Posted in: Opinion, Sports, TV, TV, WWE | Tagged: fox, peacock, Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, USA Network, Vince McMahon, wrestling, wwe

What If Vince McMahon Makes His WWE Return? The Horrors That Await Us

This past July, the unthinkable happened when longtime mastermind and CEO Vince McMahon was forced to step down from his position of leadership at WWE in the wake of mounting sexual misconduct accusations and evidence that he had used company money for numerous hush payments. While the idea of Vince stepping aside or "retiring" was once thought to be impossible, the resulting changes at the hands of new CEOs Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan and new Chief Content Officer/Head of Creative Paul "Triple H" Levesque have greatly pleased both WWE fans and talents.  But storm clouds have arrived this week as it appears not only does Vince regret retiring but that he's planning a comeback.  So what awfulness could we expect if Vince does reassume power in the near future?  Let's take a look.

This past week The Wall Street Journal had a new report on Vince McMahon where, between the reporting of new sexual assault allegations and impending lawsuits against him, they said that Vince not only regrets his decision from July but that he has every intention to retake the wheel at WWE.  "The 77-year-old Mr. McMahon also has told people that he intends to make a comeback at WWE, according to the people familiar with his comments. He has said that he received bad advice from people close to him to step down and that he now believes the allegations and investigations would have blown over had he stayed, these people said."

So now we have to look into our crystal ball and see what we could expect in WWE if Vince McMahon reassumes control.  Let's first take a look at the roster and shows, both of which have improved in quality in Vince's absence.  It's no secret that Vince was not a fun guy to work for and that his demands often wobbled between impossible and idiotic.  In his return, the creative team can again look forward to inconsistent storytelling, character paths changing with the days of the week, and anything they do (no matter how exactly to his demands they did it) being trashed by Vince so that he can redo everything right before showtime.

The roster can anticipate an upheaval both creatively and literally, as Vince will almost certainly release anyone he dismissed during his tenure.  Others who have enjoyed a career boost by being allowed to be themselves and use their natural charisma to cut promos and craft their character, such as LA Knight, can look forward to being held captive by bad scripts and an awful gimmick featuring the Vince McMahon branding.

But what about business? After all, no one knows how to be successful in this business like Vince McMahon, right?  Well, that's going to be a problem too. Vince's controversies and legal problems have been worldwide news since they broke.  Do you think the family-friendly sponsors WWE caters to would be very happy to be associated with someone who's a dirty old man at best and a violent, corrupt sex criminal at worst? How about the networks WWE relies on to carry its product?  Something tells me FOX, the USA Network, and Peacock don't want to have to answer why they're carrying shows run sadistically by someone like Vince McMahon.  That'll surely do a lot to hurt WWE's stock and profits, both of which have been up nicely since Vince left.  Hell, the mere mention of Vince considering a comeback this week made the stock drop significantly.

All of the above is bad, and no one in their right mind would want to do that to a business they allegedly care about.  But let's remember: Vince McMahon is not a normal person.  He doesn't care about who or what he hurts as long as it benefits him and his ego.  And no matter how bad all of the above possibilities are, he could very well force his way back in.  He still owns the majority of WWE stocks and has the majority voting power on the board.  The good news is WWE is still a public company. As such, the board has some options to delay, if not stop, his return based on their duty to carry out what's best for the business, and there's more than enough evidence that a Vince McMahon return would be anything but good for business.

I will tell you to expect a battle ahead of us.  Vince McMahon doesn't listen to reason or anyone else when his mind is set on something, and if he's deadset on returning, it's going to be a hell of a fight.  Vince has always loved drama inside and outside of the ring, and I think even if he's not in charge of the show right now, in some odd way, he knows we're all watching this drama unfold, and he likes the idea of being the man behind it all.  On-screen or off, Vince is still the puppetmaster in the world of WWE.

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