Ladies and gentlemen of the Wrestling With Wrestling community, it is good to be back with the latest edition of Wrestling With Virtue. This time around, I would like to discuss one Vincent Kennedy McMahon and what I like to call the Vince McMahon Theory. As I type this article, WWE stock is currently $41.01 per share on the NYSE. It is interesting to note that WWE did not meet its 2018 Q1 revenue estimates, yet the stock price reached new heights. If merchandise sales, TV ratings, and live attendance are all down, then exactly how is WWE able to garner its highest stock price to date? Well, WWE is currently in the “international era” where it is making more and more money than ever outside of its domestic figures. Thanks to the WWE Network and live events outside of the United States, WWE is still finding ways to sustain its billion dollar company moniker.
For years, Vince McMahon’s model has always been to push the larger-than-life comic book, cartoonish type of wrestling characters such as Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, the Ultimate Warrior, the Undertaker, the Rock, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and most recently Roman Reigns. I would even put Stone Cold Steve Austin in this group for the simple fact that the gimmick worked so well because it was complimented by the villainous evil boss, Mr. McMahon. What a brilliant dynamic duo that was. Throughout this process and sticking to the model, McMahon has been able to weather huge storms of bad business such as nearly going out of business in the mid-1990s thanks to World Championship Wrestling and his inability to sustain the XFL beyond its original season in 2001. Along the way, McMahon has been smart enough to still cater to the fans who like more of a wrestling product than an entertainment product. The following talents are all the proof you need that McMahon still cares about wrestling fans: Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Ric Flair, and AJ Styles. Sure, I could squeeze some more names into here, but I like to keep my articles around 1,000 words. Now you might be wondering where is Triple H in this discussion? Sleeping with the boss’ daughter. Duh!
If you think the Vince McMahon Theory is just a line of bullshit that I am spewing to all of you, then why has he continued to push Roman Reigns as his top guy since 2015? If this decision was completely hemorrhaging big money for WWE, the plug would have been pulled a while ago. Seriously folks, we are talking four years of this. Sure this run has been paralleled with Brock Lesnar’s dominance, but Vince does what Vince does for a reason. If he can throw away $100 million to once again try and compete against the juggernaut known as the NFL and other football leagues, financials must be pretty darn good in Stamford.
Reigns has headlined four consecutive WrestleMania events since winning the 2015 Royal Rumble match, where he was in the last match of each Mania. He lost to Seth Rollins at WM31, defeated Triple H for the WWE Championship at WM32, defeated the Undertaker at WM33, and lost to Brock Lesnar at WM34. That is only 50/50 booking folks, yet many people still complain that they are sick of him getting shoved in their faces as “the guy”. Looking back at the first eight WrestleManias, Hulk Hogan main evented seven of them while winning 6/7 of those very matches that went on last. The only main event he lost during that run was to the Ultimate Warrior at WM6. Hogan was even involved in the outcome of the final match at WM4 between Savage and DiBiase and somehow left WM9 as the WWF Champion. That’s right. Hulk Hogan stole the spotlight because he was Vince McMahon’s draw. We also know how the Stone Cold/Rock Attitude Era went, as well as the Cena Era that followed, so please folks, do not talk about wrestlers being shoved in our faces.
Sure, times may be different today by having a $9.99/month network Vs closed circuit television and PPVs; however, the Vince McMahon Theory of pushing larger than life wrestlers still continues to this day. Why? Because it is working and McMahon has become a billionaire by sticking to his convictions. WWE is currently worth approximately $3 billion. McMahon has even been kind enough to do a brand split again, so guys like AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, etc can be in the WWE Championship picture so all the “wrestling” fans are appeased and satisfied. But meanwhile on Raw (the A show), Brock Lesnar still reigns as the Universal Champion.
WWF stood for WORLD Wrestling Federation. WCW stood for WORLD Championship Wrestling. WWE stands for WORLD Wrestling Entertainment. The common denominators are WORLD and wrestling. The Vince McMahon Theory is one that will automatically draw “wrestling” fans both domestically and worldwide regardless of what talent is pushed hard to the top of the card because wrestling is in the name. Fans that are happy will obviously continue to watch. A majority of the fans that are not happy will also continue to watch so 1) they will have something to complain about and 2) they might eventually see what they want. However, the glue that keeps the theory working to this very day is pushing wrestling as an entertainment and expanding the demographical reach across the WORLD. While unsatisfied fans continue to complain about guys like Big Cass getting pushed into feuds with their favorites like Daniel Bryan, or Roman Reigns getting Universal title shot after Universal title shot, the Vince McMahon Theory will continue to pick pocket smarks’ wallets across the globe. That’s right folks, even the complainers pay WWE money so they ensure they will continue to have something to complain about. Meanwhile, WWE will continue to push guys on and off again like Big Cass, Baron Corbin, Jinder Mahal, Roman Reigns, etc because the Vince McMahon Theory is designed to give you its hands. Face it, it seems to be working for Braun Strowman, and Vince will figure out a way to make it work for Roman Reigns, whether you agree with him or not. Believe that.
Twitter: @NoDQ_Virtue
For years, Vince McMahon’s model has always been to push the larger-than-life comic book, cartoonish type of wrestling characters such as Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, the Ultimate Warrior, the Undertaker, the Rock, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and most recently Roman Reigns. I would even put Stone Cold Steve Austin in this group for the simple fact that the gimmick worked so well because it was complimented by the villainous evil boss, Mr. McMahon. What a brilliant dynamic duo that was. Throughout this process and sticking to the model, McMahon has been able to weather huge storms of bad business such as nearly going out of business in the mid-1990s thanks to World Championship Wrestling and his inability to sustain the XFL beyond its original season in 2001. Along the way, McMahon has been smart enough to still cater to the fans who like more of a wrestling product than an entertainment product. The following talents are all the proof you need that McMahon still cares about wrestling fans: Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Ric Flair, and AJ Styles. Sure, I could squeeze some more names into here, but I like to keep my articles around 1,000 words. Now you might be wondering where is Triple H in this discussion? Sleeping with the boss’ daughter. Duh!
If you think the Vince McMahon Theory is just a line of bullshit that I am spewing to all of you, then why has he continued to push Roman Reigns as his top guy since 2015? If this decision was completely hemorrhaging big money for WWE, the plug would have been pulled a while ago. Seriously folks, we are talking four years of this. Sure this run has been paralleled with Brock Lesnar’s dominance, but Vince does what Vince does for a reason. If he can throw away $100 million to once again try and compete against the juggernaut known as the NFL and other football leagues, financials must be pretty darn good in Stamford.
Reigns has headlined four consecutive WrestleMania events since winning the 2015 Royal Rumble match, where he was in the last match of each Mania. He lost to Seth Rollins at WM31, defeated Triple H for the WWE Championship at WM32, defeated the Undertaker at WM33, and lost to Brock Lesnar at WM34. That is only 50/50 booking folks, yet many people still complain that they are sick of him getting shoved in their faces as “the guy”. Looking back at the first eight WrestleManias, Hulk Hogan main evented seven of them while winning 6/7 of those very matches that went on last. The only main event he lost during that run was to the Ultimate Warrior at WM6. Hogan was even involved in the outcome of the final match at WM4 between Savage and DiBiase and somehow left WM9 as the WWF Champion. That’s right. Hulk Hogan stole the spotlight because he was Vince McMahon’s draw. We also know how the Stone Cold/Rock Attitude Era went, as well as the Cena Era that followed, so please folks, do not talk about wrestlers being shoved in our faces.
Sure, times may be different today by having a $9.99/month network Vs closed circuit television and PPVs; however, the Vince McMahon Theory of pushing larger than life wrestlers still continues to this day. Why? Because it is working and McMahon has become a billionaire by sticking to his convictions. WWE is currently worth approximately $3 billion. McMahon has even been kind enough to do a brand split again, so guys like AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, etc can be in the WWE Championship picture so all the “wrestling” fans are appeased and satisfied. But meanwhile on Raw (the A show), Brock Lesnar still reigns as the Universal Champion.
WWF stood for WORLD Wrestling Federation. WCW stood for WORLD Championship Wrestling. WWE stands for WORLD Wrestling Entertainment. The common denominators are WORLD and wrestling. The Vince McMahon Theory is one that will automatically draw “wrestling” fans both domestically and worldwide regardless of what talent is pushed hard to the top of the card because wrestling is in the name. Fans that are happy will obviously continue to watch. A majority of the fans that are not happy will also continue to watch so 1) they will have something to complain about and 2) they might eventually see what they want. However, the glue that keeps the theory working to this very day is pushing wrestling as an entertainment and expanding the demographical reach across the WORLD. While unsatisfied fans continue to complain about guys like Big Cass getting pushed into feuds with their favorites like Daniel Bryan, or Roman Reigns getting Universal title shot after Universal title shot, the Vince McMahon Theory will continue to pick pocket smarks’ wallets across the globe. That’s right folks, even the complainers pay WWE money so they ensure they will continue to have something to complain about. Meanwhile, WWE will continue to push guys on and off again like Big Cass, Baron Corbin, Jinder Mahal, Roman Reigns, etc because the Vince McMahon Theory is designed to give you its hands. Face it, it seems to be working for Braun Strowman, and Vince will figure out a way to make it work for Roman Reigns, whether you agree with him or not. Believe that.
Twitter: @NoDQ_Virtue
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