10 Shocking Vince McMahon Moments You Totally Don't Remember
1. Vince Shaves Eugene's Head
You might remember this - it was a key angle in the build towards WrestleMania 23 - but it doesn't really get discussed as the reprehensible television that it was.
Mr. McMahon, to the presumed delight of John Laurinaitis, cut the hair of a former developmental talent - but that talent was Eugene, who on the March 19, 2007 RAW drew the ire of Vince McMahon by accidentally pouring a drink on him. McMahon ordered Umaga to destroy the intellectually disabled character in what was a disturbing enough scene to begin with.
Eugene was WWE's attempt to create a sympathetic character, at least if you buy the copy, and for a time - a brief time - the gag was halfway inspired and not utterly horrific. Eugene outsmarted d*ckhead management types and various undercard goofs, like Jonathan Coachman. Then, WWE had a degree of conviction behind the pissy, defensive dot com articles that defended the character.
There was no defending this; McMahon, with Eugene a sporadic presence on WWE programming, could not possibly spin the angle as an underdog portrayal. He knew the novelty had worn off and abused what remained of the character to heat up Umaga Vs. Bobby Lashley.
Eugene was battered, strapped to a chair, choked, spun around, and pushed to the floor, and you were meant to think about how profoundly vulnerable and afraid he was in that moment. In any other context, this was a tasteless depiction of a distressing hate crime. In WWE, it was fuel for the yuk that was Vince going bald.
Eugene never did "fight against the odds" to beat Umaga, so WWE dot com can f*ck off.