10 Awful WWE Clichés That Refuse To Go Away
4. Evil Bosses
Mr. McMahon is one of the most important characters in WWE history. Born through the Montreal Screwjob, Vince’s “evil boss” persona was a vital antagonist during the company’s most successful period - the Attitude Era. His presence and feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin made for must-see television, and while his creativity has always been questionable (HLA, the “Kiss My Ass” Club…), his performance skills have not.
Sadly, Mr. McMahon’s success is a double-edged sword, and heel authority figures have been done to death. Years of evil corporations, commissioners, and general managers have seen a once-effective character type reduced to cliché, and it continues through Stephanie McMahon on Raw today. The gimmick is played-out, fans are entirely sick of it, and you need only look at Daniel Bryan’s success as a fair, affable SmackDown GM to realise this.
The audience is sick to death of heel authority figures oppressing and tormenting the company’s babyface stars. They hog the spotlight, take-up valuable airtime, and, worst of all, drag heat away from the wrestlers and transfer it to themselves. It’s time to put the heel authority figure gimmick on the shelf for a while, let it rest, and revive it only once in a blue moon. The tools that brought WWE success in the Attitude Era don’t work anymore, and this is a perfect example.