10 Worst WWE Moments Of 2008

6. McMahon Million Dollar Mania Ends In Disaster

Randy Orton Mike Adamle WWE 2008
WWE.com

Vince McMahon once declared (probably with a trademark grin and laugh combo) that he 'couldn't be on TV if he was dead'. That led to the limo explosion angle from 2007, but McMahon quickly had to reappear and talk about scripted entertainment/kayfabe deaths once agonising details about the brutal Chris Benoit double murder and suicide tragedy came out.

Approx 12 months later, Vinnie Mac was back at it again. He introduced 'Million Dollar Mania', a PR stunt that saw McMahon giving away oodles of his own cash in a sweepstakes competition if fans who entered answered the phone live on air. This lasted for around 3 weeks or so, and it chewed up an insane amount of television time in the process. 

Seeking a shocking end, Vince booked some staging to collapse on the 23 June Raw. He was crushed during the segment, and memorably cried out to Triple H by calling him Paul and revealing that he couldn't feel his own legs. It was the 2005 Royal Rumble all over again! Not really.

Fans were less than convinced by all of this. It was the second time in a year that WWE had tried to kill off Vince's onscreen character with a big set piece explosion, after all, but the 'Million Dollar Mania' stunt lacked the impact of the limousine moment. On top of all that (or buried underneath the wreckage with Vince), those ‘Million Dollar Mania’ skits were dry and a total waste of airtime when it could've gone on building towards PPV matches at Night Of Champions.

Nah, why concentrate on Edge vs. Batista or John Cena vs. Triple H when McMahon can brag about being rich instead?

Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.