7 Bold Predictions For The WWE Hall Of Fame Class Of 2023
2. Vince McMahon
Would they do it?
Of course.
The real question is: will it be this year? Is less than a year sufficient, in WWE's mind, to think this one has "gone away"?
WWE celebrated Vince McMahon as he left. Stephanie McMahon mouthed that she loved her father to the camera after leading fans in a "Thank you Vince" chant after harrowing, repulsive details of McMahon's misconduct were exposed by the Wall Street Journal.
It was framed, inaccurately, as Vince McMahon's retirement. This was wrong. He resigned in disgrace amid mounting pressure which, reportedly, he now wishes he didn't sell for.
Was this heartfelt on Steph's part? Or was it seen as the lesser of two suboptimal things to do? Basically, the new management structure was torn between disavowing a disgraced monster and maintaining the facade of a family not in turmoil. They chose the latter, very briefly, and moved on immediately. They chose market performance over optics. It worked for them.
Is there any business reason to do this? Not particularly; WWE has only improved in that regard. The market is happier he's gone, it would seem.
The real kicker here is whether Vince - who retains voting power and could spark a sale of the company if he so desired - would potentially leverage that fact into an induction in order to soak up the adulation, turn babyface in front of the WWE fans who literally bow to him, and create the platform on which to make a shocking comeback.
Is he above that?