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This August, WWE chairman Vince McMahon turns 70 years old. But don’t let this opening sentence be the basis of the argument stated within the title; rather, it is a statement designed to emphasise that despite hitting an age that most would have long since retired by, Vince remains in total control of WWE, as much as he has since taking the reins of what was the WWF way back in 1982. But is it time for a change?
Let’s begin by acknowledging the incredible success of McMahon’s stint in charge of WWE. This is not just about Vince being a successful promoter of this one organisation; this is a man who revolutionised and forever changed the professional wrestling industry. Pre-1982, pro wrestling in America was territorial and was popular outside of the United States as well (particularly here in the UK), but no one US organisation was a truly national operation (the NWA World Champion roamed many territories, but the NWA itself essentially did not), never mind international, and wrestling was considered to be a “sport”, even if most sports did not see the main star covered in blood after being rammed into a steel cage. Wrestling attracted older audiences, mainly, in smoke-filled and dimly-lit arenas. In short, wrestling was popular – and could attract huge crowds, depending on the match and the area – but in hindsight, it could easily have fallen apart had it not modernised and offered something more than what it had done, essentially since the early 20th century.
Vince McMahon changed much of this. It would be a lie to say that McMahon ensured wrestling’s survival – but it certainly wouldn’t be what it is today without him. Vince coined the term “sports entertainment” and he incorporated elements of both into his WWF product. With figurehead Hulk Hogan attracting legions of fans, the TV shows taking on a cartoon feel but still providing wrestling action, colourful characters and big-budget production values, along with ambitions of promoting nationally and later internationally, bringing in celebrities and expanding into Pay-Per-View with the first WrestleMania (although this was more of a closed-circuit show with PPV availability limited at the time) and the landmark WrestleMania III in front of 93,173 fans, the World Wrestling Federation became an enormous success beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. The WWF became a global phenomenon, with the likes of Hogan, Randy Savage and The Ultimate Warrior becoming legends the world over. Many US territories unfortunately crumbled, and the next best thing the NWA/JCP/WCW would struggle to find its identity whilst attempting to provide an alternative; but who knows how long the smaller groups would have lasted under the old system anyway? Overall, one cannot help but admire how the WWF became so strong; and as the brains behind the operation, Vince McMahon is a large part of the reason for its success.
The popularity of the WWF fell during the 1990s for a number of reasons, but after changing course and embracing a whole new Attitude, the WWF rebounded towards the end of the 20th century – ironically, while it was falling behind WCW in the ratings (during the infamous Monday Night War). A new adult-aimed approach led on-screen by Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock made the WWF more popular than ever before. Whilst the Hulkamania-era WWF was a childhood memory, as the younger fans grew up, so did the WWF, with an exciting and at times controversial product. But one cannot argue with success, and although many disapproved of its new direction, had it not been for Attitude, the WWF could easily have faded away. Instead, it was WCW which met its demise, and would actually be purchased by the WWF in 2001 – arguably Vince’s finest hour, at least from an ego standpoint.
The WWF/WWE has not been as popular since then, but as the only real game in town, it remains the world’s most popular wrestling promotion, and is the first company that most think of when thinking of wrestling. And Vince has remained in control, changing the organisation’s product in line with the change in his audience (a growing younger fan following partly led to WWE going PG in 2008) and with new technology (see the WWE Network, which launched in February 2014). Even during years when WWE seemed to be stagnant, the feeling was that WWE would really be sunk if Vince McMahon ever abdicated his position as the boss. But has that time now passed? The success of WWE at any time can be measured in two ways: creatively and commercially. And, unfortunately, right now it is not exactly a golden period for the company in either area.
On-screen, the product is entertaining enough for the casual fan, but die-hards find that they have a lot more to complain about than enjoy nowadays. I personally try to take wrestling for what it is and enjoy it for the entertainment that it provides, but one cannot help but notice a decline in quality for many reasons. Amongst them are having a World Champion who doesn’t even appear on TV, never mind wrestle (although Brock Lesnar will resume combat at Royal Rumble); the top babyface John Cena having played the same character for a decade with little difference in his matches since 2005; a three-hour Raw making much of the show a chore to watch; a lack of innovative storytelling resulting in a rehashed or predictable feel to the vast majority of WWE plotlines; themed Pay-Per-Views reducing the significance and impact of specialty bouts; irrelevant situations for most mid-card titles; start-stop promoting of many potential rising stars; a strangely high amount of comedy or situations where the announcers react by laughing (I personally enjoy comedy in wrestling when it’s done well, but not when it doesn’t work; for example, why crack jokes during the Ambulance match between Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose?), and a stale feel to the product, the characters and the promos. Few wrestlers have completely unique move-sets; yes, they have their own signature moves, but 99% of the WWE roster wrestles exactly the same way. And in the last 12 months, with the exception of Paul Heyman and maybe John Cena, hardly anyone’s promos have been in any way memorable, and in the vast majority of cases, the interviews feels forced and unnatural; a real person in a genuine fight situation would not speak like they are auditioning for a Shakespeare play. Worst of all, WWE has fewer bona-fide full-time headline stars than at any point since I became a wrestling fan in 1991. Besides John Cena, Randy Orton and Daniel Bryan, how many full-timers can one honestly describe as a permanent main eventer? Just because some wrestlers close the show does not make them main eventers; they need to be given the strongest push possible to let fans know that these wrestlers matter. As things stand, during an era when today’s new main eventer could be opening next month’s PPV, very few make a difference. That Vince would openly criticise the current roster during his interview on Stone Cold’s podcast on the WWE Network is not an encouraging sign that things in this area will change.
The fact is that there is very little excitement or intrigue when preparing to watch Raw or SmackDown these days. At one time, Raw was must-see every week; even after the Attitude Era ended, the Pay-Per-Views, on the whole, still mattered. Nowadays, most fans only get excited when WrestleMania approaches. And as the road to WM 31 begins to take shape, the picture is a little uninspiring. After the Boo-tista debacle at the 2014 Royal Rumble, it feels like deja vu with Roman Reigns – not a veteran, but a proponent of the Batista body type – being positioned as the favourite to win the Rumble despite inexperience, an unclear character besides seemingly being the next John Cena, from promo style to superhero comebacks, and despite the majority of fans reacting far louder to the news that Daniel Bryan will return to action in the Rumble, looking to advance to WM and reclaim the World Title that he had to forfeit last year. I would like to see Bryan vs. Lesnar at WM 31, with Reigns continuing to develop and perhaps being ready to make a real difference by next year’s Rumble – but it is unlikely as things stand. Meanwhile, Sting’s debut provoked genuine excitement, but the lack of struggle in the return of the Authority means that his first WWE appearance currently feels all for naught; unless they have a brilliantly told story to explain his future appearances, Sting’s probable feud with Triple H may fall flat. Elsewhere, rumours of an Undertaker vs. Bray Wyatt match would make sense if Taker hadn’t lost to Lesnar at WM 30 and not appeared since; surely if Undertaker does wrestle again, it will be to avenge the end of the Streak or for that dream match with Sting; not for just another match with Bray Wyatt. And Rusev’s first defeat at the hands of John Cena is inevitable enough that if they meet at WM (which is probable), and Rusev does win, it could cause a shock almost as big as the one after Brock beat Taker in New Orleans. The other possible big match is Seth Rollins vs. Randy Orton which would no doubt be good, but this was still a bout tnhat we saw on Raw with little build-up before Orton left to make a movie.
In other words, the time of the year which usually sees a peak in excitement and popularity for WWE seems etched in stone enough that we, the fans, already know what will happen weeks before Royal Rumble even happens. And what is planned, whilst it would probably make for an entertaining show, is not enticing enough that one could realistically expect a turnaround in quality for WWE TV. If Reigns becomes Champ, it will be Sheamus in 2012 all over again; a hard-working big man titleholder who always wins, but is still overshadowed by John Cena. If Taker returns, regardless of the result (although one assumes he would have to beat Wyatt), he won’t be on TV again to capitalise on it. Rusev will be weaker if he loses to Cena. And if Lesnar does leave for good, whilst not leaving a massive hole since he has appeared sparingly on TV, it is one less star name for WWE to mix and match with.
WWE on TV needs a shake-up – and a big shake-up at that. The problem is, it probably isn’t going to happen anytime soon. Which leads me back to the main question: is it time for Vince McMahon to step aside and allow someone new to take the reins of ownership – most likely, Triple H?
Besides being younger, more knowledgeable of what has worked in wrestling outside of WWE, and with a good creative mind (he managed the build-up of his 2005 feud with Batista which stands as one of WWE’s best ever), Tripper’s credentials have been boosted by the fact that the largest part of WWE which he currently controls, the developmental system and in particular NXT, has flourished. Indeed, what was once a basic show to let trainees learn about how to work in front of a WWE-like audience has (pardon the pun) developed into arguably WWE’s most entertaining programme. NXT now has a varied roster of great in-ring talent with distinguishable characters and unique move sets, which in turn has created a product that provides WWE-level action in an unpredictable and consistently exciting way. Case in point: the best WWE show of 2014 was probably NXT R:Evolution which featured a number of title matches, including a superb main event and a strong Divas outing, a high-quality tag bout with an international flavour, a continuing build-up of a mid-card feud between two monster-style characters and a hugely promoted and very well-received debut. Add to that an extended victory celebration and a shocking heel turn at the end on new NXT titleholder Sami Zayn by debutant Kevin Owens, and you have one hell of a wrestling special. Indeed, there is far more excitement about NXT than “main” WWE right now; under Triple H’s leadership, NXT has become WWE’s best show, and boasts a great talent roster to boot.
Vince McMahon disagrees. In fact, he is allegedly not high on the NXT stars at all. And that is worrying.
Vince has often been accused of only knowing how to promote one style of wrestling; if he cannot see the reasons why NXT is so much better than Raw or SmackDown, as the head of WWE for nearly 33 years, then there is a big problem. In an ideal world, one of the top NXT stars will be brought onto Raw next week to be positioned as a genuine threat to John Cena. Alternatively, one of the exciting, dynamic in-ring performers from NXT could aim for Seth Rollins and try to disprove his claim as “the future of WWE”. Or a number of NXT’s top stars could be brought onto main TV as a babyface version of The Shield. But, instead, very few are called up, and genuine talent is being ignored. And of those who may be called up soon, the current direction of WWE suggests that they may actually be better off in NXT.
For example, on NXT, Adrian Neville is a human highlight reel, whose moves are enough to make him stand out and win himself new fans. Yet, if we are to believe recent rumours, WWE either is or was looking at bringing Neville onto TV under a Mighty Mouse gimmick. The obvious question is: why? Why wreck Neville’s chances of making as big a splash as Rey Mysterio did in 2002 by saddling him with a doomed-to-fail character which would probably kill his career? He would be no different to Adam Rose, whose character was light relief at first, but after an ill-advised heel turn is now on a course to nowhere. That doesn’t include the fact that many of his TV appearances have involved the Bunny, a human bunny rabbit who, again, started as harmless fun, but before his recent attack by Rose, seemed overexposed and completely out-of-place on a show whose champion is the former UFC kingpin Brock Lesnar. Other characters or elements seem stale or damaging to those playing them: The New Day which are so goody-two-shoes that some have speculated as to whether they are actually playing sarcastic heels; Stardust, who I assumed was playing a similar character to Goldust for a few weeks rather than permanently, which can’t have helped Cody Rhodes’ chances much; and the Wyatt Family members who, since their split, have all had a bit of attention but, overall, are nowhere near as appealing or eye-catching as they were eight months ago. And referring back to promos and skits: the amount of comedy elements which have that unfunny taste to them are worryingly high. With the exception of Damien Mizdow, I cannot remember the last time WWE presented a skit or a character which was meant to be funny that actually WAS funny (it would probably be angles involving Team Hell No; this team split up in summer 2013, and they had been placed less emphasis on humour in their last few months together).
It all feels like old hat, stale; but unlike in years gone by, there is no real optimism that anything will be different in even two years time. The only way I can foresee such a change is if Vince McMahon abdicates his position as the leader of WWE.
But there is one more key aspect to the story: WWE has felt stale before but the difference was that, off-screen, WWE remained very successful. Now, with the WWE Network costing more than expected to launch, and to a so far much-lower-than-expected subscriber count, for the first time in a long time, WWE is having to aggressively cut costs. There is no danger of the company sinking, but it is not the financial juggernaut that it once was. It is telling that one reason why Brock Lesnar may leave WWE after WrestleMania 31 is because WWE may no longer be able to afford his (admittedly lucrative for a part-timer) contract. But if the Network does flop, how can WWE go back to just presenting supershows on Pay-Per-View when WWE has offended the PPV community by taking away much of their business via the Network, and with announcers reminding viewers that they are being ripped off by paying for PPVs the traditional way? And, with the star shortage, live events are not as successful as they were even six years ago; the PG rating has lasted long enough that fans hoping for a return to TV-14 content now realise it is not happening and thus have lost interest in the product; and TV ratings are nothing to shout about, either. In short, WWE off-screen is weaker than it has been in a long time, in large part because of the flaws relating to the launch of the WWE Network. And the main man behind the Network is … Vince McMahon. In his quest to make the Network a success, Vince has put WWE in a precarious position, even if Triple H were to take over tomorrow.
Let’s face it, there is not going to be another Monday Night War, where Raw has to be the most unpredictable and exciting programme around in order to win in the ratings. But it was still a strong show in 2003, when it boasted a star-studded roster, and the same applied as John Cena became the face of WWE in 2005-2007; and SmackDown was very strong as recently as 2009 with outstanding matches every single week. WWE could be better, a lot better, and it has the talent roster to do so. It is the creative direction of the company which needs to change in order for it to do so. And, off-screen, WWE needs to make a lot more money (especially from the Network) to cover what it has lost; the most likely ways for this to happen are to have a more entertaining TV product, which again falls on creative.
Can this happen under Vince McMahon’s leadership? At one time, I would have said “yes”; right now, I am not so sure. If anything, I feel the chances of this happening are lower because Vince is the supreme leader. And so, as he approaches his 70th birthday, I feel it is time for Vince to step aside. Allow him to enjoy one more WrestleMania season in complete control before relinquishing power to Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Nobody wants to see Vince run WWE until he dies; he has earned a wonderful retirement 100 times over. Let that happen, let Vince walk away into retirement with his head held high, let him enjoy an induction into the WWE Hall Of Fame, and let’s see what Triple H can do. It would be a big risk, but it is going to happen someday anyway. Let it happen now while Vince can enjoy his retirement and while HHH has the opportunity to make his name as the man who turned things around and made WWE the most successful wrestling company on the planet through merit again. More to the point, let Triple H take over while there is still a possibility that he can bring back the glory days to WWE. As stated, WWE is unlikely to sink any time soon (and I obviously hope it doesn’t), but in terms of the company having another boom period, both creatively and financially, or at least rebounding from the last few years of losing fans, star names and money, it is better to have No Chance In Hell than No Chance At All.
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