Why Vince McMahon Needs To Retire From WWE

vince mcmahon

You will not find a more revolutionary figure in professional wrestling, past or present, than Vince McMahon. It was his ambitions and conquest of the industry starting in the 80s which gave us wrestling as we know it today.

However, there is also no figure (this side of Vince Russo, anyway) more polarizing than McMahon. He made the business what is today – sports entertainment – but he is also responsible for some of the worst ideas in wrestling history and some of its greatest travesties. Putting Dusty Rhodes in polka dots comes to mind, and so does the Montreal Screwjob, sadly.

Vince has made some poor choices over the years, seemingly out of touch with his product’s fanbase (or Universe, if you will) much of the time. When you are the boss and have the last word, that fact of life can be problematic for what you put out on television.

Vince McMahon, inventor of Sports Entertainment
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Not since the mid-90s has that been as true as it is now. Stagnant programming and sagging ratings have been the norm for quite a while, and, topping it off, WWE doesn’t seem poised to make very many new stars going forward.

They are signing the greatest the indies have to offer every couple of minutes, but a lot of those guys are getting on in years. AJ Styles and Bobby Roode, who are 40 by now, are among them.

Even when hot acquisitions like a Sami Zayn or Nakamura make it to the main roster, they run into the roadblock (pun intended) that is Vince’s writing team. Either of them could have all the momentum in the world only to have it botched by a silly angle – that was written and planned.

sami Zayn

This is part and parcel of what has gone wrong with WWE under Vince’s watch. The bulk of their business may be in media and broadcasting but that doesn’t make the medium the message, i.e., Raw and Smackdown are on TV but that doesn’t mean they are in their purest form when treated top to bottom like a TV production.

Not every detail in wrestling can be written or micromanaged and expected to come off without a hitch. Look no further than WWE Network’s flagship original programming, NXT and 205 Live, for a case study in what McMahon’s influence gets you and what happens when he keeps his hands off.

NXT is Triple H’s baby, his pet project, he is in command of that brand’s direction. And it is the best pure wrestling product under the WWE banner, centered around solid in-ring workers and indisputable five-star matches.

triple h pic
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205 Live, on the other hand, is plagued by the interference of Vince’s vision since the show has the misfortune of being on the road with the RAW and Smackdown brands, where McMahon has control. It was supposed to be a continuation of the pulse-pounding, no-limits action of the Cruiserweight Classic. Letting it stand out, and doing so on its own merits, clashes with Vince’s staid aesthetic.

Full Sail is a frontier, a niche to Vince and a playground for Triple H. The Classic was held there on Vince’s periphery; when on the road, you are in Vince’s sandbox and subject to his rules and mindset. The demarcation is clear and one side is taking a hit in the creative.

Arguably, Triple H has a better mind for wrestling whereas Vince cares more about the entertainment side.
Since the first Wrestlemania, he has been so compulsively concerned with the company’s mainstream marketability and celebrity profile that he has forgotten what makes wrestling truly wrestling. Which means, in the end, he forgets what brought him to prominence.

Vince McMahon
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WWE

Worse yet, he attempts to cover it up like it’s Roswell. Wrestling is now “entertainment”; WWE is an “entertainment company,” as if they are Disney or old foe Time Warner.

In addition, there is a whole list of terms they are not allowed to say anymore, terms that are an integral part of a tradition. Can’t say wrestler, can’t say opponent, can’t say fans, can’t say backbreaker either, apparently — what the hell?

Going back to Triple H, he is someone who, by contrast, doesn’t run from tradition. He embraces it. Sure, he is alright mingling with celebrity too – anyone invited to the White House and showing up on the Tonight Show would be – but he eats, sleeps, breathes wrestling, like a worthy veteran, but also like a fan who knows great wrestling when he sees it.

Triple H, strange as it sounds, is giving us what we want and knows what’s best for business. He is the future, so let it be now. Three decades of Mr. McMahon (twenty years as an on-air character) are enough.

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