As a follow up to yesterday's column about CM Punk hitting a fan. Some of you had the wrong impression of the column. I do NOT want to see CM Punk suspended, nor would I ever want him released. I wrote that with what the WWE Corporation could do in response to the potential for bad publicity and also for Linda McMahon's Senate campaign putting pressure on the WWE Corporation to act. Additional video angles are coming out from fans in which (a) WWE Security FAILED to surround CM Punk in the crowd and (b) one idiot fan was seriously trying to push CM Punk down the stairs. Still, Punk swung at a guy, twice, on live WWE television and the WWE Corporation has become too protective about its image.
Speaking of image, we're seeing the WWE in a pure panic about how Monday Night RAW is losing viewers. Reportedly, the fire in Vince McMahon's belly has been lit as he's looking to shake-up the WWE locker room and even used himself on RAW this past Monday to help add 0.3 points to the ratings. As the WWE Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the WWE Corporation, it's good to see the top manager of the WWE wanting much needed change. After all, it's in his best financial interest as the WWE's top shareholder (81% voting power from what I approximate to be an individual 54% majority ownership of shares, I approximate from the 10-K & Proxy Statement from 2011).
But something is in the air... Wrestling insiders (Observer, Torch, PWInsider) are repeatedly reporting that Vince McMahon has been throwing tantrums backstage. Could it be that the 67 year old McMahon is getting senile and grumpy in his old age? After 30 years of owning the WWE, has Vince finally become burned out? In addition to a fan report of Vince yelling at a stage manager about a sign after his RAW segment, the Wrestling Observer reported that Vince McMahon demoted lead RAW writer, Brian Gerwirtz before the show after 10 years of service. Quite a bold move...
Wait a second? How did that newsbyte get reported so quickly to the wrestling news media, just before RAW was about to air? Wouldn't that have been a closed door meeting?
There have been other instances of Vince McMahon "going off" backstage. Following his storyline "removal" by the WWE Board after the Money in the Bank 2011 Pay Per View by the "new" "Chief Operating Officer", Triple H, Vince got real pissed when Alberto Del Rio mentioned Vince's name in a promo in the following weeks. After all, Vince was cooking up a big Triple H vs. Vince McMahon "dick measuring contest" storyline that was going to set the wrestling world on fire! However, full details of that storyline leaked and Vince's tantrum about Del Rio mentioning his name in a promo circulated throughout the internet.
Wait a second again! Wouldn't all storyline ideas be behind closed doors? Doesn't Executive Management meet behind closed doors, as necessary, at WWE events? Somebody is leaking...
When I had sources within the WWE through the mid-2000's, I've heard that Vince McMahon executes all of his meetings behind closed doors with upper management, and then upper management communicates with writers/road agents to convey directions directly to wrestlers. Vince is not out in the open as the insider news media might paint him out to be. All actions and directions by Vince McMahon are behind closed doors and in front of his most trusted people. Or the people he believes he can trust...
During the 1990's, Vince surrounded himself with "good ol' boys" from WWE's past that Vince trusted could help him run things backstage. Pat Patterson, Gerald Brisco (no longer road agent - talent scout), David Hebner, Bruce Pritchard, and other Vince McMahon favorites are no longer backstage. The infamous "yes" men of Vince have been replaced by, well, his daughter Stephanie McMahon, his son-in-law Triple H, and a bunch of hired Hollywood writers... Even a guy who became a Vince loyalist, John Laurinaitis, was recently demoted and his role was replaced by Triple H and a newly hired staff... Even Shane McMahon left the company when many assumed he'd assume the mantle left behind by Vince. Kevin Dunn appears to be the lone "Vince guy" remaining from the Attitude Era, but his abilities as a television producer and work ethic probably makes him tough to replace.
So who is leaking news about Vince McMahon's temper tantrums or about his storyline ideas? Who could it be?
Well, consider this... Do you EVER hear any derogatory insider news about Triple H or Stephanie McMahon? Ever? Seems like wrestlers or other leaking WWE personnel seem very silent on those two individuals while having unlimited courage to rip Board Chairman/CEO Vince McMahon. Provided Vince's track record as a tough guy and with Vince owning the majority of the WWE, shouldn't the WWE wrestlers and other personnel be afraid of leaking details to insiders about Vince? Shouldn't the rip on other Executive Managers more?
The WWE Network is Vince McMahon's baby... Yet, the Observer/Torch/PWInsider seem to report on it more than the actually WWE Corporation does. WWE Network is supposed to create a new source of reveue yet insider report after insider report calls the project an utter failure. If the WWE Network's planning is possibly being discussed behind closed doors, how on earth are wrestling insiders hearing about Vince's big project and its problems? Who within the WWE, with access to planning materials of the Network, would have a vested interest in the WWE Network's failure? Who, within the WWE, has an incentive to repeatedly make Vince McMahon look bad?
The pattern is becoming clear to me: Stephanie McMahon and Triple H are conspiring to make Vince McMahon resign from the WWE.
Remember - Vince McMahon is majority shareholder and holds the strongest overall voting interest within the WWE. Everything runs through Vince, as it always has... For any ambitious Executive Manager who wants to rise up and knock the king off the mountain would have to be bold in their actions. For any WWE Executive to receive the promotion as CEO or even Board Chairman, they would need the majority shareholder and existing Chairman/CEO to step down. They would need to entice him that his best days are over and his role as top WWE chief is actually harming the WWE corporation in the long-run.
It's becoming clear to me... Both Stephanie and Triple H have voluntarily increased their roles within the WWE, taking over supervision of multiple departments and handling other duties. Getting rid of John Laurinaitis was one of the last hurdles to remove to fully have influence over key WWE matters and directly with Vince. Triple H, in particular, has increased his WWE management role as the #1 consultant to Vince and attempting to put a stranglehold over the WWE's talent developmental system. Furthermore, Triple H is assuming more and more duties for live events and taking over whatever duties that Vince grants him. I'm quite sure that he wants to become Vince McMahon...
Stephanie McMahon has been the lead creative personnel since late 2000, to which I'd argue began the WWE's downslide from the peak 2000 year. While Vince McMahon never hesitated to hammer many of his "yes men" who once oversaw WWE's creative decisions, Stephanie McMahon gets a free pass. Despite her ridiculous educational background for the job (communications major), Vince gave her a shot and we've been treated with the worst WWE storylines and character development of all time by the WWE. The disaster of the 2001 WCW/ECW Invasions should have been the writing on the wall, but by 2001, the WWE monopoly was in place and Vince no longer had to care about improving his product.
In recent times, Vince McMahon has been looking for people to produce "results or resignations"... Why not look within your own family, Vince? It's quite coincidental that as Stephanie/Triple H gained more power from 2000 through now, the WWE has been on a downward spiral. Television Ratings, Pay Per View Buyrates, and Live Event Attendance... All down, down, down under the Stephanie/Triple H regime which has fully replaced all of Vince's typical "yes men". Coincidence?
Vince McMahon should actively root out WHO is leaking his backstage actions and storyline ideas. I guarantee that the "leaks" would shock him, as it could be insulting to his family. Whether Triple H/Stephanie or their flunkies are leaking the details, it's highly damaging to the WWE as a corporation to have company matters for the internet wrestling fans to see with ease. It's becoming quite evident that Vince is getting stabbed in the back and quite possibly from 2 individuals who believe they could actually run the company better themselves. Hasn't 10+ years of damage as top WWE management members been enough proof?
If Vince wants to really fix his company, he needs to properly evaluate Stephanie McMahon and Triple H. Sure, they're family, but Vince has trusted them to "carry the ball" on key WWE initiatives. What's worse is that Vince actually employs two individuals whom he should lean on to help him run the company and modernize pro wrestling properly for the 21st Century. Jim Ross and Paul Heyman both earn WWE paychecks and both were proven commodities as great wrestling minds and managers of talent within pro wrestling. Yet, Vince prefers to have his daughter and pro wrestling husband run the company instead.
Stephanie and Triple H are the problems, Vince. Their stupidity is actually ruining the WWE, if not intentionally sabotaging the company from within. As Board Chairman, CEO, and majority shareholder... It's time to STEP UP and truly fix the WWE... Hell, I bet shareholders would pump up the share price upon hearing the news.
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