Vince McMahon's WWF empire was in jeopardy during the '90s, when Eric Bischoff and the WCW product quickly became the most popular wrestling promotion in the world.
But overtime, WCW made a number of horrible business decisions, while Vince launched the 'Attitude Era'. That turned out to be the ultimate game-changer, as WWF gained significant momentum, while watching WCW constantly shoot themselves in the foot. The wars ended for good in 2001, when Vince bought out WCW, acquiring their video content and bringing in most of their top wrestling talents.
Nearly two decades, Vince and the WWE haven't had to worry about another promotion putting them out of business. TNA (know known as Impact Wrestling), tried in 2010, when they recruited Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff and tried to compete with the WWE.
TNA moved its shows to Monday night, hoping to engage in a war with the WWE. The Jan. 4, 2010 episode of TNA generated a 1.45 rating, but Chris Jericho revealed on his Talk is Jericho podcast (h/t WrestlingInc.com), that Vince wasn't panicking as TNA tried to become a threat to his product.
"[Vince] said, 'take me out of the equation. You can't compete with WWE at this point. It's too much of a machine, it's too much of a brand, it's just the way it is.' And he's right.
You're not gonna [beat] the WWE. You can compete, carve out your own niche, yes. But I also believe that [WWE] has now become entrenched in Americana, pop culture, and the world. It's not gonna go anywhere."
TNA/Impact was never able to sustain its momentum in 2010, and the company has struggled throughout the years as they've lost many of their top talents. In short, the company stands very little hope at ever competing with the WWE. The product is just too strong at this point, and the millions of weekly viewers aren't going to go away any time soon.
Vince and his family have worked extensively in maintaining the WWE's success and popularity. Nothing will change.