10 WWE Ideas EVEN Vince McMahon Thought Were Too Sleazy

6. Heidenreich Becomes A Nazi

Goldust Mandy Rose
WWE.com

There's Heidenreich pictured above reading from 'Mein Kampf'.

Or at least it might have been, had Vince McMahon approved former creative writer Dan Madigan's 2004 pitch: the pitch to repackage Heidenreich as a cryogenically frozen nazi stormtrooper resusciated by the Jewish son of a holocaust survivor, Paul Heyman.

The best thing about this rejected idea is that it in all likelihood punished what was a profoundly lazy thought process.

"Heidenreich..."

"Reich...."

"Third Reich..."

"I've got it! Let's make 'im a nazi!"

Had Heidenreich thawed out in 2020 and logged on to Twitter, he might have been quite happy. But alas he did not, because this was a spectacularly offensive idea so bad that it offended those in the power walls of Titan Towers, a place that ain't f*ckin' Disneyland, that's for sure. What a gigantic yikes. The Muhammad Hassan character was created a year later, so perhaps they were disgusted at how passé the distaste was?

Vince McMahon was famously so appalled that he left the room in disgust, and didn't return that day. He might have just been a bit hungry.

Can't rule that out.

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!