Like it or not, Vince McMahon IS WWE. The man’s vision has helped the company dominate the wrestling scene and has to be credited with letting Vince rise where so many others failed. Sadly, that influence also has some severe drawbacks. In his case, Vince is well known for an incredibly stubborn streak and few people in WWE who can sway him from some bad move. He pushes people who doesn’t deserve it to the top while ignoring the ones fans want to see. Quite often, when someone does break out big (see Becky Lynch) it’s more by accident than design and too many have seen their legs cut out of pushes because it’s not what Vince wants.
There’s also his other desires and baffling moves that can hurt his drive. The man can be pretty petty and vindictive and that’s led to some rough times for WWE. Vince may be a genius in many ways but as long as he’s in charge of WWE, there will be problems. Here are 10 things with WWE unlikely to change under Vince to show how his influence has spread.
10 Rewriting the Past
As the old saying goes, “the winners write history.” Vince has sure proven that as he continues to push the idea that wrestling was a niche business barely holding on when he took it over. He also sells how he was the “little guy” in the Monday Night War who had to fight the evil Turner and Bischoff to survive.
While some of the docs can be frank, Vince still has a tendency to rewrite wrestling past, often in a way to make himself look much better. As long as Vince is around, his rewriting of wrestling history will dominate.
9 Sticking To Old Favorites
Why does Brock Lesnar still get huge pushes in WWE and hold a title for months without defending it? Because not only is he big business but Vince likes the guy. Ditto for how he keeps Cena and Randy Orton in the main event scene. It's why Charlotte continues to dominate the women's division and, of course, why Roman still gets pushed as the face of the company and Hogan is welcomed back. Loyalty is well and good but Vince often can't accept that these favorites aren't who fans want to see and his stubborn attitude mars a lot of the attraction for WWE.
8 Not Listening to the Fans
Sure, now and then, WWE can bow to fan demand and change things up for what they want. See Kofi Kingston getting the WWE title and Becky Lynch going over. However, it’s obvious Vince will always think he knows what is best for WWE and keep pushing his pet projects. As evidence, look at Baron Corbin winning King of the Ring or Charlotte still in the main event scene.
No matter what the fans want to happen, stars that deserve a bigger push will be ignored while others get scores of screen time. It’s not fair but Vince will always be the final say in who in WWE gets to the top more than the fans.
7 Those Bizarre Rules
Vince’s rules in WWE have become rather infamous for various reasons. There’s how he basically has banned any actual wrestling terms like “title belts” or more. There’s the backstage codes of conduct on how to behave. There’s also the downright bizarre bits like no one allowed to sneeze in his presence and woe to the person who tries to touch Vince without permission. Many are used to it by now while other grouse that Vince’s weird rules are just too much trouble but will stay as long as he’s there.
6 Always Favoring Bigger Guys
Vince has always loved big guys. It doesn’t matter if a guy has little skill in the ring, if he’s a massive six-foot-tall or more figure, he gets a push. It’s been clear in the history from Mabel to the Great Khali and more, Vince can never get enough of pushing guys like this.
It never ceases to aggravate fans how scores of deserving guys never got the right pushes because Vince felt them “too small” compared to a less talented big guy. Sure, WWE may be a bit better at it but as long as Vince is around, you can count on such monsters being pushed hard no matter what.
5 Gimmicks Over Persona
Jim Cornette nicely summed up that the best wrestling personas are the real guy taken to the tenth level. Look at Stone Cold, the Rock, John Cena, and Mick Foley. Sadly, Vince still labors on the idea the best way for a guy to get over is to give them a goofy character bit. It’s there with a lot of the main roster and shows Vince just thinks gimmicks are better than the real personas. He’s even ruined what worked in NXT so main roster guys are “more appealing.” That interference is likely to continue as long as he’s in charge.
4 Independent Contractors
True, wrestling promoters and owners have made shady moves to screw over the workers. But Vince is trickier as he insists his wrestlers are “independent contractors.” This is a major legal move to prevent the wrestlers from ever creating a union or seeking the benefits of steady employees.
That means no insurance or covering medical expenses which is worse given their rough lifestyles and occupations. Even major news shows have chastised WWE for such a bad move. Sadly, this is a brutal trend that’s not likely to change as long as Vince is the boss.
3 The Writing Staff
A widely mocked video focuses on the WWE writing staff, who openly acknowledge they have no wrestling knowledge or experience and how “our job is to tell stories.” Fans cannot believe WWE is openly admitting they prefer a writing staff over a classic booking committee and the results speak for themselves with too short-storylines and not giving a lot of guys enough time on TV.
Sadly, Vince is infatuated with these writers and likely to keep them going on staff and maybe even extend them to NXT rather than welcome people with real wrestling experience.
2 Sports Entertainment
Fans still wish Vince would give up the “sports entertainment” label and go back to pro wrestling. To be fair, the business has always been sports entertainment, Vince was just the first to openly acknowledge it. However, it’s almost as if Vince is downright ashamed to say WWE is a wrestling company. Even as NXT pushes it more, Vince just wants WWE to remain “entertainment” with labels fans hate (“WWE Universe”). That’s not likely to change as long as he’s around so WWE fans have to get used to the “entertainment” label sticking around.
1 Making Himself Part Of Storylines
Vince is hardly the first owner/promoter to put himself front and center in his own company. His Mr. McMahon act was critical for WWE rising up in the Attitude Era and taking off huge. But Vince seems to think fans still love it as much as they used to and continues to push himself as a major part of WWE storylines. That includes putting himself against Roman Reigns who can’t work as a foil like Stone Cold did and other bits. Even as he’s backed off a bit, Vince still thinks fans want him at the center of many angles when he’s better off letting guys get over on their own.