The history of favorites of Vince McMahon in WWE has not always worked out to perfection. Names like The Rock, John Cena and Roman Reigns showed the best-case scenario for a golden boy becoming a legendary talent. However, there are many more stories of the talents involved failing WWE and proving the push to be a mistake.Each instance of a wrestler having the golden boy status and not having their push pan out holds some similarities, but they had their own variables. WWE is arguably the hardest promotion to get over in due to how many things change and how unpredictable the process can be. The reason for the failures of the following Vince golden boys will be compared to see what exactly went wrong.
10 Ahmed Johnson
Vince McMahon was high on Ahmed Johnson becoming a future main eventer for the company when pushing him in the New Generation Era. Johnson had the physique and presentation that seemed ready to take off after he won the Intercontinental Championship.
Unfortunately, a combination of injuries, the inability to improve and generally weak big match performances all doomed Johnson. Vince even paired Johnson in a team with WWE Champion Shawn Michaels on a few occasions, but the momentum never took off the way he wanted.
9 Drew McIntyre
WWE has witnessed Drew McIntyre fulfilling his potential over the past few years, but his first WWE stint went poorly as a golden boy. Vince McMahon literally announced him as “the chosen one” during his debut to put hype on the young heel.
The booking was too much for the inexperienced McIntyre, who struggled to get his character across. It was too much too soon for Drew to handle, and he was exposed not living up to the hype. WWE releasing McIntyre and letting him rebuild in other promotions did more for his return run.
8 Brakkus
Brakkus is one of the more forgotten golden boys of Vince McMahon going back to the early ‘90s. The jacked physique and bodybuilding background of Brakkus won over McMahon to invest a lot of time into his future.
WWE witnessed Brakkus struggling to have competent matches due to his lack of experience. A stint in ECW saw him best used as a jobber to put over Taz. WWE trying to push Brakkus after the ECW run saw him failing again, as he just didn't have the wrestling touch.
7 Marc Mero
Vince McMahon signed Marc Mero as one of the first names to receive a guaranteed contract in WWE. The move was done as the counter to WCW signing former WWE main eventers like Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage by adding the younger rising stars from WCW.
Mero received a noteworthy face push as the Intercontinental Champion and even had his wife Sable as his manager. The problem ended up being that fans preferred Sable and had no interest in anything done by Mero leading to his failure when they split up.
6 Alberto Del Rio
WWE believed strongly in Alberto Del Rio as the next top heel when pushing him to the moon instantly. Del Rio won the 2011 Royal Rumble match and had multiple World Championship matches within his first year on the main roster.
Vince McMahon has a love for the wealthy heel gimmick and gave Del Rio a massive push with that character. Both WWE stints of Alberto featured support from McMahon, but Del Rio would burn the bridge due to backstage issues and disagreements with others harming his reputation.
5 Bobby Lashley
WWE initially expected Bobby Lashley to become part of the main event core in 2006 when he won the ECW World Championship. Vince McMahon even worked directly with Lashley in a feud designed to put him over.
Fans didn’t connect to the old school good guy push of a face rising up the card before the audience reaction warranted it. Lashley would grow unhappy in WWE and leave the company faster than expected. The recent run of Lashley winning the WWE Championship finally showed what Vince saw over a decade and a half ago.
4 Sycho Sid
The main event push of Sycho Sid felt like it came out of nowhere after better workers like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels received the world title reigns. Sid beating Michaels to win the WWE Championship was a huge moment of Vince McMahon’s trust.
WWE wanted Sid to become part of that main event core for the company to build around. Sid’s problem was a lack of commitment as he was criticized for missing events due to softball games. The overall run of Sid ended faster due to his weak matches in the top spot if not working with the iconic performers like Michaels and Hart.
3 Mr. Kennedy
The charisma of Mr. Kennedy earned him a huge push from day one as a Vince McMahon golden boy. Kennedy defeated multiple former world champions in his first few months and would consistently get bigger opportunities.
Bad luck would turn out to be Kennedy’s downfall for his bigger pushes. An injury caused Kennedy to lose the Money in the Bank briefcase after he was scheduled to win the World Championship. The other big push of being Vince’s illegitimate son ended when he was suspended for violating the wellness policy.
2 Lex Luger
Vince McMahon believed that Lex Luger would follow Hulk Hogan as the next face of WWE playing a patriotic gimmick. Luger traveling around the country on his Lex Express tour bus and challenging Yokozuna for the WWE Championship was designed to make him “the guy.”
The WWE audience, however, showed more support for Bret Hart in a natural way that wasn’t forced. McMahon kept both options open at WrestleMania 10 until deciding to go with Bret as the guy and sending Luger back to the mid-card picture afterwards.
1 Braun Strowman
WWE releasing Braun Strowman in 2021 was shocking since an argument can be made he was the most protected star of the past few years outside of Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar. Vince McMahon was an avid fan of Strowman due to his athleticism as a big man.
Braun got over with stunts showing off his strengths, but his overall work would struggle when not booked in those scenarios. The momentum of Strowman ended in 2018 when he turned heel to feud with Roman. WWE turning Braun’s character into a generic heel and having him lose the true big matches doomed him from reaching his potential.