15. Vince McMahon Arm Wrestles Mr. America & Zach Gowen (2003)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqqfMaxU0f8 It's an easy-to-argue point that Vince McMahon's on-screen character was never more ludicrous than it was in 2003. Oiled up and jacked to the gills, there's Vince McMahon being seconded by Sable while tormenting a scrawny one-legged kid who has been befriended by Hulk Hogan in a mask. The idea is that if Vince McMahon beats Zach Gowen in an arm wrestling match that Gowen loses his job. Of course, this is to build sympathy towards McMahon wrestling Mr. "Hulk Hogan" America, so it's all ultimately a wash anyway. Vince McMahon playing a taunting 50-plus year old high school bully ("this is only about your dreams, you're not getting nervous, are ya") is more fun than it ever deserves to be, and after tormenting and beating Gowen, he kicks him in his prosthetic leg ("you gonna cry, Zach?" is particularly golden). This is that kind of humor that a) makes you embarrassed at yourself for laughing so hard and b) likely completely embarassed to be a wrestling fan. It's also the kind of humor that makes Vince McMahon amazing, too.
Marcus K. Dowling
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Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
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