10 WWE Wrestlers Who Raised Their Hands To Vince McMahon

Say what you like about Vince McMahon, but there's absolutely no denying it: he's completely nuts.

During a rare SmackDown appearance earlier this week, the 72-year-old Chairman of the Board took a blood-curdling headbutt from Kevin Owens, busting his head open the "hard way" in the process. There are fans who insist Vince has long since lost touch with the wrestling business, but it's moments like this that remind us he's prepared to do almost anything in the aid of helping one of his stars get over.

And Vince doesn't let just anyone spill his blood. In fact, it's probably as good a sign as any that you're in the company's good books if you've been entrusted to throw him around the ring for a few minutes. By attacking the chairman, KO has joined an elite group of WWE wrestlers, many of whom went on to enjoy the biggest push of their wrestling careers after making an enemy of the boss.

And that, you imagine, has as much to do with macho-man Vince being personally impressed with anyone with the audacity to go in stiff as it does the kayfabe rub of being associated with the company's leading on-screen authority figure.

Randy Orton's 2009 attack on the Chairman of the Board was perhaps the one most reminiscent of KO's in terms of brutality.

Having just insulted Stephanie (which is traditionally Vince's job), the 'Viper' - who had recently debuted his all-new "Voices" entrance music, signalling a disturbing shift in character - shared a heated confrontation with her father in the week leading up to the Royal Rumble.

After slapping a microphone out of Vince's hand (somehow with enough force that he fell to his knees), Orton proceeded to punt him in the head, a move that kept the then-63-year-old off television for two months, before he returned to beat the living snot out of Ted DiBiase.

As for Orton, he won the Rumble and then saw his dreams shattered by erstwhile Evolution leader Triple H. Again.