10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About Vince McMahon

Vince McMahon is so awful that even WWE is trying to make you forget him...

Vince McMahon
WWE

WWE and Vince McMahon share a very bizarre relationship in 2023, which is itself bizarre, since they are one and the same. If you subscribe to certain theories and are of a more cynical disposition, the behind the scenes power struggle is as real as it is fascinating.

After very swiftly moving on from him after a very brief "Thank you, Vince" smokescreen in July of last year, the brief nature of which told its own story, WWE effectively wants you to forget that Vince McMahon even exists. If you believe recent reports, the promotion is attempting to literally manifest this and "Vince-proof" itself by booking TV matches weeks in advance. That is apparently because Vince, operating remotely, insists that he does not want to scrub advertised matches, and is seemingly being tested in an intricate political game. He has failed the test more than once, but it hardly matters.

The ghost at the feast cannot be exorcised; it's his company, and while this is conspiratorial, he might only be making slight changes to the show here and there because he knows that now is not the time for a full takeover. The current product is too well-received by its base.

Vince does exist - unfortunately so, for the many people around him...

10. Just How Bad It Got When He Last Took Total Control

Vince McMahon
WWE.com

WWE is on the rise.

The promotion sets record gates virtually everywhere it goes. SmackDown ratings are skyrocketing, with the product anchored by the Bloodline saga, and Raw is doing great numbers too. WWE is hot and in a growth period. That this has happened with Vince McMahon gone (and subsequently back, but lurking menacingly on the periphery) is no coincidence whatsoever.

Given that he is slyly creeping back into the mix, he'd probably want you to forget - if he were capable of introspection - just how poor the product was before he "retired" in July 2022.

Nobody got over, really, unless their character was guided by Paul Heyman. While he could pull off a quite incredible WrestleMania night one, and didn't get a chance to ruin Cody Rhodes, McMahon's product was bone dry at best and impossibly stupid at worst.

Triple H has a disaster in him - Uncle Howdy was an abomination - but in the dying days of Vince's WWE, disaster was the norm.

But really, by the end, WWE was actually more tedious than anything else. You couldn't even rely on the perverse laugh that was watching a decaying old man soiled his pants; absolutely nothing of actual interest happened on his shows.

WWE would rather you forget the content void over which Vince presided because the prospect of a return to those days might dampen this boom.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!