10 WWE Gimmicks That Started Elsewhere
8. Mr McMahon
Things couldn't have gone better for Vince McMahon at the start of 1998.
Spending big on Mike Tyson proved to be his shrewdest gamble since the original WrestleMania, Stone Cold Steve Austin's unassailable rise wasn't halted by his serious neck injury the prior summer, and Shawn Michaels' political poison was removed from the locker room wholesale after March's vitally important 'Show Of Shows'.
When it came to finding his next big heel, all he had to do was look in the mirror. Especially if that mirror was facing a television with WCW Nitro airing on it.
The reveal of Eric Bischoff as the New World Order's inside man in late 1996 was an inspired way to maintain the group's total dominance going into the year ahead, not least considering the plans 'Easy E' had for the gang longterm. In contrast, McMahon never saw himself as a heel, even following the Montreal Screwjob, and had to be convinced by his inner circle that the public might view him as the villain of the piece.
As a non-wrestler, he was even better. McMahon gave Kevin Kelly an almighty "OH HELL NO!" shortly before WrestleMania XIV when asked if he wanted Austin to win the WWE Championship. It was 11 months before the pair had a singles pay-per-view bout to pay some of the hatred off.