12. Vince McMahon Found "Not Guilty", July 22, 1994
One of the ways WCW managed to get ahead was because Vince took his eye off the ball. The WWF Chairman was indicted in 1993 on charges of distributing steroids to his wrestlers. Essentially he was being called a drug dealer. The scandal engulfed the WWF, leading to Vince stepping down temporarily while wife Linda ran the company. The other thing that had to go was muscle bound wrestlers - meaning as a result champions like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels emerged. Was this a positive change for the business? In some ways yes. Michaels in particular was the best wrestler ever, but his look didn't draw. Muscular stars were marketable, WWF business fell off a cliff. The trial was a PR disaster. McMahon's image has never really recovered, with accusations of sleaziness and shallowness still following him around to this day. Casual fans still think WWE is a 'roided up freak show. Nevertheless, McMahon was acquitted of all charges. Officially he never provided steroids to his talent.
