"People had confidence"- Wrestling veteran lists the impact Vince McMahon's exit has had on WWE and AEW (Exclusive)

Former WWE Chairmain Vince McMahon left he promotion midway through 2022 after being in charge on the company for over four decades. WWE was founded by the McMahon family and became syonymous with wrestling over the years and Vince McMahon played a huge part in that.

It could even be said that AEW wouldn't have existed if Vince hadn't built WWE to be as successful as it is today. Wrestling veteran Vince Russo, who worked under Mr McMahon for several years during his time as the head writer for WWE, recently listed the impact the 80-year-old's exit has had on the wrestling business.

Speaking on an episode of Writing with Russo on Sportskeeda WrestleBinge, Vince Russo claimed that loyalty went out of the business the moment McMahon left. He said wrestlers had faith Vince McMahon and they believed that they would become stars under him, either in the ring or outside of it. He claimed that wrestlers now don't have a similar level of faith with either Triple H or Tony Khan.

"I think loyalty went out the window when Vince left. People had confidence in Vince. People had confidence to some degree [that] Vince was going to make them stars. And, bro, even if it wasn't through, you know, in ring, even if they weren't going to be champion, they knew Vince could put them on talk shows and Vince would give a subway ad. Or, you know, they had the confidence in Vince that they were going to come out bigger than when they went in. I don't think that confidence is around today. I don't think people have confidence in Triple H is going to make me a star or Tony Khan is going to make me a star." Russo said.

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Vince McMahon's exit from WWE had a huge impact on the Stamford-based promotion's structure internally. His exit led to Triple H taking control of the promotion's creative, and within a year of his departure, the promotion was no longer owned by the McMahon family, with the Edeavour Group holding the majority of the shares, following their merger with WWE to form the TKO Group.

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About the author

Faiz is a WWE writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He is a BBA graduate who is passionate about sports and wants to make a career in that field. This passion led to a postgraduate degree in Journalism, which helped him pivot into becoming a sports writer. When writing, he puts the utmost importance on accuracy and thorough research.

Faiz has six years of work experience across four companies. He started his career with Zomato and then moved to Amazon. He shifted to becoming a football writer at TV9 Digital and is now with Sportskeeda. He covered the Wrestling Xtreme Mania event in Gurgaon in 2025, where he had the opportunity to interview Raj The Maharaja, fka Jinder Mahal. At the same event, he also got quick interviews with former WWE Superstar Dijak and Japanese Joshi legend Emi Sakura.

When it comes to his favourite wrestlers, Faiz has two names in mind. He loved to watch Triple H before the current WWE CCO retired, and he is a huge fan of Roman Reigns. Being a loyal fan since the Tribal Chief's SHIELD days, Faiz credits Roman's mic skills and unmatched in-ring storytelling for his mega success. When he was young, one in-ring story left a lasting impression on his mind and eventually got him hooked on WWE. That match was Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24. Apart from that, he is also a fan of RAW.

When Faiz is not writing for Sportskeeda, he loves to keep up with other sports. He is an avid cricket and football fan, a huge gamer, and loves playing some RPGs on the PlayStation.

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Edited by Faiz Ahmed