10 Moments Vince McMahon Admitted Defeat With The Fans

8. Replacing Diesel With Workhorse Champions

As Diesel hurled entrant after entrant over the top rope to an increasingly positive response from the live crowd at 1994's Royal Rumble, Vince McMahon on commentary gushed over the big rookie. Suddenly, a new superstar was on the horizon, and McMahon was ready to strap a rocket ship to him by the end of the year.

Diesel (initially hired to play bodyguard for Shawn Michaels), beat Bob Backlund in seconds at MSG to become WWF Champion that November. He'd hold the belt for just shy of one full year before dropping it to Bret Hart at Survivor Series 1995.

The change showed McMahon's acknowledgement that his fan base craved a faster, more athletic brand of champion.

For at least a year, until Sycho Sid won it in November '96, Vince gave up on the big man formula and went with the likes of Hart and Michaels as his torchbearer. Despite the fact this had happened before post-Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior, it felt more notable in the mid-'90s due to HBK's ascent.