Professional wrestling is a curious thing as it falls into several categories, and hence why it’s often difficult to market the product. It combines soap opera storytelling, athletic tension, and pop culture influences among many more.
In that way, Vince McMahon wasn’t wrong when he coined the term Sports Entertainment as it also created a genre wrestling fits into in just about every way.
Is Vince McMahon Selling the WWE an Act of Pride or Good Business?
It eliminated the problem of marketing, but it doesn’t remove the issue of people that know and understand wrestling need to be in charge of it.
WCW is the perfect example as it was a hot mess following Ted Turner purchasing it from Jim Crockett and didn’t have any cohesion or make a profit until Eric Bischoff ran the show.
Eventually, Eric was forced out and the company went downhill from there, but the main reason for its failure came from a front office that didn’t understand wrestling and what was being done, and tried to shoehorn it into their standard categories.
Not understanding or losing touch with what made the company work as part of the NWA eventually led to the company’s downfall, and we see similarities between Turner’s pride then and McMahon’s now.
Although the difference is Turner was forced out of his company following the merger with AOL, while McMahon made sure he’s always be in control.
For his pride?
Vince McMahon was a genius that revolutionized wrestling, took it main stream, and conquered the world through his vision.
But then complacency seemed to set in as he continued to get lucrative TV deals while the product suffered and became sub-standard in many ways.
The carefully planned out storylines seemed to be a thing of the past as each show felt like someone was throwing darts at match ideas to see what they’d do.
When McMahon retired, the WWE didn’t collapse or falter, but improved greatly as the matches became more than spot fests, made sense, and were included in consistent storylines.
Fan favorites that were previously released were brought back and the fans and critics gave the product positive reviews. The company’s stock increased as well and people backstage were reportedly happy with how things were going.
Not a returning hero
And then McMahon threatened to block any media deals that would’ve crippled the company since most of their income comes from those deals.
He in essence held the company hostage so he’ll be named executive president as he seeks to sell the company, and then exercised his right as the majority share holder to fire three board members and reinstate himself and two others of his choosing.
Since then, two other board members resigned their positions.
Throughout his career, money and fame seems to be McMahon’s main driving force, and if he sells the WWE for more than the UFC sold for, it’ll be the accomplishment of his lifetime.
In many ways, McMahon may feel like a conquering hero for selling the company he built into a juggernaut, but for many he’ll really be the victim of his pride and inability to quietly fade into the background at his family’s expense.
In the end, it is his company and he can do what he wants with it. but history may not remember him like he hopes.
What do you think? Is this an act of pride and ego on his part, or strictly the best business decision? Let us know in the comments below.
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