The Disturbing Truth Behind The Worst Month Of Vince McMahon’s Life

bobby heenan shawn michaels vince mcmahon
WWE.com

A go-home angle that featured Jerry Lawler decking Owen Hart to distract Bret in his WWE Championship match against Yokozuna was already in the can when 'The King' got his own knock from the police just a week or so before Vince McMahon himself.

The Survivor Series co-main eventer was charged with one count of second-degree rape (statutory, not forced), three counts of second-degree sodomy, and one count of harassing a witness. Big f*cking charges, big f*cking words, and big f*cking problems for both Lawler and the frazzled Chairman.

A incredibly complex case best left for another article altogether, the charges were dropped the victim amidst some controversy around the legitimacy of the claims, but it would be six months before 'The King' could be anywhere near the company's output again. A half-year of story was flushed and hushed by the scandal as WWE scrambled to slot a villain in Lawler's place. McMahon - as he would multiple times over the years - turned to a controversy-riddled Shawn Michaels.

'HBK' had been suspended and stripped of his Intercontinental Title months earlier for failing a steroid test. It's a failure he disputed then and still does to this day, but the cloud of suspicion hung over his head, not least with performance-enhancing-drugs being such a hot-button subject in light of McMahon's other pressing problems. Taking the punishment on the chin, Michaels was brought back the week before the show to shoot a tacked-on angle where he crudely bantered off the Harts, before assuming the role in the match itself with masked knights he barely even attempted to force chemistry with.

A money payoff never materialised, the elimination match a reflection of all of Vince McMahon's problems in a microcosm. He surely must have felt the squeeze of these outside forces at the time, but much internal strife was adding to the pile - some from two megastars he'd been batting back for years.

CONT'D...

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Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett