The Ripple Effect 5.4.07: The McMahonization of America
Posted by Zac Calhoun on 05.04.2007
In the wake of his extreme-ly crappy ECW title win, we take a look at how Vince McMahon has been able to gain a better wrestling resume than 80% of the men he ever employed.
I was reading through the news after Backlash Sunday night and read that Vince McMahon won the ECW Title. Okay cool, how'd the Last Man St…wait, what now?
I wasn't able to catch the PPV Sunday (which correlates with my general lack of time during the months of March and April), so imagine my surprise when I went to WWE.com and discovered the shocking truth. All of a sudden Lashley was injured and possibly on the way out and Vince and his doo-rag were hoisting the ECW with a smug old-man look that no doubt made Paul Heyman's soul shrink a little. After the initial shock went away, I realized it was the same roided glow that overcame him when he headlined six WrestleManias, won the WWE title, and reigned supreme in his company's signature match. And it was this last offense that shocked the most and paved the way for the McMahon family to take over the wrestling world.
The most consistently exciting match in wrestling, year in and year out, is the Royal Rumble. Not only do the fans get the chance to see all of their favorite stars in one hour-long extravaganza, but the match's implications couldn't be bigger. The guy who wins the Royal Rumble is automatically positioned to steer the wrestling world for the next good while (some longer than others…Rey). So the last thing WWE would want is for a non-credible wrestler – much less a non-wrestler – to steal the spotlight away from an actual draw…right? Clearly, I've made the common mistake of underestimating people's desire to watch Vince McMahon wrestle.
So let's turn back the clock to a most infamous night in wrestling history, an event that saw Mick Foley getting his brain absolutely scrambled by more than twenty People's Chairshots, the triumphant return of Mabel just days before his Viscera-fication, and the most sour ending to a Royal Rumble I ever hope to encounter.
In a series of event starting with Survivor Series 1996 and culminating in spectacular fashion at WM XIV, Stone Cold Steve Austin took over basically every aspect of the WWF's business. He was the hottest commodity the wrestling industry had produced in years, and his revolutionary character made such a strong connection with the fans that to think of the main event picture was to think of Stone Cold. And he was very much the focus of the WWF when the Royal Rumble of 1999 rolled around. By that time, he'd enjoyed two reigns as WWF Champion and was the obvious choice to put against then-champion the Rock at WM XV. The only thing in his way was to win the Rumble and earn the title shot. He'd managed to win it each of the past two years, so it didn't seem like too big a stretch for him to complete the trifecta and kick McMahon's ass while doing it.
Then it came time for the match itself, which is still the most "sports entertainment" Rumble I can remember thanks in no small part to the antics of Austin and Vince. Not long after the match started, the hatred between the two grew beyond the simple confines of the ring and eventually made its way to a bathroom where Vince's Corporation gave Austin a well-timed heel beatdown. Vince then decided that his best role in the Rumble was at the announce table and sat out the rest of the match. That is, until Austin returned and stomped the proverbial mudhole right in Vince's ass. When it finally came down to Austin and McMahon in the final two, Rocky (fresh from bringing Foley a little closer to retarded) emerged and distracted Stone Cold long enough for McMahon to effortlessly toss him over the top rope and become the winner of the twelfth WWF Royal Rumble.
Running Tally
Vince McMahon:
Royal Rumble Winner
Major Focus of WM XV Main Event
The fans…were not happy. Vince had booked himself to win the company's most high-profile match by eliminating its most popular star in ages. He was now positioned (seemingly) to compete in the main event of wrestling's biggest show against one of his closest allies at the time. And oh yeah, Vince WASN'T A WRESTLER! I had just turned thirteen when this happened and wasn't really in the know about the business, and I was fuming over this decision. So I can only imagine what the smark crowd was thinking when they first saw Vince's name right there beside Austin, Bret and Michaels as Rumble winners. Let's not forget, at this point Vince wrestling wasn't as common as it eventually became. He'd never main evented a PPV (that would come a month later), and he'd certainly never won a world championship. Yes, that Rumble win was quite the shitty moment for us fans. But rather than just end the ridiculousness there, Vince started a trend that continues to this very day.
From there Vince stayed in the spotlight, even finding time to introduce more and more members of his family to the world. Shane was already dancing and taking bumps by the time his daddy won the Rumble, and Stephanie was living in constant fear of GothTaker (who turned out to be Vince's ally). Eventually Linda joined the party right in time for each of them to be featured on the WM 2000 cover along with their respective clients for the WWF title, which Vince himself had briefly won earlier in the year. The show ended when Vince turned on Rocky and aligned himself with his two demon seeds and seed-in-law HHH. The next year, Vince's ego grew so expansive it consumed Austin's very character, and in the WM X-Seven main event, Stone Cold joined forces with McMahon. For two years in a row, the big blowoff show ended with Vince and his flunky standing tall over the heroic babyface.
But at least that ego had only affected his own property up to that point. With the downfall of ECW and WCW within months of each other, McMahon appreciation hit the very heights of insanity and left two valuable brand names greatly damaged in the process.
Running Tally
Vince McMahon:
Royal Rumble Winner
WWF Champion
Major Focus of WM XV and WM X-Seven Main Event
When the first inklings of the InVasion began, wrestling fans found themselves getting what they'd always wanted to see: their favorite stars from both national promotions going head to head. It was surreal and satisfying to see guys like Booker T and Diamond Dallas Page in a WWF ring calling out big-time WWF superstars. In essence, this storyline had the potential to draw huge money and, despite the lack of many proven draws, bridge the gap between the different parts of wrestling's audience. But like the ______________, sometimes things just don't work the way we want them to. For Vince, the InVasion wasn't an chance to make right what WCW's management wouldn't, to combine what worked about both of the styles, to give the people the dream matches they could now realistically see.
It was a backdrop to the convulted McMahon soap opera.
Let's start with the final broadcast of Monday Nitro, which began as a tribute to the legacy of World Championship Wrestling with a pep talk from the one man who deserves to be giving it: Ric Flair. Flair gave a very impassioned speech about the men who made the business what it is and insisted that the spirit of WCW would endure long after the company goes under. The rest of the night was filled with much of what made WCW great in the first place. The cruiserweights did their thing, Booker T went out as the last true WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and Flair closed out the company's life in a match with fellow WCW symbol Sting. It was already a memorable night when it came time for Vince to address the WCW roster. After a vintage Vince tirade about how the fate of WCW was in his hands, the demon seed himself appeared on Nitro and revealed that he'd bought the promotion behind daddy's back.
That's right, the final segment in the history of Nitro, a show that changed the very foundations of the business, was a McMahon driven swerve. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.
Running Tally
Vince McMahon:
Royal Rumble Winner
WWF Champion
Major Focus of WM XV and WM X-Seven Main Event
Owner of the WCW and ECW Names
Central Character In "Biggest Storyline Ever"
Fast forward six years later to the present. After a period of relative seclusion starting in 2004, Vince has returned to just as prominent and unyielding a spot in the storylines as ever. In the past year, he has headlined Backlash, SummerSlam, Unforgiven and WrestleMania 23. All the while, he has given key on and off-camera roles to members of his immediate family and has made no apologies for this kind of nepotism (it's a very part of his character even). The "Battle of the Billionaires" was THE most heavily promoted match at WM, on a card that included two very hot main events, star-making performances during MITB and the Battle for ECW.
And now he's the ECW World Champion. Sabu, Tazz, Raven, RVD…Vince McMahon.
So let's find some kind of reasoning within all this. After all, Vince is a businessman, and businessmen don't make decisions they don't think will help their company. What's the good in putting yourself above the people who have worked for you and have actually earned their chance to hold a wrestling belt? The answer lies in the very fucked up world inside Vince's head. His ego is so enormous that anything – be it a title history, a company's legacy, even the game of football – is better after he's had his name attached to it. Think about it from Vince's perspective: you created an American media giant, and the wrestling world is now synonymous (in the eyes of many) with your organization. Wouldn't you think your name has some value?
And in truth it does. His presence certainly made the Lashley/Umaga feud more interesting, and his heat-drawing skills are really unsurpassed in the entire sport. But the fact that he keeps heaping wrestling honors on himself reveals more arrogance and insecurity than anything he could do on-screen with one of the Divas.
Final Tally
Vince McMahon:
Royal Rumble Winner
WWE Champion
ECW Champion
Major Focus of WM XV and WM X-Seven Main Event
Owner of the WCW and ECW Names
Central Character In "Biggest Storyline Ever"
It's the mindset that fueled his win in the '99 Rumble. It's the mindset that made him think he and his son's faces ending the TV career of WCW was a good idea. It's the mindset that the ECW name deserves people like Stephanie as its owner and the genetic jackhammer himself as its champion. It's the mindset that Vince McMahon equals money…that leads to shit like this.
The one good thing that will come from having Vince as ECW champ: whoever takes it from him will be mega-over! Hell, maybe that's the point.
