10 Shocking WWE Raw Moments You Never Saw Coming
4. Vince McMahon’s Death (11 June, 2007)
The aftermath of this incident has erased its initial shock value, as the Chris Benoit tragedy forced WWE to immediately retcon the angle and abort plans to use it to introduce a fourth McMahon (Roderick, Vince's real-life brother) into programming.
The angle unfolded at the end of the night. Vince was pacing his way through the backstage area, passing a speechless group of midcarders and Divas as he went, having been ritually humiliated and broken down throughout what was supposed to be his own "Appreciation Night."
The Chairman's literal kayfabe death march took him to his limousine, and he slipped inside. A few seconds later, with the camera panning out, McMahon's car exploded into a ball of flames.
WWE.com would publish a write-up reporting an obvious wrestling angle as fact, and unfortunately, mainstream media picked up on this. It earned considerable coverage, and the company's stock price briefly sunk as hordes of investors presumed Vince had perished. The promotion later cleared the air by stating that no harm had actually came to Vince, that his character's "presumed death" was part of a storyline, and that all was well outwith their kayfabe world.