I see this on the forum a lot from long-time posters, that they know "What Vince likes...". He put the belt on a 190 pound guy that can't talk on the mic. How do you actually know "What Vince likes..." on a given day without actually knowing the person? Serious question.
"We know Vince likes..."
- Thread starter DCLXVI
- Start date
Snugglebites
Sufferin' Succotash.
It says so on the Internet. The Internet is never wrong.
That's because guys like dave Meltzer and other dirt sheet writers pretty much ''Report'' this everyday on the internet and we know that these guys are never wrong.
OYDK
King Of The Ring
So this is clearly in regards to what I said on another thread... I'll just say this. If you've watched enough interviews, read enough first-hand accounts, bought enough wrestling biographies, and seen enough shoots, it's not difficult to discern the patterns in relation to what guys say about Vince McMahon in some cases.
For instance, I said we know that Vince likes his big men to wrestle like big men. We know this because people from Hulk Hogan to the Big Show to Bruce Pritchard to Big Cass have stated this. They could be lying, but why would they lie about something as inconsequential as that? You don't have to know Vince personally to know some aspects of his personality or preferences. It's one thing to say, Vince has generally preferred bigger wrestlers and it's another thing to say Vince is a scumbag of a human being.
For instance, I said we know that Vince likes his big men to wrestle like big men. We know this because people from Hulk Hogan to the Big Show to Bruce Pritchard to Big Cass have stated this. They could be lying, but why would they lie about something as inconsequential as that? You don't have to know Vince personally to know some aspects of his personality or preferences. It's one thing to say, Vince has generally preferred bigger wrestlers and it's another thing to say Vince is a scumbag of a human being.
Jack-Hammer
YOU WILL RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH!!!!
This pretty much the answer to the question posed in the OP.
Can we ever truly, 100% know what's in someone else's head? Of course not, but there's a fountain of information that's out there over the years, decades even, that allows us to have an idea as to what makes Vince McMahon tick. Based on information from people who've been close enough to Vince, worked with him and/or have known him for decades, it's reasonable to say that Vince does have a specific ideal as to what a top level guy should be. Does that mean that you have to be a big, muscular stud in order to be a true top level guy? No, otherwise Mason Ryan would've long since had the run of the place rather than being released, but it certainly helps, especially if you have other things going for you. For instance, it's reasonable to say that Vince very much enjoys guys who look like and come across like stereotypical alpha males to be THE top level guys. Look at Austin, Rock, Undertaker, Angle, Triple H, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, John Cena and Roman Reigns; all of them are guys that are a minimum of about 6'2", have/had ripped, powerful builds, looked like badasses, been intimidating, north of 250 lbs. had movie star good looks or some combination of any or all of the above.
Now, of course, this doesn't mean that guys like Ambrose, Rollins, Styles, Owens, Jericho, Punk, Bryan, Balor, Nakamura, Joe and others haven't had or won't have great careers in WWE. However, they don't LOOK like alpha males who kill themselves in the weight room and will probably not be among THE true 1% top tier guys. Based on what we've heard and read about Vince over many years from numerous sources, Vince is someone that does put a good deal of stock into lookism. It's not the end all, be all for him the way many smarks and writers try to claim, but it's a significant factor.
First off: Dave Meltzer has to be the most overrated wrestling journalist in the history of wrestling, there's nothing he does that's really anything different from others except that he was the first to do it.
Second off: Regardless, I think Vince's vision for a star has three factors.
1. You have to be big- See: Triple H, Undertaker, Big Show, Kane, Cass, Sheamus, Braun Strowman, etc.
2. You have to have a certain appeal to yourself (like, for kids or for teenagers)- See: John Cena, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, Steve Austin, Sable, Chyna, etc.
And 3, You have to have an it factor (Highly charismatic on the mic, million dollar look, that sort of thing)- See: John Cena, Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Finn Balor, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Edge, Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Paige, (for a while at least) etc.
Sure it would be nice to have all three of them, but I think at least having two is fine enough for McMahon's eyes to push you. Not really sure about having just one; but hey, never stopped anyone right?
Second off: Regardless, I think Vince's vision for a star has three factors.
1. You have to be big- See: Triple H, Undertaker, Big Show, Kane, Cass, Sheamus, Braun Strowman, etc.
2. You have to have a certain appeal to yourself (like, for kids or for teenagers)- See: John Cena, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, Steve Austin, Sable, Chyna, etc.
And 3, You have to have an it factor (Highly charismatic on the mic, million dollar look, that sort of thing)- See: John Cena, Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Finn Balor, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Edge, Charlotte, Sasha Banks, Paige, (for a while at least) etc.
Sure it would be nice to have all three of them, but I think at least having two is fine enough for McMahon's eyes to push you. Not really sure about having just one; but hey, never stopped anyone right?
Jonyboyuk2
Getting Noticed By Management
If you ask DX- VINCE LOVES COCK!
No one really knows what Vince likes except Vince himself, and sometimes I wonder if he really knows. He seems to blow hot and cold at times. By the looks of who gets pushed though, Vince likes guys who look like wrestlers. You know the more muscles the better.
Don't know where that leaves the Finn Balor's and Kevin Owens of this world, but they also get pushed. All I do know is if Vince doesn't think you have it, whatever it is, you will never get to the top. It doesn't matter what the fans say, it all rests with him since he has the final decision.
Vanilla Midget
Championship Contender
It's pretty simple deductive reasoning. The biggest stars of every generation have been physically large men. Bruno, Hogan, Austin, Rock, Lesnar, Cena, and it goes on. Even the special attractions have been big: Undertaker, Kane, Big Show, etc.
To the OPs point: absolutely no person in the IWC that isn't VKM's close personal confidant can claim to have any tangible knowledge of what that man does or like.
On the other hand, even an idiot can see that more often than not, large men who generally have bodybuilder style physiques have been the ones that have been pushed in WWE. It also doesn't take Sherlock to deduce that these large men have also been the centre pieces when the company has seen its most profitable boom periods.
Vince likes big muscly men. Listen to him lose it over Gary Strydom during the WBF days. That's just a happy byproduct of the truth though: which is big bodybuilder men have hands down made him and his family the most money. Sammartino, Hogan, and Steve Austin fit that bill.
To the OPs point: absolutely no person in the IWC that isn't VKM's close personal confidant can claim to have any tangible knowledge of what that man does or like.
On the other hand, even an idiot can see that more often than not, large men who generally have bodybuilder style physiques have been the ones that have been pushed in WWE. It also doesn't take Sherlock to deduce that these large men have also been the centre pieces when the company has seen its most profitable boom periods.
Vince likes big muscly men. Listen to him lose it over Gary Strydom during the WBF days. That's just a happy byproduct of the truth though: which is big bodybuilder men have hands down made him and his family the most money. Sammartino, Hogan, and Steve Austin fit that bill.
Kodo Sawaki
Championship Contender
King Ross sums it up good
[youtube]Vm1CKgujrEw[/youtube]
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BestSportsEntertainer
I Don't Need No User Title
No one knows exactly what Vince wants. However if you look at his decisions and tendencies, it's fair to logically conclude certain things.
Yes he is willing to push smaller wrestlers. See Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Finn Balor, and others. However he doesn't see them as the top guy.
Daniel Bryan did win the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. However he got pushed aside in favor of Roman Reigns the next year. Remember in the Royal Rumble, Bryan was eliminated by Bray Wyatt in less than ten minutes. Meanwhile WWE did everything in their power to get Reigns over as the winner. Ultimately that predictably failed, but it's clear WWE wanted Reigns instead of Bryan.
On the other hand, Finn Balor debuted and defeated Reigns in his first match on the main roster. Maybe it only happened because of Reigns' suspension, but it still happened. He then beat Rollins for the Universal Title at SummerSlam. Fast forward nearly one year later, and where is Balor now? He was left off the last PPV. Meanwhile Reigns recently conquered the Streak and is being groomed to dethrone Lesnar.
CM Punk had the thrilling Summer of Punk angle and then a 500 day WWE Title reign. However the former resulted in Punk jobbing to HHH and Kevin Nash returning. Nash then sent himself a text message, which somehow led to HHH vs Nash. During Punk's title reign, Cena main evented most of the PPVs. Even John Laurinaitis once main evented over Punk.
So in conclusion, Vince is willing to push smaller wrestlers but doesn't see them as the main guy. Hogan, Austin, Rock, Cena, Reigns. What do they all have in common? They had a great look and were more built than the smaller wrestlers I mentioned above. So although we don't know exactly what Vince wants, the points I made are fair to assume, given his history.
So the question now becomes is Vince wrong for not wanting smaller wrestlers as the top guy? Well not necessarily. I have no problems with Reigns being pushed as the top guy. However there is a problem with how WWE has pushed Reigns. Everything that happens feels meaningless because in the end it's all about Roman. It's the same problem I had with Cena's run. Everything in WWE basically revolved around him for over 10 years. No it wasn't all Cena's fault, and it's unfair to blame him for that, but the product suffered greatly and is still suffering.
Big Nick Dudley
Nick
Vince clearly favors a certain type of star. Big, muscular guys. It they can't talk, get them a mouthpiece. If they can't work, make them dominate. If they can't make those things work, they're gone.
I think it's outdated, but I don't think HHH and Stephanie will be any better.
It seems the WWE always comes around to smaller guys who are over (DB, Punk), but they usually wait until half of their steam is gone. I don't think you can create household names anymore. Needs to be organic.
Then again, the audience today seems to pick guys just because they are the polar opposite of what Vince likes, which is also irritating.
I think it's outdated, but I don't think HHH and Stephanie will be any better.
It seems the WWE always comes around to smaller guys who are over (DB, Punk), but they usually wait until half of their steam is gone. I don't think you can create household names anymore. Needs to be organic.
Then again, the audience today seems to pick guys just because they are the polar opposite of what Vince likes, which is also irritating.
Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.
Kamehamehaaaaa!!
I don't know guys.. Remember Cesaro? Ryback? And many other wrestlers that were called "Vince's pet projects" these past 5 years? None of them became a main eventer, except Roman. So if Vince really liked them, shouldn't they be main eventers?
Sure, Vince might like his big tall muscular men, but Vince likes money much more than that. That's why AJ became champion, that's why Owens became champ, that's why Punk broke out. Nobody from the main eventers is a main eventer just because Vince liked him.
Sure, Vince might like his big tall muscular men, but Vince likes money much more than that. That's why AJ became champion, that's why Owens became champ, that's why Punk broke out. Nobody from the main eventers is a main eventer just because Vince liked him.
Right, but looked what happened to them right after they lost the main title belts? Owens was never really the main focus of RAW when Champion. Punk never main evented a WrestleMania during this timeframe when he was champion for over a year. It seems like these guys were skyrocketed to the Main Event scene based off of Triple H wanting to stray away from bigger guys being the better guys in the business. I do feel Triple H has had influence on pushing Punk, Owens, Styles and Bryan. When it comes to these guys only exceptions for being pushed exceptionally well were Daniel Bryan & Styles as both Bryan & Styles had a great runs as Champion.
Fire Marshall Bill
Let me show ya somethin!!!
Still a moronic fanboy on this I see? It's called life altering injury. Pretty sure this decision worked out in WWE's favor.