10 WWE Wrestlers Vince McMahon Loved At First Sight
5. Lars Sullivan
Lars Sullivan was presumably little more than an 8x10 picture forcibly snatched from Triple H's hand when he was granted the opportunity that could change his life.
A passable work-in-progress on NXT, Sullivan had been carefully protected for the most part after a couple of singles clunkers with reliable hands highlighted how much help he still required. And good thing too! NXT, in a continued effort to be wrestling's coolest brand, has neglected the joy and hope that used to come with taking unknown quantities and making them stars. Sullivan could take as long as he needed to become a new kind of pro wrestling monster...
...until Vince caught wind of his existence.
Bundled together with Heavy Machinery, Lacey Evans, Nikki Cross and EC3, Lars Sullivan made his way to the main roster after months of vignettes pitching him as the company's next terrifying monster, because it's all McMahon knows. What McMahon didn't know was a genuine mental health concern - something Sullivan admitted to when he simply wasn't able to debut as planned. The Chairman stuck with him. What McMahon also didn't know was the damage caused by being problematic on the internet in your past, and Sullivan was also that. None of this was ideal...but McMahon didn't know that.
Injury shortly after his debut relegated him back to the sidelines, and a 2020 comeback was dropped ahead of his dismissal. That he saw more spotlight than three quarters of the Raw main roster in that time serves as reminder of all he had. And all that the sub-six footers never will.