8 WWE Stars Who Worked (By Not Working)

3. Vince McMahon

Vince McMahon Bret Screwed Bret
WWE.com

Vince McMahon never intended to become a villainous on-air character who went toe-to-toe with Steve Austin. In fact, the entire purpose of Vince's "Bret Screwed Bret" speech right after Survivor Series 1997 was to absolve McMahon of any and all blame for the 'Montreal Screwjob'.

McMahon believed the WWF audience would side with him, not a WCW-bound Bret Hart. That didn't happen though, and the boos were audible any time Vince appeared on television after he had legitimately ripped the WWF Title from an outgoing stalwart like Hart.

By casting himself so innocently and expecting loyal WWF followers to rally around him, Vince accidentally turned himself into one of wrestling's biggest heels of the time. People didn't want to forgive McMahon for so callously discarding Bret.

In one fell swoop, Vince McMahon went from babyface announcer to the infamous 'Mr. McMahon' character that has provided the template for every heel authority figure since.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.