10 Most Shocking Vince McMahon Controversies

In the late nineties, after a multi-decade contract fell through and under the urging of Vince McMahon himself, Bret Hart was ready to leave WWF for WCW, but at the time he was still WWF Champion. Survivor Series 1997 was Bret’s final match with the company, and he was scheduled to face his longtime professional and personal rival Shawn Michaels, and was expected to drop the title on his way out.

The one problem was that Bret refused to lose the title to his rival in Montreal, and despite all of WWF’s efforts, they couldn’t convince him. He did have reasonable creative control written into his contract, after all. 

After a night of brainstorming ideas, it was decided they would simply legitimately end the match early and crown Michaels the champion whether Bret liked it or not, and when Shawn Michaels locked in Bret’s signature Sharpshooter the referee called for the bell, naming the Heartbreak Kid the new WWF Champion.

Bret immediately knew McMahon was to blame, and went on a tear, trashing the ringside area, spitting in McMahon’s face and writing the words WCW in the air with his finger. He knocked Vince out in the locker room afterwards for good measure. Whether you believe McMahon was right or not in his decision, it’s undoubtedly one of the most controversial booking decisions in wrestling history.