5 Times Vince McMahon allegedly punished WWE Superstars on-screen

Former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon received mixed reactions to his bookings and treatment of various stars. Many called him the greatest mind in sports entertainment, while others were glad to see him leave the company.

Over the years, Vince punished many WWE Superstars for various reasons. Some of these incidents were due to stars going off-script in hopes of doing something different and some for their social media presence.

Check out the five times Vince McMahon allegedly punished superstars on-screen for their actions:

#5. Big Cass’ off-script allegedly got him fired

Vince McMahon has been a true believer in following the script. Big Cass did something he thought would get him more heat, but it ended up backfiring behind the scenes.

Cass attacked a little person dressed as Daniel Bryan when the two stars were feuding. He was simply supposed to take down the person with a Big Boot but continued to beat him down to generate more heat.

Vince McMahon was absolutely furious with Big Cass for his actions, according to the former WWE star himself. The former WWE boss punished him by having him lose to Bryan in a quick match.

Cass has revealed that it was one of the reasons why he was soon fired from the company. Vince McMahon never liked it when anyone went off-script to do anything extra. Only a few of his top stars were allowed to do so.

#4. Lana and Rusev had it tough after their marriage was made public

Lana and Rusev became one of the most popular couples in WWE months after their marriage was made public. However, they had it very rough initially as Vince McMahon wasn’t happy at the news of their marriage being made public.

Rusev was in a storyline with Summer Rae, and they were supposed to get married on-screen. Vince nixed those plans along with others involving an Intercontinental Championship win for the former WWE star.

Rusev detailed in an interview how he was made to lose to other stars for six months after the news came out, and Lana was cut off from television. The two lovebirds had a tough time after Mr. McMahon found out about their real-life marriage.

#3. JBL’s actions against Blue Meanie did not sit well with the former WWE Chairman

JBL had an infamous rivalry with Blue Meanie where he delivered some stiff strikes to the former superstar and busted him open. The two veterans were scheduled to compete again in WWE, and Meanie was afraid that JBL would beat him up for real.

The former superstar took his concerns to Vince McMahon, who allegedly booked Meanie to win the contest. After a short discussion about his concerns, Vince went as far as to threaten to fire JBL if he decided to go off-script. Blue Meanie got help from Stevie Richards and Batista to win that contest.

#2. Jon Moxley (fka Dean Ambrose) has been vocal about his punishment

In January 2019, it was announced that Jon Moxley would be parting ways with WWE. However, that came at a cost to the current AEW star.

Much like Mox had feared, Vince McMahon booked him in segments and matches that went against him up until his release in April 2019. He was booked in a segment with Nia Jax where the female star knocked him out of the ring.

The most surprising spot came when the then-newcomer EC3 defeated him in a match that lasted only two minutes. It was surprising, to say the least. He also lost matches to Elias and Drew McIntyre on his way out.

Moxley has confirmed that it was part of the punishment laid out for him by Vince McMahon. He had spoken to the chief about his treatment in his final days as a WWE Superstar.

#1. Finn Balor and AJ Styles’ off-script interaction didn’t go unnoticed by Vince McMahon

Finn Balor has had several mixed bookings in recent years. However, he was seen as a big star in 2017. Balor faced AJ Styles in a singles match at TLC 2017. He defeated The Phenomenal One while fighting in The Demon persona.

Following the match, the two men shared a ‘Too Sweet’ moment as a homage to their time with The Bullet Club. Unfortunately, that moment did not sit well with Vince McMahon.

The next night on RAW, Finn Balor was squashed by Kane in a singles match. It was weird seeing all of Balor’s momentum go to waste just hours later in a match against The Big Red Machine.

Many believe that Finn Balor was punished for sharing that off-script moment with AJ Styles. Meanwhile, it also seemed like Styles escaped any sort of punishment from Vince.