10 Times Wrestling Opened The Forbidden Door

5. Vince McMahon And John Cena Appear At An Indie Show

Tony Khan Vince McMahon
WWE

Vince McMahon seems to despise independent wrestling.

It is a bug to be squashed, a bug that does too many high spots, doesn't know where the hard camera is, and can't recite pages upon pages of exposition through memory. The bug must be removed from the scene, dressed in a grey PROPERTY OF WWE PERFORMANCE CENTER t-shirt, made to stare at its antennae in turmoil at the bug it has become, and made to wait until it is 36 years old to win its first five RAW matches by disqualification.

Which makes the footage of John Cena giving Vince McMahon an AA at a low-level indie (Chaotic) in 2007 all the more astonishing. Cena served as guest ref, and was bumped with a belt shot by the heel with whom Vince temporarily aligned before giving the people in attendance what would be a tall tale to tell, had it not actually happened. Maybe Vince is actually an OK guy after all.

That, or Cena's brother was involved in the police department that helped this show raise money for charity, and he wanted to keep the golden boy sweet.

Either way, it was quite nice!

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!