What is Vince McMahon's greatest creation?

[closet_fan]

I would rank these as top 3, but he has others:

Going outside the "territories" for talent. something that was never heard of back then
Hulkamania - Could easily be No. 1
Wrestlemania

[Mustang Sally]

Hulkamania.

I hesitate to say it because Hogan has become such a self-serving ass in the years since, but there's no re-writing history; the impact of Hulk in the 80's was incredible.....and it was Vince McMahon who created it, despite Hogan's claims to the contrary.

In the early 80's, McMahon's father had Hogan and didn't seem to know what to do with him. Hogan came in as a heel dubbed "The Incredible Hulk" Hogan and his impact was negligible enough that he left for AWA not long after.

It's easy to forget how huge Hogan was during his greatest era. That everything in the company often seemed to revolve around him wasn't a good thing, although it could be argued that the size and popularity attained by WWF in that era made it possible for more superstars to be seen than ever before.

Vince McMahon was the genius behind all this even though he had cast himself strictly as a TV announcer in those days. So much of what Vince was able to create later had it's basis in Hulkamania. Without it, the things that followed may not have been possible.

[Davi323]

Agree with Sally. Now, it could be said that Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan are co-responsible for the growth of pro wrestling, for transforming a regional territory model into a global empire and all that. In fact, you could argue that Hulk Hogan is the only guy that could have carried the ball like he did, and that Vince McMahon just had to sit back and watch. Personally, I think the two owe the bulk of their personal success to each other. Vince needed Hogan, Hogan needed Vince.

BUT, credit has to be given to Vince McMahon for seeing the potential in Terry Bollea. Hogan never would have risen to the top of the wrestling world in the AWA or Japan, it took Vince McMahon's vision to provide that. It was Vince's vision that saw the birth of Hulkamania, his ability to promote the super hero concept the way that he did. EVERYTHING else was built upon that relationship. Without Hulkamania, there is no Wrestlemania. Without Hulkamania, there is no Royal Rumble, no Stone Cold Steve Austin, no Rock, no global WWE empire, nothing. Without Hulkamania, the territory system doesn't get run over by the WWF freight train, because there wouldn't have been one. Without Hulkamania, Vince McMahon continues to be a regional wrestling promoter, and the WWF/E is just one of many territories struggling to remain relevant. The entire course of professional wrestling fundamentally shifted the day Vince McMahon brought Hulk Hogan back to the WWF in 1983.

[jobesukulele]

People who have talked about Austin. Austin's "Stone Cold" personality was crafted in ECW = Not a Vince Creation.

I know he said we can't say Wrestlemania. Honestly though. Wrestlemania is only number 2 anyway.

Vince's greatest creation is the WWE itself. The Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, Summerslam, Survivor Series. The whole lot.

He's created a beast of a machine that's bigger than any of its components. The WWE as a whole is even bigger than its biggest. It's bigger than the Rock, bigger than Austinm, bigger than Hogan; shit, it's even bigger than Vince McMahon.

[kokoBawesome]

Lets give some credit where its due, damn good idea for a post... i get where you're coming from, i would have assumed that alot of people would have picked wrestlemania and its natural to steer tham away from an obvious answer.

i'm gonna make a stretch and say Vince's greatest creation was wrestlemania III. He had already created the idea of "wrestlemania" but if you go back and watch the first two manias.... they sucked. wrestlemania three had the first big name roster, the first good undercard, and it relied on the celebrity of Andre and Hogan to sell it, not Mr T.

I'll go even further and claim that Hogan Andre is the first real big main event in wrestlemania history. Every thing before it was a clusterfuck. Wrestlemania 2s simulcast was a retarded failure. Setting the all time attendance record at an outdoor arena, and than putting on the first classic match made the WWF a household name. The fact that it was the night that Andre (already a household name) lost to Hogan (the guy from rocky? half kidding) took the idea of Hulkamania and made Hogan immortal.... and he was a bald 35 year old that COULDNT WRESTLE!

[Fisheatppl]

ONly one other person has mentioned my first thought, which was Monday Night Raw. It was/is so influential. It gave every perosn the ability to view pro wrestling on a regular basis (more so than other programs had been), gave a steady and consistent way to build stories, which only furthers the buys of the PPV, and most importantly it was so good that in a couple months it is about to hit 1,000 episodes, a feat not many shows can match ,albeit its not the same as a scripted show with the same cast for 1000 episodes, wrestlers have changed, by either way it is still a feat.

[Attitude Era Junkie]

Since I can't choose WrestleMania then I will say Hulkamania. Vince hand picked Hogan to be the star of his wrestling company that he was taking worldwide (or whatever). I know Hogan was responsible for the charisma and good promos to get the fans to love him but none of that Hulkamania stuff would of happened if Vince chose someone else. It feels a bit strange picking a wrestler as Vince's 2nd greatest creation but I think it is. Hogan was the Babe Ruth of wrestling back then. I don't know where the WWE would be now if Hulkamania and WrestleMania never existed.


If picking a wrestler as his greatest creation doesn't count then maybe it's Monday Night Raw. I don't know.


I tried.

[Rockyfolifebo!!!]

Hogan, Mania, PPVs, etc were all great answers! But for me PERSONALLY, I'm going to say the Attitude Era was Vince's greatest creation.

During this time, you had arguably the best pool of talent ever in the business. The Rock, Austin, Taker, Kane, Mankind, HHH, Angle, Benoit, Hardys, Dudleys, E&C, etc. Day in and day out these guys came out there and told compelling stories and put their bodies on the line in doing so. Some of the best storylines and classic moments come from this time period.

It was also good from a business standpoint. WCW was winning in the Monday Night ratings back in like '95- '96, right? So Vince realized that his formula of "Say your prayers and drink your milk" wasn't working. Around this time, you slowly started to see an increase in language, blood, etc. Fastforward to around 1999, and you have Austin bringing out beer truck in the arena, Undertaker crucifying people, DX pulling outrageous pranks on people, etc. It was truly a fun time to be a wrestling fan. The insane matches, top notch promos, and very gifted talents of the Attitude Era was Vince's best gift to me.

[Domamania]

Originally Posted by theBusiness

I'm gonna have to agree with this. Hogan didn't go out of his way to put himself over with the fans like other greats did (Austin, Rock). Vince literally put him at the top and seeing how at the time it was a huge transition for wrestling, the fans bought into it and rode along. I think it's very arguably that at that point in time, Vince could've choose anyone and they could've been what Hogan was.

Hold on, your saying that Hgan was shoved down ppls throats by the wwf anf vince mcmahon jr. well no offense your wrong. Hulk Hogan was a huge fan favorite in the awa and hulkamania was getting beloved then. Vince saw that and grabbed the opportunity to pay hogan more and to get him the title cause vince new hogan was hot before he took over him...

[DrWilsonIPersume]

VKM's greatest creation is, "SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT"

He combined yocal local wrasslin' promotions with Hollywood glam and it became the WWF, which in turn gave birth to Wrestlemania.

VKM brought wrasslin to the mainstream and away from the territories, some say this was the death, others say the beginning.

With all that being said, none of what VKM did could have been possible without Turners advent of the Superstation, but that is another topic...