10 Wildest Wrestling Hoaxes Fans Actually Fell For

4. Vince McMahon Buying Newcastle United Football Club

WCW Sting Thumb
WWE/NUFC

There might have been a kernel of something to the story, in that Shane McMahon might have entertained the idea of leading or supporting a consortium bid. 

That wasn’t hyperbolic enough for a media all too happy to run with a story that made too much sense, even if it was complete b*llocks. Newcastle United Football Club was, at the time - around 2014 - a circus. Vince was the “ideal” prospective buyer. 

He probably wouldn’t have taken NUFC to Champions League glory. In fact, there’s no need to qualify that with “probably”; Vince was a miserable failure at every non-wrestling venture he ever attempted. He’d have signed strikers and then benched them if they didn’t score immediately. He’d have signed star players from other teams for vast sums of money, then crapped his pants in a tantrum when rivals did the exact same thing. In his ill-advised attempts to make “soccer” more like wrestling, something he’d attempted with the XFL, he’d have played the dreaded celebration music whenever Newcastle scored a goal. Taking it further, he’d have played diarrhoea sound effects whenever the opposition missed. 

In the end, NUFC actually was taken over by an evil entity in 2021 - just not Vince. 

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!