6 Ways Vince McMahon Can (Realistically) Save WWE Raw's Ratings
5. Listen. Listen. Listen.
WWE's backroom team is currently home to some of the most experienced and intelligent minds in the history of the wrestling business. Pat Patterson may have moved onto a hands-off consultancy role as he advances in years, but Vince McMahon is still surrounded by a team with literally centuries of industry tenure between them.
Fans of Conrad Thompson's Something To Wrestle podcast quite rightly call Bruce Prichard out for the b*ll*cks he spouts, but beneath the act is a man who played a crucial and direct role in each of WWE's biggest boom periods. Producer Jeff Jarrett is similarly prone to self-aggrandising mendacity, but The Chosen One - whose father was set to take the WWE reigns should McMahon have been prosecuted during the steroid trial - understands wrestling inside out. Jeremy Borash is one of the most versatile people in wrestling, a veteran jack-of-all-trades with a reputation only tarnished by association with an often-barmy organisation.
The names go on. Consultant Gabe Sapolsky redefined American independents thanks to his innovative booking of Ring Of Honor, whilst the list of backstage personnel is further populated by over a dozen legacied pro-wrestlers, amongst them the likes of Robbie Brookside, Dave Finlay, Mike Rotunda and Kurt Angle.
Precisely what are all these voices adding to the company when the man in charge listens only to his own? Even Vince's own son-in-law, Paul Levesque, is said to be tearing out what little hair he has left trying to communicate with the boss. Being salaried to say 'yes' is good work if you can get it, we guess.