10 Secrets To Vince McMahon's Success
4. A New Galaxy Of Stars (And, Yes, Vince Russo)
As Turner and Bischoff dominated the North American scene, McMahon was gradually coerced into change.
Steve Austin petitioned to add a foul-mouthed cutting edge to his character. Shawn Michaels and Triple H sensed the attitudinal shift in wider society, and urged McMahon to grab the lowbrow zeitgeist. And, yes, Vince Russo seduced McMahon into both lowering the tone and accepting his fate as a heel - thus formally creating the Mr. McMahon character.
He also knew who not to listen to; Bret Hart was firmly against the WWF's crude new direction in 1997 - to such an extent that he wouldn't allow his children to watch - and Vince elected to ignore his antiquated vision for pro wrestling. Hart was a genius in the ring, but he wasn't prescient. Those who were enjoyed the next level of mainstream success as McMahon, eventually, rekindled his creative genius. McMahon's instincts didn't fail him, even if his narrow vision threatened to.
A quick side note on the much-missed, dearly-departed and little-known Chris Kreski - the man who steered the creative ship behind the magnificent year 2000. Even before his untimely 2005 death, the man was unassuming to a degree Russo wasn't, despite being as responsible for the WWF's second mainstream boom period.