101 Shocking Wrestling Plans You Won't Believe Almost Happened
4. McMahon Throwing Hornswoggle Off A Bridge
A lot had to happen in order for this pitch to get rejected.
Vince's limo blew up, then WWE changed their Linda McMahon murder plot once the Chris Benoit story gripped everybody for the worst of reasons. In the process, Mr. Kennedy's own issues meant he couldn't play the role of McMahon's illegitimate son anyway, so they moved on to Hornswoggle instead. An inspired choice, eh? Ahem.
Ex-WWE pen Brian Gewirtz once told a story about what was supposed to happen shortly after all of that. Vince was going to stuff Swoggle into a pillowcase (?!), put him in the back of his car, drive over a bridge and then toss the little guy over the side to his kayfabe death. In fairness, even that'd have to get jazzed up if it hoped to match anything Lucha Underground booked.
The mere thought of McMahon laughing maniacally as he chucked Hornswoggle out of a car window off a bridge is a mental trip. How writers got from that to Swoggle becoming Finlay's boy instead is up for debate. They were quite visibly making all of this up as they went along, and not just because the first draft (Vince's death 'whodunit') had to be changed.
Swoggle would become a pint-sized emergency panic button for WWE several times. We've already analysed his 'mob boss' potential and what was supposed to happen with the 'Anonymous Raw General Manager' saga. What a story this lil' dude has to tell about his time in the company. It was nuts.