10 Major Challenges Facing WWE In 2019

1. Overcoming Founder's Syndrome

WWE Roster Too Many Wrestlers
WWE.com

It's trendy to point the finger at Vince McMahon when assigning culpability for WWE's woes, but while such arguments tend to be blown way out of proportion, the promotion is suffering from an acute dose of founder's syndrome.

Per the Free Management Library:-

"This syndrome occurs when, rather than working toward its overall mission, the organization operates primarily according to the personality of a prominent person in the organization, for example, the founder, board chair/president, chief executive, etc."

Symptoms include said founder taking control of all major decisions (often in crisis mode, without foresight), the company's identity matching its leader, extreme nepotism, the founder believing their ideas should always win over objectively better options, the founder believing their own press, and more.

... sound familiar?

This isn't a call for Vince to leave, nor is it an argument that Vince is, indeed, evil incarnate. He's the main reason WWE reached such a dominant position in the first place. Regardless, his management style continues to breed problems at a time when the promotion have never needed him less, with executives George Barrios and Michelle Wilson creating a robust, balance sheet-busting business system that maximises revenue and profits with unparalleled efficiency, while Triple H is more than ready to inherit the creative helm.

There's no guarantee that Vince stepping aside would push WWE forward, but certain aspects of their operations would almost certainly improve.

Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.