Vince McMahon is considered to be one of the smartest men in the wrestling world. He has managed to spearhead WWE into the new generation and somehow the company has remained at the top of the ladder when it comes to all other wrestling promotions over the past three decades.

McMahon is considered to be public enemy number one when it comes to the WWE Universe nowadays. His son Shane McMahon, his son-in-law Triple H, and his daughter Stephanie McMahon are all waiting in the wings to take his place when he decides to walk away from the company and retire in the near future.

McMahon's rise to the top hasn't been one without controversy since there are many rumors and stories about Vince and the things that he once got up to backstage and how there was nothing anyone could do about it because he is the most powerful man in the company.

The company has changed over the past decade, and Vince has too. But there are still some shady things that Vince could be getting up to backstage right now and here is a list of 15 of the most likely candidates.

15 15. Trying To Talk John Cena Out Of Retirement

John has been a part time WWE star now for a number of months and it is becoming more and more obvious that Cena wants to walk away from the company. Which is why he made his return a few weeks ago and has decided that it is time to start putting other stars over.

Vince is a huge fan of Cena. He is the biggest star of the current generation and he knows that when Cena does announce his retirement, WWE will definitely have much less revenue from Cena's merchandise sales. Vince knows just how valuable Cena is to the company, so he wants to have a star as established as him before he allows him to leave. Roman Reigns is the next star that Vince wants to push, but it's safe to say that the WWE Universe doesn't feel the same way about the former WWE Champion.

14 14. Listening To His Usual Yes Men

CM Punk once talked about how WWE would perhaps have made Vince McMahon a billionaire if he wasn't surrounded by Yes Men. These men approve of every idea that Vince has for the company and refuse to argue with him or share their own opinions because they're scared for their jobs.

It's men like this that prevented Vince from signing the likes of Samoa Joe and Kevin Owens for a number of years until Triple H stepped in and signed them for NXT and basically forced his hand. This was because Vince forms his own opinions and there is no one to challenge him or change his mind. Vince is apparently still not completely sold on Kevin Owens or Samoa Joe and will always seemingly have a problem with their weight.

13 13. Causing Problems Between Shane And Triple H

Vince bit the bullet and decided to bring his son Shane back to WWE when he realized that John Cena wouldn't be cleared in time to compete at WrestleMania 32. So instead he would have to think of another attraction.

Now that Shane is back, he has tried to step into a creative position backstage again and this is causing problems for the creative team and Triple H, who was fully prepared to take over the company when Vince walked away. Shane coming back adds a new dynamic to these problems and this is exactly what Vince wanted. Anything that causes issues backstage adds to reports from dirt sheets and then leads to free advertisement for WWE. Vince is much smarter than many fans give him credit for.

12 12. Working On A Deal With UFC

UFC and WWE are at a point now where they are able to agree on how to use Brock Lesnar so that he can still perform for both companies. Brock managed this last year when he fought Mark Hunt while still under contract with WWE and it's possible  he could do it again with the proposed match he has with Jon Jones.

Brock's current contract expires following WrestleMania 34 and even though Brock can't sign full time with UFC because of medical issues, he could decide to walk away from WWE for a while if the company isn't able to work out a deal for him. Brock is WWE's box office hit and with Cena also looking for a way out of the company, it is easy to see Vince looking at the future with a bleak expression.

11 11. Thinking Up Controversial Storylines

When you think back to the storylines where Vince allowed his daughter to be kidnapped and drugged by the man that she is now married to, you will understand just how Vince's head works. And these were only the storylines that made it onto TV. Vince also had plans to have himself revealed as the father of Steph's child, and when Steph said no, he said that Shane could step into the role instead.

With current rumors suggesting that Stephanie is pregnant again with her fourth child, it is easy to believe that Vince is backstage thinking of new ways that he can make the show even more controversial than it once was during the Attitude Era. WWE will definitely miss Vince's controversy when he isn't there anymore.

10 10. Looking At Stars From NXT

Vince McMahon obviously sees NXT as competition despite the fact that the show is owned by WWE. Vince looks at NXT and sees what Triple H can do on a shoestring and then worries that he will be able to do his job better than him when he does finally leave, which is probably true.

Over the past few years, the main roster has been taking all of the good stars from NXT and leaving the developmental territory without any replacements. This has meant that NXT has become less of the phenomenon that is once was but it was still able to blow WWE out of the water back in Chicago. NXT presented the current Match of the Year between Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate. If Vince is looking at NXT as competition, then he could be looking to move up stars that he knows the promotion will miss.

9 9. Working On Getting Closer To Donald Trump

Vince McMahon and Donald Trump took part in The Battle of The Billionaires back at WrestleMania 23 and have remained close friends ever since. Trump chose Vince's wife Linda to work as part of his cabinet when he was elected as President of the United States last year.

Vince knows just how powerful Trump is and he knows that he has made an appearance on WWE TV before. So he could be working on a way to bring Trump back to TV, which in Vince's mind could help ratings. Vince is out of touch with reality and doesn't understand just how much Trump is hated by many of the American people. So it would be a horrible idea, which means it is definitely one that Vince is busy working on.

8 8. Deciding Who To Release Next

It's that time of the year time for budget cuts. Austin Aries, Eva Marie, and Simon Gotch have already been given their marching orders by the company and by all reports, WWE is open to making a number of budget cuts that could include many wrestlers that are not used on the roster anymore.

Vince would have the harsh job of deciding who he thought should be given their papers, but it is a job that Vince has been doing for a number of years, so he will probably find it quite easy at this point. It's harsh that many stars entire careers are resting on the creative team and Vince's shoulders, but WWE needs to make these cuts so that the product can move forward.

7 7. Budget Cuts

WWE may be a giant in Sports Entertainment but the company isn't doing as well as many fans seem to think. Over the past few weeks, WWE haves decided to cut using pyros altogether because they are considered expensive and don't bring anything extra to the show, so they were scrapped.

The purple Crusierweight ropes were also scrapped on Monday Night Raw as it became too much effort to have the crew changing them on more than one occasion throughout shows. WWE has also scrapped Unfiltered, The Edge and Christian Show, and Talking Smack from the WWE Network along with a number of other original content as they look for ways to save money they have spent on the Network over the past few years.

6 6. Working Out New Ways To Patronize The Audience

It has now become public knowledge that Jinder Mahal was only pushed to the WWE Championship because WWE really wanted to cash in on the Indian market. They believe in the future, they could present another tournament much like the UK one to bring in more Indian talent.

This is the latest in a long line of things that Vince and his creative team has decided to bring to TV in a patronizing manner, in the hope that they can buy more fans into their product despite the fact that Jinder was a jobber in WWE for a number of years and it seems that his entire reign as Champion on the SmackDown Live brand has been a failure. WWE seems to be looking for shortcuts to make money and they seem to be looking in all of the wrong places.

5 5. Keeping An Eye On Other Promotions Dealings

WWE hasn't expressed an interest in holding a pay-per-view event in the UK for a long time. Their last major one being back at SummerSlam in 1992. That was until World of Sport announced in October 2016 that they would be filming a one-off ITV show and WWE realized that someone could cash in on their audience.

The company then announced that there would be a WWE UK Tournament the following month and began signing up all of the big names on the UK scene so that World of Sport was left with a much smaller roster when they later announced their plans for a 10-part series. WWE knew what they were doing and much like when WWE was competing with WCW, they proved who the dominant brand. But they haven't really done anything with the stars they signed. They just signed them to step other promotions from using them.

4 4. Watching The Mae Young Classic With A Keen Eye

The Mae Young Classic was supposed to prove how far Women's wrestling had been able to come over the past few years and allow women from all over the world to compete at a level they deserved. Whilst the classic itself has already been taped and is now set to air on the Network, it seems that the negativity is already becoming a problem.

There were reports that many backstage officials don't consider many of the women involved in the competition to be attractive enough to be signed to a full-time WWE contract. This statement itself has taken WWE back a decade, but there was once a rumour that this was the way The Diva Search was once and many of the women were treated like nothing more than pieces of meat, which could be exactly the way Vince sees this current competition.

3 3. Looking After His Favorites

Even when Vince isn't backstage, the creative team still have to answer to him in some way. Vince will do everything he can to help his favorites and hinder the stars who have the audacity to cross him.

John Cena wasn't originally supposed to lose to Shinsuke Nakamura clean. Instead, he was supposed to lose because Baron Corbin became involved in the match, to protect Cena and allow him to still look strong. It was only when Cena stepped in and decided that he wanted to lose clean that the match was changed. No matter what Vince will always protect his favorites. Another one of Vince's favorites is Roman Reigns and no matter how the WWE Universe react to the former Shield member, Vince wants him to be the next face of the company.

2 2. Looking For Another Legend To Bring Back

Vince McMahon has been accused of being out of touch with reality a number of times, and it is easy to see why. For some reason, WWE has become accustomed to relying on the skills of former WWE legends, rather than the stars who are coming through the ranks in NXT.

Over the past few years, WWE has brought back Batista, Sting, Goldberg, Kurt Angle, and even allowed Shane McMahon to step back into a WWE ring a number of times because Vince seems to think that this is what the WWE Universe wants. It is easy to see Vince sitting backstage trying to find numbers of stars from the '90s who are still in good shape so that they can return and have that one last WrestleMania match.

1 1. Working On A Way To Immortalize Himself

Vince McMahon is almost 72-years-old. He has been living life at a thousand miles per hour now for so long that he has no idea how to stop what he is doing and finally retire so that he can enjoy life when he isn't stuck backstage as part of a wrestling show.

Many fans have expressed the opinion that WWE could be much better when Triple H is allowed to take the reigns. But Vince wants to remain with the company long enough that he finds a way to be immortalized and never forgotten by the WWE Universe. It is understandable that Vince wants to be remembered, but it is easy to see him unveiling a statue of himself in the near future so that regardless of where he is, he will always be part of the company in spirit.