Ranking Every Incarnation Of The Mr McMahon Character From Worst To Best
1. The Boss
Planting the seeds of his disdain for Stone Cold Steve Austin, McMahon emphatically delivered an 'Oh Hell No' into Kevin Kelly's microphone when the intrepid interviewer asked the gaffer point blank if he wanted 'The Rattlesnake' to be WWE Champion after the transcendent WrestleMania 14.
With Austin's unstoppable rise and Mike Tyson's defection to D-Generation-X, McMahon's growing interest in the actual result was fairly low on the agenda, but if it could only bubble under in the build-up, the explosive nature in which it boiled over just 24 hours removed from Austin's ascension set the table for the storyline that would categorically cement the new Champion as the biggest star in wrestling.
Many commentators had oversimplified its success as an anti-establishment worker vs boss conflict, but the scripting always ran deeper. Vince wasn't just an oppressive malevolent boss, he was also a visible and feared manipulator. Austin had regularly to rely on his physical weapons, but it was in occasionally outwitting or outsmarting the Chairman that made him such a credible rival.
Leaping over the various hurdles and bear-traps McMahon lay in front of him, the 'Toughest S.O.B's mental dexterity fleshed out the character, and that character's natural chemistry with the exceptional Mr McMahon persona afforded both men the opportunity to drive the company forward as the Vince/Hulk Hogan pairing had just over a decade earlier.