Why Vince McMahon and the WWE?

[klunderbunker]

We're coming up on 30 years since Vince McMahon Jr. bought out his father's company which is now known as WWE. In that time, WCW has come and gone, ECW has come and gone, the AWA has gone and didn't make it that long, the NWA is dead, and now WWE owns wrestling. It has no competition, it has no rivals, and it has no one close to it. It has been over ten years since WCW was a threat to the company and no one has come close since.

What I want to know is why. Why has Vince been able to survive this long? What has he done differently than guys like Heyman and Bischoff and Gagne and Von Erich and Jarrett? Why are Vince and the WWE the only company that has been able to survive and even thrive while everyone else has died off?

 

[Max Headroom]

It's because WWE is mainstream. A casual fan skimming through channels will possibly stop because they see the recognizable WWE symbol in the corner, they decide to watch for a bit. But any other wrestling promotion they see they don't even second guess at it.

The WWE always changes, to keep an audience and/or to gain new audience. Also now, it's pretty much the only choice the wrestling fan got. Sure there is TNA and ROH, but they don't count, nor are they on the same timeslot(ROH comes on 9:30-10:30 then RAW starts 10:45). So if you wanna watch wrestling, you watch WWE. Not to mention they got quite the few recognizable names to help keep the attention there when someone decides to stop for a minute while skimming channels.

The WWE survived pretty much because its the WWE. People know what they are and what they do, and the majority of people either still watch or at least used to watch it. Many still call it the WWF but at least they still realize it's the same company. They have been, IMO, putting out the best quality since I ever started watching. So I guess that got alot to do with why they stayed alive while the rest died.

 

[Judah's Lion]

this is a very interesting question that could have very long and detailed answers...

the way i see it, there are three main things that have probably helped a lot:

1. money. obviously, this will help any business. it helped with marketing, advertising, talents, celebrities, etc.

2. luck. let's be honest, here; some of VKM's genius is just dumb luck. Vince and the WWE have gotten very lucky in the past and present. Hogan left WWE. WWE had to decide if it wanted to market to Mexico with Tito Santana or to Canada with Bret Hart. Vince picked Bret and the rest is history. just a lucky guess. Brock Lesnar left WWE. Vince had to pick a new star. he picked Batista and John Cena. Batista was a huge draw as is Cena still today. some of this is just lucky guessing.

3. loyalty. for whatever reason, my very first taste of wrestling was the WWF back in the day. and now, just because, i still watch it and read about it as often as possible. i still liked WCW and i still enjoy TNA, but WWE has my loyalty. i'm sure i'm not alone in that. it's just familiar. i know the history and the stars. i know the matches and events. and so WWE has crazy loyalty. and not just from the fans. from some of the stars and families. how many 2nd and 3rd generation stars have there been in other promotions not named WWE? and if there are some out there that i'm not aware of, how many of them tried WWE first and failed or were let go? WWE has the loyalty of wrestling families (Orton, Hart, Maivia/Johnson, Hennig, Fatu, Anoai, Dibiase, Rotundo, etc). so there's lots of loyalty.

i know that these are super basic points that i'm not elaborating upon, but i think between the three above listed reasons, this may be a large part of VKM's success. it also probably helps that this guy was raised in the business, loves and has a passion for this business, and is just generally a smart guy.

 

[oldschool123]

We're coming up on 30 years since Vince McMahon Jr. bought out his father's company which is now known as WWE. In that time, WCW has come and gone, ECW has come and gone, the AWA has gone and didn't make it that long, the NWA is dead, and now WWE owns wrestling. It has no competition, it has no rivals, and it has no one close to it. It has been over ten years since WCW was a threat to the company and no one has come close since.

What I want to know is why. Why has Vince been able to survive this long? What has he done differently than guys like Heyman and Bischoff and Gagne and Von Erich and Jarrett? Why are Vince and the WWE the only company that has been able to survive and even thrive while everyone else has died off?

Wrestling is wrestling, it's all pretty much the same. I think it all has to do with the way that the WWE is able to create stars and make them attractive not only to wrestling fans but to the general public aswell.

Just look at the movies right now. You've got The Expendables that has Steve Austin in it, you've got The Other Guys with The Rock and ofcourse Legendary with Cena. WWE has found its way into popculture.

As Vince says himself, he isn't in the wrasslin' business he is in the sports entertainment business.

 

[The Doctor]

Interesting question.

Now, I may be talking out of my ass, but out of everything I've read and all the research I've done, I think it boils down to a combination of running WWE like a company rather than just a wrestling promotion, and an aggressive business plan.

The WWE is not like other wrestling companies backstage. They are a publicly traded corporation. They have a team of people to keep the place running like a well-oiled machine. The backstage mentality is just...different. And I believe it's this that has helped the WWE thrive throughout the years. I mean, look at WCW, the company that should have succeeded. With people behind the scenes not knowing anything about running a company, it folded in the end after becoming a complete mess.

Something that could be examples of both WWE being run with a corporate mentality as well as them trying to stay ahead of the curve is the presence of the 90-day No Compete clause. The clause, which came as a result of Luger's jumping ship to WCW, is a way of preventing released WWE wrestlers from going to other televised companies within a sensible timeframe that would allow them to really capitalize on any momentum they may have gained from WWE. You see, Vince saw what happened with Hall, Nash, Luger, and others, and decided to act. This is part of the aggressive business plan I was alluding to earlier.

The other examples of the aggressive business plan are the buying of the territories, and the Attitude Era. The quickest way to get WWE exposed to a huge market would be to "invade". Vince swooped in, bought up all the local territories and their TV spots, and forced people to watch WWE's product. He forced it to become popular. People had no other alternative but to watch WWE should they want their wrestling fix. As for the Attitude Era, Vince saw that ratings were dipping for WWE and soaring for WCW, so he decided to act and put as much sex and violence on TV as possible. The TV he provided was aggressive, and shocking, and it caused people to tune in and continue to tune in to see what he could possibly get away with next.

Finally, this aggressive business plan has led to what we have dubbed the Youth Movement. Vince was too busy coasting on old stars recently that he forgot to build new ones. So what does he do? He starts to shove the youth into the spotlight, giving monster pushes to guys like Sheamus and Jack Swagger, in an attempt to build those new stars. While that worked for Sheamus, it failed for Swagger and McIntyre, and so Vince went and started this Youth Movement afresh, giving gradual and more believable pushes to guys like The Miz.

In conclusion, it's a combination of force and money that really has kept the WWE on top these years. They used the aggressive marketing to build the loyal fanbase, used the corporate mentality to keep the company chugging along, and it's worked for them through the years and doesn't show signs of stopping to work any time soon.

 

[vampirek]

It's rather simple yet at the same time only the WWE has manage to do it. The reason is the WWE isn't afraid of changing. Vince was the man who broke the old system of wrestling. Going nationwide and making the industry much bigger than ever before.
Then he saw the media value in Hulk Hogan and exploited it to high heavens, allowing the WWF to take control at the first chance given.

It worked up until the 90's. With the drug scandal the WWF suffered heavily and allowed WCW to grow. To combat that Vince introduced the New Generation, whereas WCW used the old generation to start dominating the market. However in the long run it seemed Vince had it right (yes of course WCW messed up too). His policy of changing the company to allow new blood in would in the future allow of him to take back the number 1 spot.

Then you had ECW thrown into the mix, the problem with that is it appealled to a small set of fans. It was nothing more than a cult. WCW and WWF simply caught on to this and the Hardcore Era was born. Once again showing another side to the WWF.

Vince is also very clever as to who he puts on top, by that you had Hulk Hogan and his superhero like attitude. During the new era you had Bret Hart, HBK who focused on wrestling. During the Attitude Era you had Austin who couldn't give a **** and raised hell. There was the short lived Next Big Thing era placed Lesnar on top and now we have the misunderstood 'PG' era with Cena on top. All with something in common, an audience outside the wrestling. Sooner or later Cena's reign on top will end and the next wrestler will be placed on top, but whoever that is usually fits with the attitude of the company

This constant change has allowed the WWE and Vince to stay on top, the likes of WCW, ECW etc did not evolve to survive. WCW tried to but by that time it was damage limitation.

Surprisingly despite what people might say about TNA and using old talent etc, you can't actually deny they have tried new things and look to open the market back up. They aren't resting on what they have. Although they lack one big thing, they don't have the top man. By that, who actually is TNA's version of Austin, Rock, Cena etc. The money maker, the one who can expose TNA in other forms of media and so on.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

TNA lacks a lot more than one big thing... one crucial thing Vince has is time served... he and most of the people who have been major components of the backstage have had years and often decades in the business... Vince had guys like Gorilla Monsoon, Pat Patterson, Tony Garea and The Fink around... In todays WWE there are agents like DiBiase, Malenko, Anderson and before his health probs Steamboat... It didn't make him invincible, but that level of experience means that people will always gravitate towards WWE as the home of wrestling... but The most crucial thing is that Vince understands how to keep WWE relevant to non wrestling fans, they may not watch but a layman ALWAYS knows at least one WWE superstar of each era, be it Hogan, Warrior, Bret, Stone Cold, Rock, Cena, Taker, Jericho or even Benoit... It used to be by putting them on ice cream, then it became shock TV, now cos their guys are all over movies, TV shows and even Music... That is the trick TNA, WCW and every other fed has failed with... becoming part of pop culture...

 

[Hazardous]

Great thread KB. For me I think it's summed up in this Video

[YOUTUBE]v/HznErMk97B4?fs=1&[/YOUTUBE]

The fact that Vince is able to adapt to the times, change the product up to meet the standards of that time. That was something the other companies did not do as well.

"As the times have changed, so have we" Great quote, because it really does ring true.

 

[dionlyone18]

I think someone said it earlier..Loyalty...you love WWE or you hate i..they are still watching and reading about it...When VKM put the WWE on Cenas back he was taking a huggggge risk. and now look almost 5 years later Hes still on top and whether you hate him or love him you still talk about him..which makes people come watch to see what all the fuss is.From Guest host to the PG era people have been hating on the WWE but i ask the same question to everyone that hates on the WWE so much...WHY DO YOU STILL WATCH?? its loyalty..you cant help but to watch..no matter the negatives..its still entertainment.and if your that loyal fan like me..youll turn your channel to RAW on MOndays at 9. ill watch TNA from time to time but TNA is trying to hard to make it to real and not entertainment and wont try to be like themselves instead of trying to be like WWE. so it lets people know WWE is still out there...so to sum it all up its loyalty and even if you hate it you got to respect it without VKM who knows where WWE will be

 

[The Con Volt]

I think it's a lot more simple than we are all making it out to be. For starters, Vince made the big leap by breaking all the "rules". Before it was customary to see promotions tour the entire country, in some cases the world, a promotion was meant to follow the "rules" and stay in their territory. That's why most of the promotions in those days had names pertaining to the area they performed in. The only people who would ever move around were the wrestlers when they would be traded or "borrowed" by another promotion for a night, a week and sometimes the promoter who borrowed them would try to woo the wrestler in question to come over to their promotion indefinitely. Even this was against the "rules".

What Vince did was he got big TV deals so when a WWF show was going on in Madison Square Garden, you could watch the action in say, Florida. This was the first time that a promotion defied these rules and guidelines and promoted their product outside of their territory. Eventually Vince took it even further by bringing a WWF show out of his territory and into other markets. And he also started signing wrestlers to exclusive deals so they could only be seen in a WWF product.

That's the difference between Vince McMahon and everyone else. When it was customary to keep a promotion in one place and toss the wrestlers around from promotion to promotion on a weekly basis, Vince did the exact opposite. He made sure that the wrestler's he wanted could only appear under the WWF banner, and he made that banner visible across the country and eventually, the world. Ambition is why it's Vince McMahon and WWE.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I have little doubt that this thread will eventually get its share of people that absolutely hate Vince or want to rag on the WWE or whatever. But, whether people like to admit it or not, a huge reason the WWE has continued on whereas every other major wrestling power in the United States has gone the way of the dinosaur is because Vince McMahon knows what he's doing.

It amuses me to no end to read posts in which people claim they could run things better than Vince because they honestly and truly haven't the slightest clue as to what it would take to take a company and make it as big as the WWE. Vince McMahon has taken the WWE from being just another wrestling company and has turned it into a corporation and he runs his corporation with an iron fist. It might earn him criticism from us sometimes and sometimes, at least on some emotional level, that criticism is deserved but Vince McMahon didn't become as wealthy as he is nor did the WWE grow to be as overall large as it is due to him being a nice guy. In the business world, a harsh fact of life is that nice guys finish last and wrestling is a business. Or, I should say, it's supposed to be a business and you're not going to last long if you're more focused on playing the nice, popular boss that everyone loves rather than finding a way to make as much money as you can while putting out a good product.

Does Vince make mistakes? Hell yes he does. Vince McMahon has made some downright royal fuck ups in his day. I do think that there are ways that the WWE could be improved upon, but I also accept the fact that nothing is perfect and nothing is ever gonna be perfect in the world. Is Vince a control freak? Yeah, probably so. At least, that's the assumption one would make after reading the various things that've been printed about him. I have no doubt that some people consider Vince McMahon a huge pain in the ass and extremely difficult to work for, but none of that negates the fact that the man knows what he's doing.

The WWE is also more in the mainstream than most other wrestling companies have ever been. Once again, that's due in big part to Vince McMahon's vision of what he wanted his company to be. WWE Raw is among the highest rated shows on cable, often times it's been the single highest rated show on cable, and there are reasons for that.

 

[Ferbian]

There's a lot of different ways to answer this question.

One way would be saying: WWE got their hands on the right talent, they got some of the better talent from various smaller promotions and territorial systems, Hogan, DiBiase and Roddy Piper etc. All great wrestlers, but most importantly, also great at playing their role. They got some good gimmicks to go with, and it became a success. Something WWE and Vince have played off on for so long, he has always been a genius behind the gimmick and talent acquisitions.

Which really makes me wonder though why people complain about the big muscle guys rather than the small ones, especially when he has made it work so successfully. But that's for another thread.

Another thing is really that WWE capitalized on competition, they capitalized on the ability to go where nobody else have ever went, they went national outside of their own territory. They kicked the territorial systems ass and annihilated it practically. And it all added to their massive success. And it's not only the territorial system that the WWE fucked up, they also fucked up the premiere NWA programming and late on an entire promotion. All of this has been due to competition, and Vince's so called ruthless aggression to be the best. Something that I can only imagine have transcended to his children. Hell it even threw itself onto Triple H.

And of course, one of the most important thing is that WWE has throughout the years been able to follow with times, and slowly change themselves every now and then, to create yet another "magical" era of wrestling. It's something that keeps wrestling interesting, while it keeps on moving.

But overall, it's just Vince that is one hell of a big mind for the business. Sure like Bret have called Vince the biggest mark of the business, and Hogan who have said Vince knew jack shit of wrestling. But let's face it, you can't run a company like the WWE for so many years, without having a mind for it. Vince knows how to work the crowd through is programming, and even if sometimes it lacks, he knows how to get you to come back.

 

[(s)AINT]

I believe it has been mentioned before, but it has to do with the fact that WWE is pretty much a "family owned and operated business" which means WWE IS THEIR LIFE. I think Eric Bischoff said it before that Vince McMahon never takes a day, hour, minute or even a second off from thinking about WWE. He said while WCW guys would basically work a 9-5 like schedule where they would come into work, think of storylines, then go home to their familes...Vince McMahon would be in go mode always. I think there is a lot of truth to that.

Love Vince McMahon or hate him, he is far from perfect, made lots of mistakes even in business but WWE has always had one head figure steer them whatever way he sees fit. There is never a balance of power or control. Of course, people influence the product and influence Vince McMahon's decisions but he has always been the one leader. Whereas other companies constantly had a bunch of different people running the show, egos get in the way, product suffers, business closes.

Its not that cut and dry, of course there is WWE having the right talent and the right time, taking the huge risks that pay off, etc. But, honestly a lot of that even has to do with the fact that Vince McMahon = WWE and WWE = Vince McMahon. There is no separation between them.

=)

 

[One to Remember]

Three main things

Perfect Storm
He was able to develop a well enough relationship with Vincent J. McMahon to be able to purchase his 26 year old promotion when he decided to leave the sport.
At this time he was able to get a lock on Hulk Hogan who was out floating around because Verne Gagne found him to unorthodox to keep on the top withot being subject to swerves and title change reversals on a weekly bases.

When he went national he was able to destroy territores mostly because they thought VKM ha the same mentality and beliefs as Vince Sr. which lead to them being caught off guard when the WWF began expanding. He milked Hulkamania for all it was worth and then decided to use that momentum to build up other stars on a national stage like Piper and Savage. He then injected movie stars into his product to get mainstream attention. Mr. T and Hulk Hogan were both Rocky stars at that time.

He allowed the mid card of that era to siphon steam from the top guys so that when the 90s came they had enough steam to go it on their own.

Stone Cold only came up because Triple H was being punished for the MSG incident.

Luck
So many future names were taken for granted early in their careers. The Rockers (AWA), Mean Mark Callous (WCW), Hulk Hogan (AWA), Ultimate Warrior (NWA), Stone Cold (WCW), The Diamond Studd and Vinnie Vegas (WCW), and other future top names in the WWF had been released by other companies when no one bothered to aid the wrestlers in their devolopment. The WWF would make due with them.

Self-Destructiveness of Others..
WCW although a creation of the Turner Corporate Empire did at one point have wrestling based leadership. The fact that the people at Time Warner were so foreign to the sport as opposed to the founders and owners (ie the Crockets) of WCW's forerunner, Mid Atlantic contributed to WCW being tolerated but largely misunderstood withen its corporate family when Ted Turner's authority was marginalized. WCW had to appear less low brow on a network run by people who had disdain for that type of programming.

The AWA was ran into the ground because Verne Gagne wa so old skool to the bone he suffocated his own promotion by attempting to promote what was best in 1959 in 1989. He would never adapt to changing times or taste and would attack and cut down his own top names that he felt were not Gagne or Bockwinkel enough. This need to be a technical purist would persist until 1991 when the AWA shut its doors.

The NWA was effectively a paper tiger from its inception. Its actual authory derived from the equal strength of its territories. When WCW and its predecessor became to strong the NWA faced first a usurpation of authority then a complete loss of oversight. Everytime any territory became too strong the NWA authority's eroded over it. It happened with the WWF several times too. The NWA could not take on the WWF externally and WCW internally and finally collapsed into the paper organization it is today.

ECW as a sovereign entity probably could had benefited from the exodus of fans leaving the wrestling scene period following WCW's collapse but mismanagement of funds by Heyman prevented ECW from filling in a chunk of the power vacuum in 2001.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Good question.

Well first off he's a genius when it comes to wrestling plain and simple. The guy understands the product as good as anyone who was ever in the wrestling business and also knows how to think outside the box and come up with new concepts and ideas, not only that he knows how to make these concepts and ideas work, something a lot of companies had issues with.

Money is also a big factor in this too. Starting off wealthy doesn't hurt anybody and he luckily for him he had the money to be able to get the stars he wanted and to get the people he wanted. Without that big checkbook he never would have had guys like Hogan and his product never would of had that high tech feel.

The biggest factor I think in what has helped with McMahon's longevity is that he runs his business well, a lot better than WCW, TNA, AWA, or Jim Crockett ever did, and when I say business, I mean everything behind the scenes. Its obvious that when he first decided to take over the wrestling business he had a long-term plan in place, nothing was done overnight. Vince had a strategy in place and he followed it through, basically he knew what he was doing and he made sure the plan followed through. Going national took years and years of work to make the WWE so much bigger than any other wrestling company before or since and because he planned so well he reaped the benefits, and still does to this day. On top of that Vince has always changed with the times and adjusted accordingly in order to make his business survive and thrive (like with the Attitude Era and most recently the PG era). Vince lives in the here and now and isn't stuck in the past unlike the Verne Gagne's of the world, he understands that the world changes and because of that his business has to change in order to stand the tests of time.

Of course luck did play a part in it as well (like never having to worry about Heyman and ECW because they were terrible in the business aspect, or WCW constantly shooting themselves in the foot and screwing themselves), but at the end of the day it was because Vince had a vision, he had a plan in place to make that vision a reality and he saw it through and he made sure not to rush that plan and to strike at the right times. He also ran his business properly and all successful businesses follow the same rule, without a strong business model in place its impossible to survive, and this more than anything is what made the WWE last, and its also the main reason why the WCW's and ECW's of the world didn't make it.

 

[VinnieSunshine]

I agree with what others are saying. The WWE has survived because Vince is a great business man. He expands not only into other territories, but other forms of entertainment.

Take for example John Cena (yes I know the IWC has a hatred for him) and his popularity. John came in as a nobody and created the rapper character. They then capitalize on that by recording and releasing a rap cd. After that there were rumors of rap battles on TV with the likes of Snoop Dogg or Eminem. They use popular music artists to record the themes of the stars. Like when Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock had mainstream songs, Undetaker used them as the American Badass. Kid Rock as come in and done various things for them.

Or what about the WWE stepping in and doing movies? Their stars have been used in everything from horror movies and TV to comedy. What about the hosting gigs on SNL and MadTV, or when Undertaker appeared in an episode of The Twilight Zone? Vince has allowed his stars to branch out, how do you think The Rock got to where he is? Wrestlers have the look. It was written long ago about Triple H being considered for Thor...IGN.com even posted that.

What about politics? The Smackdown Your Vote! campaign where they encouraged fans to register and vote? What about the recent trip to China they took or the many other overseas trips, the Tribute to the Troops Christmas shows?

Yes Vince has made some bad decisions (XFL anyone?) but he has made the WWE a household name. He knows where the fans are and KNOWS how to cater to them. Its been stated that Vince was never a fan of hardcore wrestling...but it was popular and the fans craved it and thus, the Attitude Era was born. It didn't matter how much bad press they got, Vince was not backing down. When the stars started to leave one by one and it toned down, kids started to watch...the so called PG Era came in.

To be able to take what his father started and make it into the powerhouse it is TODAY...not many family-owed businesses can say that. The WWE will forever be a family-owned business, wether Triple H takes it or his grandkids do, and it will be passed down through the generations.

 

[The Viper Orton]

for two reasons

He knows when to be defensive and when to be offensive.

What I say is clear, he was behind WCW for years when they spent like hell, and he was calm even when loosing, kept his money in his pocket, until time was right for him to throw it (buy WCW), same goes for ECW.

WWE/F was the only wrestling promotion that concentrated most on making profits.

WCW: Cared most about rating and how to run WWE out of buisness, lol
ECW, True extreme fans, fans who attended there, not enough promotion or ads
NWA: Cared about their titles prestiges, lol, old school wrestling, wrestling over entertainment
TNA: No experience whatsoever from Dixie in wrestling, everyone said it as it's positive Dixie is learning by the day, how can she go head-to-head with Vince?!
ROH: same as ECW just no "intelligent" fans Paul heyman talks about

 

[LigerBomb]

More than anything else, beyond luck, beyond timing, beyond ambition, Vince was (emphasis on the past tense) a forward thinker. He was able to see the potential and possibility in burgeoning technologies like closed-circuit TV, PPV, and cable television. He recognized the value of creating and diversifying alternate revenue streams. He understood that he has to surround himself with the best of the best, delegating tasks that were in-line with their particular strengths, yet at the same time never allow more than one vision (namely his) to pull the company in more than one direction. Basically he was able to look passed the antiquated notions of a regional wrestling promotion and was willing to take potentially disastrous risks to see his vision reach fruition.

 

[ForzaItalia]

I would say that the main reason the WWE and particularly Vince McMahon have been able to survive this long is because of the way their product works. They focus on one age group and as that age group matures, so does the WWE. As said before, "As the times have changed, so have we" basically sums up the reason WWE has been successful all these years. TNA, WCW, etc. they all focus on the older ages, but the WWE focuses on the younger ages and then as those young people get older the product that is the WWE again becomes more mature and violent, so that same audience will keep watching. There are other factors like money, loyalty, and making stars, but what really matters is the way you present your product and that is why WWE is and will always be the number one wrestling product in the world.