8 Signs That Vince McMahon Could Be Retiring From WWE Soon

7. The Embarrassment Of Ratings

Is all-time record low rating after all-time record law rating enough to embarrass Vince McMahon into retirement? Crazier things have happened in the world of professional wrestling-turned-sports entertainment.

What is most alarming for WWE right now, is that it's not even like their Monday and Friday night programming is going head-to-head with any wrestling rival. It's one thing to be on the receiving end of regular low ratings when you're competing against a white-hot WCW Nitro, but it's a far more worrying proposition when there's no industry competitor battling to take your viewership.

After a promising start for AEW on Wednesday nights - which has included a majority dominance over NXT in that particular ratings war - WWE ratings could take a further hit should All Elite Wrestling opt to try their hand on a Monday or a Friday and go up against the Raw or SmackDown brand.

McMahon nearly lost his company once before in the midst of a ratings war, and should the threat of AEW prove to be a genuine one to main WWE programming, it could well be that Vince doesn't have the stomach for yet another ratings war. But even with things as they are right now - with no AEW presence affecting Raw and SmackDown - desperately low viewership could play a factor in Vince simply deciding he's had enough of the sports entertainment world.

Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.

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