wrestling/ShawnMichaels and Wrestling/TripleH dumped crap all over Vince, Shane, and the [[Wrestling/DolphZiggler The Spirit Squad]]. While funny at the time, it hits differently given the allegations in 2024.

* MemeticMutation: %%(commenting out simple quotes; there needs more context)
%%** [on commentary] THAT'S GOTTA...THAT'S GOTTA BE {{Wrestling/KANE}}!
%%*** WHAT A MANEUVER!
%%** Attitude Era and Ruthless Aggresion spawned a few:

** On the January 24th, 2002 [=SmackDown=], Mr. [=McMahon=], having lost control of the [=WWF=] to someone else and blindly certain that [[OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight they're going to run the company into the ground because no one but him could possibly do it right]], ranted into the camera about his plans to instead kill it himself so no one else can have it through collusion and selling out to a hostile foreign enemy: the [=nWo=]. On January 6th, 2023, having been previously ousted from the company, Vince [=McMahon=] elbowed his way back onto the board of the [=WWE=], forcing the resignations of several senior board members who might've objected including his own daughter, and began to attempt to sell the company off and/or take it private so he would no longer be beholden to anyone else, allegedly because he was blindly certain no one else could do it right and/or would rather professional wrestling die (through a sale to the Saudis or some other big foreign entity that doesn't understand the business) than lose control of it. Many comparisons were made to that specific promo when the news broke of his return. [note] Ironically, the aforementioned move ended up [[GoneHorriblyRight costing him his creative control permanently]], as when [=WWE=] was bought by Endeavor, CEO Ari Emmanuel removed him from all creative control in October 2023 after citing the aforementioned antics as to why [=WWE=]'s new media rights were lower than expected, leaving Vince KickedUpstairs in the company he vowed to control. Another misconduct ([[https://www.wsj.com/business/vince-mcmahon-accused-of-sex-trafficking-by-wwe-staffer-he-paid-to-keep-quiet-0b19b21c?mod=hp_lead_pos2 of sex trafficking and rape]]) would lead to his ''second'' [[https://deadline.com/2024/01/vince-mcmahon-resigns-rape-lawsuit-tko-group-holding-sex-trafficking-1235805961/ resignation]], ensuring that any remaining control he had over [=WWE=] will be gone, perhaps for good.[/note]

** The Mr. [=McMahon=] heel character would often sexually harass and extort his female employees as part of angles and storylines. In 2022, Vince [=McMahon=] was forced into temporary retirement after the details leaked on a series of scandals involving, among other things, his doing exactly that in real life.
** On the January 24th, 2002 [=SmackDown=], Mr. [=McMahon=], having lost control of the [=WWF=] to someone else and blindly certain that [[OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight they're going to run the company into the ground because no one but him could possibly do it right]], ranted into the camera about his plans to instead kill it himself so no one else can have it through collusion and selling out to a hostile foreign enemy: the [=nWo=]. On January 6th, 2023, having been previously ousted from the company, Vince [=McMahon=] elbowed his way back onto the board of the [=WWE=], forcing the resignations of several senior board members who might've objected including his own daughter, and began to attempt to sell the company off and/or take it private so he would no longer be beholden to anyone else, allegedly because he was blindly certain no one else could do it right and/or would rather professional wrestling die (through a sale to the Saudis or some other big foreign entity that doesn't understand the business) than lose control of it. Many comparisons were made to that specific promo when the news broke of his return.
** Ironically, the aforementioned move ended up [[GoneHorriblyRight costing him his creative control permanently]], as when [=WWE=] was bought by Endeavor, CEO Ari Emmanuel removed him from all creative control in October 2023 after citing the aforementioned antics as to why [=WWE=]'s new media rights were lower than expected, leaving Vince KickedUpstairs in the company he vowed to control. Another misconduct ([[https://www.wsj.com/business/vince-mcmahon-accused-of-sex-trafficking-by-wwe-staffer-he-paid-to-keep-quiet-0b19b21c?mod=hp_lead_pos2 of sex trafficking and rape]]) would lead to his ''second'' [[https://deadline.com/2024/01/vince-mcmahon-resigns-rape-lawsuit-tko-group-holding-sex-trafficking-1235805961/ resignation]], ensuring that any remaining control he had over [=WWE=] will be gone, perhaps for good.

** On the January 24th, 2002 [=SmackDown=], Mr. [=McMahon=], having lost control of the [=WWF=] to someone else and blindly certain that [[OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight they're going to run the company into the ground because no one but him could possibly do it right]], ranted into the camera about his plans to instead kill it himself so no one else can have it through collusion and selling out to a hostile foreign enemy: the [=nWo=]. On January 6th, 2023, having been previously ousted from the company, Vince [=McMahon=] elbowed his way back onto the board of the [=WWE=], forcing the resignations of several senior board members who might've objected including his own daughter, and began to attempt to sell the company off and/or take it private so he would no longer be beholden to anyone else, allegedly because he was blindly certain no one else could do it right and/or would rather professional wrestling die (through a sale to the Saudis or some other big foreign entity that doesn't understand the business) than lose control of it. Many comparisons were made to that specific promo when the news broke of his return.[[note]]Ironically, this move ended up [[GoneHorriblyRight costing him his creative control permanently]], as when WWE was bought by Endeavor, CEO Ari Emmanuel removed him from all creative control in October 2023 after citing the aforementioned antics as to why WWE's new media rights were lower than expected, leaving Vince KickedUpstairs in the company he vowed to control.[[/note]]

* MemeticMutation: (commenting out simple quotes; there needs more context)