20 best WWE gimmicks of all time, ranked
By Mark Lynch
8. Mr. McMahon
Real name: Vincent Kennedy McMahon
"You're... FIRED!!" - Mr. McMahon
The level of unjustified arrogance that Mr. McMahon showed throughout his career was elite. He wasn’t a wrestler the way we think of it and he never competed like his employees did. Yet he walked and talked like he could beat anyone. Nevertheless, that wasn’t his greatest attribute. That came from being the boss.
Mr. McMahon was an evil person through and through. He smiled like the devil and acted like him too. If he didn’t like you, get ready for your life to be Hell. And if you did manage to overcome him once, he was prepared to do whatever it took to get his revenge. All of his deeds led to multiple feuds with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, which ended up saving the WWE. Without this, the WWE's Monday Night Raw would have lost the Monday Night Wars to WCW's Nitro.
7. Kane
Real name: Glenn Jacobs
"It's not a small world! It's a painful, ugly world!" - Kane
Kane was the scariest person in the WWE's history. That was clear during his debut at WWE Bad Blood: In Your House that even The Undertaker was taken aback, when he ripped the door off the Hell in a Cell and proceeded to demolish his brother. That was Kane’s first gimmick. Be scary, dominate, and rain fire. That changed as time went on.
When the WWE left the Attitude Era, Kane’s gimmick evolved. While he teamed with X-Pac, RVD, and Daniel Bryan, Kane started having more fun. Despite making jokes and doing goofy things, people knew to never underestimate him. They knew the Big Red Machine was still a horrifying force of nature.
And he was all of that and more, enjoying an incredible 25-year career. The Big Red Machine has gone down in history as one of the all-time great WWE Superstars.