10 Most Intense Performers In Wrestling History
3. Mr. McMahon
The Mr. McMahon character was perhaps the most genius creation he himself came up with.
He turned - or was turned - heel in the aftermath of the Montreal Screwjob in 1997, and capitalised on the nuclear heat by updating the heel character he first experimented with in the USWA territory. Whereas in Memphis, the embryonic character was all quiet menace, his feud with Stone Cole Steve Austin revealed the true face of Vince. That true face was later broadcast on the 1999 documentary Beyond The Mat, in which Vince interviewed Darren "Droz" Drozdov as if he was in the commentary booth. "He's gonna, he's comin' to puke!" he roared, in the very real confines of his Titan Tower office.
His hatred of Austin was so visceral that it seemed to physically manifest itself as rabies; on the St. Valentine's Day Massacre go-home episode of RAW, McMahon dispatched his Corporation stable to weaken Austin ahead of their match. Held down in the corner, Austin was exposed to McMahon's saliva-dripping, red-faced fury as he practically lost his voice roaring "You son of a b*tch!" ad nauseam.
Perhaps the greatest example of McMahon's intensity were the vignettes in which he threatened to unleash the "poison" of the New World Order in early 2002. His distraught acting was so powerful that you can almost believe McMahon himself believed that he was killing his creation. Vince's massively hammy line readings did so much to underscore the intensity of his act, too; the way he uttered the word "poison" was the embodiment of his inimitable delivery.