Vince McMahon's Lovechild and WWE's 5 Most Scandalous Summer Storylines

It is often said that heat makes people crazy. 

For the WWE, the summer is an interesting time, as many of its craziest storylines seem to take place June through September. As the promotion comes out of its annual post-WrestleMania ratings slump, it often concocts a publicity stunt or scandal in order to get fans talking ahead of SummerSlam.

Sometimes it translates to record ratings like when Donald Trump bought Raw. Other times, it results in puzzling misfires, like when Vince McMahon literally gave away his own money so fans would watch. With Big Cass already turning heel, and Kurt Angle prepared to make a major announcement this Monday on Raw, 2017 has been no exception to the rule of the WWE booking scandalous summer storylines. 

5. Donald Trump Buys Raw

Back when the WWE publicly acknowledged Donald Trump’s existence, the bombastic President was involved in a brief-but-powerful, ratings-baiting storyline that would see the former television star purchase Raw. 

Of course, the announcement of Trump’s fake purchase caused confusion on Wall Street, as the WWE’s stock price took a hit, per Nikki Finke of Deadline.com (sound familiar?), but the ensuing commercial-free episode of Raw produced record ratings, per WWE.com. 

This summer storyline had promise, as Trump has always shown to be a ratings force for the WWE, but it wouldn’t last, as Trump promptly sold the show back to McMahon in a clumsy bargaining segment. 

4. Vince McMahon's Limo Explodes with the Chairman Still Inside

On June 11, 2007, Vince McMahon perished. 

At least this was the plan for a major summer storyline that kicked off when the Chairman, who had clearly lost control of his faculties, was blown up in his limousine at the conclusion of Raw. 

On a night billed as "Mr. McMahon Appreciation Night," an onslaught of testimonials from a slew of wresting personalities—including Bret Hart, who was still estranged with the company at the time—culminated in the apparent demise of Vincent Kennedy McMahon. 

As the WWE geared up for a whodunit storyline, paired with an obligatory faux press release, the WWE saw a slight decrease in the WWE's stock price due to confusion of whether McMahon's storyline death was real. It more than made up for any Wall Street woes with an explosion in online views (36.8 million, per Darren Rovell of CNBC, to be exact).  A memorial service was scheduled for McMahon on the June 25 edition of Raw. 

Unfortunately, due to the real-life tragedy of Chris Benoit's double murder-suicide, the entire storyline was scrapped, as McMahon was forced to break character to announce the tragic news as part of a tribute episode.

3. Vince McMahon's Lovechild Revealed to Be None Other Than Hornswoggle

As the WWE reeled from the sobering news of the Chris Benoit tragedy, Raw tried to rebound with its second major storyline of Summer ’07. 

This time around, the mystery revolved around Vince McMahon's illegitimate son. The WWE spent weeks teasing names such as Batista, Kennedy and even Jonathan Coachman. 

On a hotly anticipated Raw on September 10, 2007, Vince McMahon invited the entire locker room for public deposition. The segment was a slow, suspenseful process of elimination that gradually cleared the ring of McMahon’s potential seeds. 

In the end, McMahon’s son was paid off to be none other than Hornswoggle.

As it would turn out, this would be yet another storyline where the best-laid plans were derailed by real-life controversy. Ken Kennedy, originally pegged to be McMahon’s son, per James Caldwell of PWTorch, had been suspended for failing the WWE’s wellness policy the week prior. Instead of what could have been a career launching pad alongside a powerful on-camera ally, the WWE’s major summer storyline was paid off with cheap comedy. 

2. Enzo's Mystery Attacker Revealed to Be Big Cass

Just a few short weeks ago, the WWE was buzzing with news of a mystery attacker who had appeared to assault both Enzo and Big Cass. The Revival was pegged as the prime suspects, as they could be seen suspiciously loitering backstage around the time of most of these attacks. 

As fingers were pointed every which way, The Revival turned out to be a red herring when Corey Graves revealed the culprit to be none other than Big Cass. 

With the stage set for the promo of his lifetime, Big Cass knocked it out of the park with an excellent, cruel, yet emotional, explanation behind his actions. Enzo was just as effective, managing to cry on camera with a single, dramatic tear before the breakup was made official. 

The two engaged in a war of words that continues to this day, and while their match at Great Balls of Fire was nothing more than a glorified squash, both Enzo and Cass have proved to be strong commodities on the mic. Hopefully, the WWE has big plans for both.

1. The Summer of Punk

The Summer of Punk was the type of stuff that makes pro wrestling great. Strong personalities. Heroes. Villains. Defined motivations. And who could ever forget the infamous pipe-bomb promo? 

CM Punk used his real-life expiring contract, as was further documented in a candid interview with Tom Breihan of GQ, and parlayed it into a period in 2011 where he was as hot as any WWE Superstar post-Attitude Era.

In an uncomfortable, yet entertaining, worked-shoot promo, Punk name-dropped/called out Colt Cabana, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon Brock Lesnar, Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis and Paul Heyman, all of whom would somehow manage to find their way onto WWE television within the ensuing months, with the exception of Colt Cabana. 

The main subject of Punk’s promo, John Cena, would be his opponent in the main event of one of the WWE’s greatest pay-per-views in history. With the clock ticking on his contract, both in real-life and storyline, Punk—who would sign an extension earlier that night in the 11th hour, per James Caldwell of PWTorch—captured the WWE Championship in his hometown of Chicago and fled the Allstate Arena with Vince McMahon’s most prestigious title. 

For the sake of a happy ending, let’s just pretend the messy feud with Triple H that halted Punk’s momentum never happened. Money in the Bank 2011 should forever be remembered as the proper payoff to the unforgettable Summer of Punk. 

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook.