Ken Doane says McMahon pitched him the male cheerleaders concept

“McMahon turned and said, ‘Guys, this is my idea. It’s gonna work because I’m telling you it will work. He said, ‘I want cheerleaders. Male cheerleaders. There’s nothing that gets more heat than male cheerleaders.’ I kinda looked at the other guys out of the corner of my eye like, ‘Is this a joke? This is a good joke. You guys went all the way out to get Vince in on this?'”

source: ESPN