10 Best WWE Gimmicks Vince McMahon Had Nothing To Do With

8. Velveteen Dream

"Call Me Up, Vince".

That was the message airbrushed across the tights of Velveteen Dream at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn in August 2018. It was an insider nod from the wrestler to fan adulation. If they loved his work in WWE's in-house developmental territory, then imagine what he could do under the bright lights of Raw and SmackDown.

Sadly, the truthful answer is probably "get ruined". WWE's success ratio with NXT call-ups is frighteningly low, and nobody wants to see Dream become the next Tyler Breeze. He's too talented for that sh*t, and has consistently shown an other-wordly mix of talent, creativity and kinship with the hardcore wrestling audience.

It's well-reported by Meltzer and others that McMahon has little to do with NXT. That's Triple H's baby, and so it's easy to imagine that Vince deserves sod all praise for the Velveteen character. The gimmick's prosperity is (surely) down to the man playing it and Trips' rubber-stamped consent to deviate from the norm and explore natural imagination.