WWE boss Vince McMahon apparently cares only about pro wrestling, which may be both his biggest weakness and his greatest strength.
During a 2014 interview with Grantland’s Cheap Heat podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry summed up McMahon perfectly when he said that “McMahon is interested in nothing besides wrestling.” Perhaps he should have been a bit more specific, though, because if you ask those close to McMahon, the only thing he is truly interested in is WWE.
On a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that McMahon’s decision to bring back Eric Bischoff of the Executive Director of SmackDown was a real head-scratcher for many within the company because it exemplified McMahon’s lack of pro wrestling knowledge:
Whether McMahon pays attention to anything outside of pro wrestling has long been a hot topic of debate. In fact, many WWE fans were thrown for a loop last year when Triple H dropped a bombshell about McMahon’s knowledge about one of his own brands, NXT, during an interview with The Sun (h/t Wrestle Talk):
Even though a former WWE writer refuted Triple H’s claim, that little nugget of information from “The Game” really shed some light on the issues that have plagued WWE’s creative process in recent years. On one hand, McMahon’s unparalleled dedication to WWE, pro wrestling and the world of sports entertainment is quite admirable and a true testament to his unbelievable work ethic. On the other hand, even those within WWE are baffled by the boss’s overall lack of knowledge about anything that isn’t WWE. His rehiring of Bischoff, a questionable move given Bischoff’s disappointing run as the creative head of TNA, is just the tip of the iceberg and one of many signs that McMahons pays very little, if any attention, to anything that isn’t WWE-related.
It’s widely believed that, after all, that McMahon hardly even participates in recruiting and signing new talent. That responsibility falls largely upon the shoulders of Triple H, who does the scouting of indie talent and is in charge of NXT, WWE’s third brand and one in which McMahon has a very limited role. While McMahon obviously wants NXT to be a place where WWE can pump talent in and out to keep the company going strong into the future, it can’t be overstated that McMahon is widely considered to be one of the biggest reasons—maybe the biggest reason—why WWE’s product has struggled so much in recent years.
It’s as if McMahon lives in a WWE bubble, and because of that, many of the problems that are plaguing WWE’s main roster product have been directly attributed to him. Former WWE star Batista has called WWE’s creative process a “nightmare” while Dean Ambrose said flat-out that “Vince is the problem” when it comes to the booking of Raw and SmackDown. Earlier this year, an anonymous source told PWTorch’s Wade Keller (h/t WrestlingNews.co) that “McMahon doesn’t keep track of what is going on with NXT” and that “he just watches WWE and works out and is not aware of things going on in the real world.” The source also noted that “there is no chance of Vince stepping down,” a sentiment echoed by Triple H during an interview with the Sports Business Journal (h/t Still Real To Us) earlier this year:
It’s hard not to be impressed by McMahon’s notorious work ethic, but it’s also difficult not to be frustrated by the recent issues plaguing WWE’s creative process.
So many stars have become disillusioned with WWE that morale within the company is at all-time low and many stars, ranging from Sasha Banks to The Revival, are plotting their exits from the company. Others, ranging from Ambrose to Tye Dillinger to Neville to Hideo Itami, have already left. Based on information from Triple H, that aforementioned anonymous source, Meltzer, Henry and a slew of others, it seems that one of the main issues that has contributed to frustration in WWE is McMahon’s laser focus on WWE and WWE only.
Even though some have said that All Elite Wrestling isn’t competition for WWE while current AEW announcer Jim Ross is on record in saying that he doubts McMahon is concerned about AEW in the slightest, perhaps he should be worried. Not just about AEW, but about non-WWE competition that could ultimately affect WWE’s bottom line and its programming as a whole.
Until he does, the product may struggle even within Heyman on board, and those within WWE will continue to wonder: What does McMahon know about pro wrestling beyond the scope of WWE?
