At one point, Vince McMahon was the best on-screen character in WWE programming. Over the years, McMahon has started appearing less and less on television, but he still remains one of the best heels in WWE history. The "Mr. McMahon" character was quite famous for certain things.
Aside from feuding with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, he was also known for firing people on live television. He fired several people in front of everyone and this even became a meme in the wrestling community. Needless to say, these firings weren't real and were done as part of storylines.
10 John Laurinaitis
John Laurinaitis is known for being a "yes man" to Vince McMahon. He was re-hired by WWE last year as the Head of Talent Relations. While he may be good at keeping his job in real life, John wasn't so lucky on television. Back in 2011, Laurinaitis became the new interim General Manager of Raw. He later gained control of both brands. At that time, almost everyone hated Laurinatis' character because he wasn't good at his job. At No Way Out 2012, John Cena and Big Show faced each other. Cena won the match, and as per the stipulation, Laurinaitis was fired from WWE by Vince McMahon. He also received an Attitude Adjustment through the Spanish announcer table before the show ended.
9 Jeff Jarrett
In March 2001, Vince McMahon declared himself the new owner of WCW. One of the first things he did was fire Jeff Jarrett on television. Jarrett didn't know about this, and at first, he thought McMahon was just trying to create another storyline. But the firing was real, and Jeff didn't return to WWE programming until his Hall of Fame induction in 2018.
8 Steve Austin
At Judgment Day: In Your House, Vince McMahon fired "Stone Cold" Steve Austin after he refused to count the fall during The Undertaker vs. Kane match for the vacant WWE Championship.
McMahon then fired Austin on-screen, as he previously had promised if The Texas Rattlesnake refused to do his job. The next night on Raw, Austin kidnapped McMahon and revealed that Shane McMahon had hired him back.
7 Kurt Angle
On the July 22, 2004, edition of SmackDown, Kurt Angle wanted to make Eddie Guerrero beg to keep his job in WWE. Angle was the SmackDown General Manager at that time and was faking an injury. That night on SmackDown, Vince McMahon came to the ring and asked for Angle's resignation letter. The Olympic Gold Medalist then begged to keep his job but still got fired anyway. McMahon then scheduled a match between him and Eddie at SummerSlam.
6 Eric Bischoff
After the brand split in 2002, Eric Bischoff became the inaugural General Manager of Raw. He kept this position until 2005, before being fired by Vince McMahon on television. After the Trial of Eric Bischoff segment that night, Judge McMahon decided to fire Eric.
That night, he also received an Attitude Adjustment (known as an FU at that time) by John Cena. After that, Bischoff was thrown into a garbage truck by McMahon.
5 Shawn Michaels
Back in 1998, Shawn Michaels replaced Sg. Slaughter as the WWE Commissioner. A week before the final Raw that year, Michaels stopped The Corporation from interfering during the Mankind vs. Shane McMahon match as the latter got beat up. When Vince returned the next week on Raw, he fired Michaels as the WWE Commissioner and received a Sweet Chin Music in return. On the first Raw of 1999, Michaels revealed that McMahon can't fire him from his Commissioner position due to his ironclad contract.
4 Paul Heyman
In 2001, Paul Heyman joined WWE as a commentator after Jerry Lawler quit the company. A few months later in July, Paul reformed ECW and aligned it with Shane McMahon's WCW to form The Alliance. After The Alliance lost against Team WWE at Survivor Series 2001, and Heyman was fired from his commentary position by Vince McMahon. He then tried to attack Jim Ross, but got beaten up by him, and then the security escorted him. Lawler was then brought back to WWE as a Raw commentator.
3 Mick Foley
Mick Foley became the WWE Commissioner in June 2000. He had just retired from wrestling at WrestleMania 16. During his stint as an on-screen personality, Foley feuded with several people including Vince McMahon. Because of this, Foley was removed from his position in December 2000 after Vince fired him. WWE wanted Foley to return for a match against McMahon at WrestleMania 17, but he refused because he wanted to have a true retirement. Foley later regretted this decision.
2 Donald Trump
In June 2009, Donald Trump purchased Raw from Vince McMahon. He then announced that the next week's episode would be commercial-free. Fans who attended that show also got a full refund for their ticket. McMahon feared that Trump would run WWE out of business, so he offered to buy Raw back from Trump for double the money. After Trump agreed, McMahon fired him before getting a slap to the face.
1 John Cena
After failing to beat CM Punk for the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank 2011, John Cena got fired by Vince McMahon. While McMahon couldn't say his iconic "You're fired!" line on television, Cena did confirm his firing from WWE. Although this storyline didn't last long and Cena won the WWE Championship from Rey Mysterio a week later.