10 Most Damaging Figures In The History Of Wrestling
8. Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon is an arms-out, strutting paradox. He built the professional wrestling industry as we know it today, but in doing so destroyed what it used to be. He must be included here.
McMahon's national expansion of the early 1980s completely torpedoed the old regional territory system. McMahon was able to weed out his competition by purchasing their TV slots and offering their top stars considerably more money. Whether he was right to do so or not not isn't the subject of debate here: he did. With the exception of Jim Crockett Promotions, essentially every company of note floundered.
The AWA, raided for Hulk Hogan, Curt Hennig et al., stood no chance. Poor old Rick Martel drew nothing with their World Heavyweight Title. Bill Watts' massively influential Mid-South Wrestling popularised the episodic TV model but no longer had the finances to sustain it. His roster of Ted DiBiase, Jake Roberts et al. had been thoroughly depleted. That's how McMahon won, ultimately.
McMahon also buried WCW's corpse during the infamous 2001 Invasion angle, partly via petty ego, partly because, realistically, the affordable talent was nowhere near the level of his Attitude Era powerhouses.