10 Times WWE Totally Trolled You

As far as epic troll moves go, it doesn’t get much better than slapping your own company’s top championship around your waist. That’s exactly what Vince McMahon did in 1999, when, at the height of his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin, Vince booked himself to win the Royal Rumble. It took a great deal of help from the Corporation, but McMahon was seemingly heading to WrestleMania.

The Rock was WWE Champion at the time, however, and Vince didn’t want to wrestle his Corporation ally. Commissioner Shawn Michaels awarded the title shot to Austin, but Vince’s opportunity would come later that year. He defeated Triple H to capture the gold that September, but fortunately had the sense to vacate the title six days later on Raw.

Belts are supposed to be for the wrestlers, not the executives, and in handing the title to himself, Vince was slapping each and every one of his audience members right in the face. Unfortunately, Vince decided to repeat the act in 2007, when he held the ECW Championship for 35 stinking days, signalling the death of Paul Heyman’s former company. Both title victories felt like nothing more than a symbolic display of power over fans and wrestlers alike, and they rank among the most boneheaded decisions of McMahon’s career.