10 WWE Wrestlers Vince McMahon Was RIGHT About
Those names Vince McMahon was right to invest so much stock in.
For some stars, they became huge names despite Vince McMahon not believing in them.
Take Steve Austin, whom Vince viewed as a steady in-ring technician who needed a mouthpiece. Or Mick Foley, whom McMahon famously only agreed to sign so that Jim Ross could experience heartbreak. Then, of course, there's Daniel Bryan, who was never meant to succeed in WWE as very much was viewed as a B+ player by some in management.
There are also those talents McMahon sees as his next big thing, only for them to ultimately be a flop or to waste Vince's investment in them. Think Lex Luger for the former, think Ultimate Warrior for the latter.
On the other hand, there are times when Vince backs somebody to the moon and they manage to - sometimes after a little while - become the true megastar McMahon always thought they'd be. You could make the argument that a broken clock is correct twice a day, but that's a whole other, broader topic about Vince and his decision-making, especially across the past decade or more.
With that in mind, then, here are ten superstars Vince McMahon backed to the hilt and was rewarded for having such faith...
10. Randy Orton
In terms of the rumoured backstage antics of his younger days, if some of those tales are true, there's a strong argument to be made that Randy Orton should've been fired by WWE. As for his talent as a sports entertainer, though, Vince McMahon was right to put so much stock into Randal Keith.
Orton debuted on the main roster in 2002, positioned as a plucky third-generation babyface. It was very vanilla, but the way WWE talked up Randy and his heritage suggested to the audience the company had high hopes for the youngster.
A shoulder injury towards the end of the year forced Orton out of the ring, but quite brilliantly he maintained a presence on TV, providing video updates on his injury, becoming more heelish by the week. By the time he was cleared to return at the turn of the year, Randy was placed with Triple H, Ric Flair, and Batista as Evolution - and he'd be World Champion 18 months later.
Of course, here we are in 2023, with Randy Orton a mainstay of WWE for the past 20 years, having won 14 World Titles, headlined WrestleManias, been on top as a babyface or heel, and being a nailed-on first ballot Hall of Famer whenever the time comes for him to hang up his boots.