WWE: Vince McMahon's 10 Most Memorable Moments

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is one of the most polarizing individuals in wrestling history, even more than John Cena.

The people that defend him point out the way that he has turned wrestling, which used to be a strictly territorial sport, into a worldwide phenomenon that generates millions of dollars in revenue every year.

The people that bash him believe that he has done more harm than good to the institution of wrestling. They feel that he has lost sight of what the sport should be in order to appeal to a demographic that doesn't understand pure wrestling.

Regardless of how you feel about him, you can't deny that he is the most important figure in wrestling history.

Since August 24 happens to be McMahon's 66th birthday, we thought it would be a good idea to look back at some of the most memorable moments in his career as Mr. McMahon, the WWE performer.

Of course, if you ask most people that know him they would likely tell you that there is not that much of a difference between Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman, and Mr. McMahon, WWE performer.

But we will try to find some separation between the two. So without further ado, in honor of his birthday, here is the 10 most memorable moments in the career of Vincent K. McMahon.

10. The Higher Power

The Higher Power angle was Vince McMahon's way of injecting new life into the Austin vs. McMahon feud.

The Corporate Ministry, led by the Undertaker, had been tormenting Austin for weeks. Undertaker told the people that he was working under the influence of some  "Higher Power."

The anticipation for the reveal was high and, in true Vince McMahon fashion, he made himself the driving force behind making Austin's life miserable.

Of course, the most memorable part of this whole angle was when the Undertaker "sacrificed" Stephanie McMahon on a cross.

9. Father vs. Daughter

Vince McMahon has proven throughout the course of his career that he is willing to do anything and everything he can if he thinks that it will put one extra dollar into his pocket.

For proof of that, I present to you his match with his own daughter at No Mercy in October 2003. Nepotism had reared its ugly head when Vince named Stephanie the General Manager of SmackDown.

But over time, Vince grew tired of the job that his daughter was doing. It eventually led to an "I Quit" match between the two.

Vince did win the match, and Stephanie was forced to resign her post as GM.

A fun trivia note about this match: It took place six days before Stephanie's wedding to Triple H.

8. Vince McMahon...WWE Champion?

It is not quite at the same level of David Arquette winning the WCW Championship, but Vince McMahon booking himself to win the WWE Championship is one of those moments where you really see just how big his ego is.

In 1999, McMahon was flipping back and forth between babyface and heel. He was having problems with Triple H, who had become the de facto head of the company with McMahon's absence from television, and could take no more when Triple H taunted his family.

The two had an impromptu "match" for the title and Triple H destroyed him for eight minutes. Stone Cold made the save at the end, gave Triple H a stunner and put McMahon on top of Hunter.

To McMahon's credit, he did forfeit the title on Raw four days after he won it.

7. Jim Ross' Colon Surgery

Vince McMahon and Jim Ross have a unique relationship, to say the least. Ross is one of the greatest wrestling announcers of all time, and easily the best announcer that WWE has ever had.

But McMahon, for some reason, loves to have fun at Ross' expense. The most tasteless example of McMahon's torture of Ross came in 2005.

Ross was fired, for the third time, and McMahon decided that it would be funny to dress up as a doctor and show the world what is up Ross' butt.

This whole thing was meant to play as comedy, but it came of as tacky, stupid, pointless and insensitive.

In other words, it was everything that McMahon loves being.

6. Kiss My Ass Club

Vince McMahon loves to bury people. He loves it so much that one of his genius ideas to bury people that he did not want to get over was to have them come to the ring and kiss his ass.

He tried to have some of the biggest stars in the company—Rock, Steve Austin, Triple H—join the club only to have his plans foiled at the end.

This one is self-explanatory, so no need for a long description. Just watch the video, if you dare.

5. Who Blew Vince McMahon Up?

Vince McMahon loves to do storylines that will get people talking about WWE, even if that story is not in the best interest of the company.

In the summer of 2007, WWE ratings were dropping and he came up with the genius plan of creating a mystery reminiscent of The Simpsons' mystery "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" Only this one would answer the question of "Who Blew up Vince McMahon?"

WWE tried to play this as serious, with Shane and Stephanie McMahon coming out on Raw the next week and talking about what a wonderful man their father was, but the whole thing came off as comedy.

Fans never got a resolution to the mystery because two weeks after the limo exploded, the Chris Benoit murder-suicide happened and this story was dropped.

4. Vince McMahon Books Himself in a "Tag Team" Match Against God

Vince McMahon is not a politically correct human being. If that was not made clear over the course of the first six slides, it will become crystal clear after this one.

In 2006, McMahon was feuding with Shawn Michaels, who is a born-again Christian. The two had a surprisingly good match at WrestleMania, which speaks volumes about how great Michaels is, and Michaels got the win.

McMahon, never one to shy away from controversy, decided that his best chance to get revenge on Michaels would be to book him in a tag team match at Backlash. It was Shane and Vince McMahon against Michaels and...God.

Not surprisingly, God was not at the show—I think He was booked for another event that same night—and the McMahon duo got their revenge on Michaels.

3. Is That Moby Dick Flopping Around in the Ring?

WWE loves to use vehicles on their television programming. Current WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio pulls into the arena every week driving a fancy new car and we are told how much it costs by Michael Cole.

In late 1998 and early 1999, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin used to get under Vince McMahon's skin using various motorized vehicles. They used a Zamboni, cement truck and fork lift, but the most famous example is the beer truck.

Days before WrestleMania 15, Austin drove a beer truck into the arena and proceeded to spray Vince, Shane and the Rock with a beer hose. As great as that moment was, it was made even better by Vince flopping around in the ring like a fish out of water.

It is moments like this that make older fans yearn for the days of Attitude Era.

2. Vince McMahon Buys WCW

The rivalry between WCW and WWE made the rivalry between Vince McMahon and Steve Austin look like child's play.

WCW President Eric Bischoff was hell bent on putting Vince and WWE out of business. He nearly succeeded as Nitro was destroying Raw in the ratings and ticket sales from 1996-1998 with the NWO storyline.

Unfortunately, the powers that be in WCW did not know how to book anyone besides Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash, so the viewing audience lost interest and WWE saw its popularity explode in early 1998.

With WCW on life support in early 2001, McMahon bought his biggest competitor for the paltry sum of $5 million.

The end of the final Nitro broadcast with Shane and Vince starting a new war between WCW and WWE had the potential to be the biggest money angle in wrestling history.

Sadly, Vince's ego wouldn't allow WCW guys — and I mean real WCW guys, not just WWE defectors — to go over WWE guys and the angle died not with a bang, but with a whimper.

1. The Montreal Screwjob

What else could it be?

The most famous finish in wrestling history was the clear choice for the most memorable moment in Vince McMahon's career.

Bret Hart was the WWE Champion, but he signed a contract with WCW and would have to drop the belt, excuse me championship, before he left.

Hart was willing to do that, but not to Shawn Michaels. These two had an intense rivalry and Hart felt that losing the title in Canada to his nemesis would make him look weak.

Hart agreed to drop the title to anyone else or he would forfeit it before he went to WCW. McMahon, who was paranoid about losing a championship after Debra Miceli threw the WWE Women's Title in the trash on a WCW show, concocted a plan with Michaels and referee Earl Hebner to end the match without Hart knowing.

Michaels put Hart in the sharpshooter and Hebner called for the bell. The crowd in attendance was livid, as was Hart, who knocked McMahon out during a backstage confrontation.

As bad as this whole situation was for McMahon and WWE — there were several WWE employees who walked out after it happened — it served as the unofficial birth of the Mr. McMahon character.