'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Every industry, from health care to real estate, has its heavyweights. These are the influencers, the movers and shakers who can alter the course of a business or even an entire industry by flexing their corporate might.
In the early days of pro wrestling, there was a group called the Gold Dust Trio. They were not an on screen wrestling stable. In fact only Toots Mondt actually performed at the time. They were power brokers behind the scenes, who sought to control not only their own events but the entire industry as well.
From then, there have been many powerful figures who have come and gone in pro wrestling. From Jim Crockett to Eric Bischoff and Pal Heyman, they have fallen by the wayside.
But there are new power hitters in the industry. Here are ten of the most powerful and influential people in the sports entertainment business today.
#10 Matt Bloom
Who is he?
Matt Bloom is a former WWE and New Japan pro wrestling star whose current gig is acting as head coach for the WWE Performance Centre at Full Sail University.
Bloom has been involved in sports entertainment for longer than many pro wrestling fans have been alive. He initially cut his teeth in the fading NWA territories of the late 1990s. In 1999 he was scouted by Tom Prichard of the Heavenly Bodies tag team.
First Bloom was known as Prince Albert, a play on his gimmick as a piercing and tattoo artist. This was shortened to simply Albert after a time. Then he became known as A Train before leaving the WWE and wrestling in Japan.
There, he was known as Giant Bernard. When Bloom returned to the WWE, he had a run as Lord Tenzai, but the character fell flat and he soon retired from active ring duty to take the coaching job at Full Sail University.
Influence he's had in the pro wrestling industry: As head coach of the WWE's performance centre, Bloom is grooming and developing the next generation of superstar.
#9 Daniel Bryan
Who is he?
Daniel Bryan is one of the most decorated and respected technical wrestling masters in the business. Of late, since his return from injury, he's been given some of the booking decisions as well, particularly those that pertain to his new heel character.
Daniel Bryan is a legend in pro wrestling, not just in the WWE but all over the world. Taking his inspiration from such diverse sources as Jushin Thunder Liger and Dean Malenko, Bryan has held championship gold in every single promotion he has ever wrestled in.
He missed a long stretch of action due to not being medically cleared to compete. Since his return, he pitched the idea of turning heel, and the new twist on his character has bee so successful that he was given creative control of his story lines.
Influence he's had on the pro wrestling industry: Besides innovating a lot of the spots seen on WWE programming, Daniel Bryan's respected voice helped to convince the WWE management to elevate Ali to the main event level.
#8 David Kapoor
Who is he?
David Kapoor is a former on screen talent and current senior Vice President of WWE Creative. His job is to oversee the various soap opera esque tangled story lines which weave throughout the WWE's on screen product.
David Kapoor was brought in to act as both the manager and translator for the Great Khali when the Indian juggernaut was on tour with the WWE. After Khali's departure, Kapoor stayed on as a creative writer.
He worked his way up through the ranks to become the senior VP of Creative, a hefty title with a lot of responsibility and power.
Influence he's had on the pro wrestling industry: David Kapoor was in charge of the WWE's creative division during such momentous events as the Shield break up and the Women's Evolution. He continues to guide WWE's writers as they navigate the new challenges facing the venerable sports entertainment company.
#7 Ed Nordholm
Who is he? The Executive Vice President of Anthem Media Group, a Canadian based telecommunications company which owns the Fight Network--and Impact Wrestling.
In a world of spandex clad muscle men and women, some of them sporting outlandish masks and wild tattoos, it can be easy to overlook a plain seeming fellow like Ed Nordholm.
He may not be flashy, or have the strut of a Vince McMahon, but Ed Nordholm is one of the biggest players in the pro wrestling business today.
This is by virtue of his position with Anthem Media Group. As the executive Vice President, one of his duties is to oversee Impact Wrestling.
If you're wondering where the buck stops in Impact wrestling after the departure of founder Jeff Jarrett and former main owner Dixie Carter, look no further than Ed Nordholm.
Influence he's had on the pro wrestling industry: Ed Nordholm was the one who gave Matt Hardy permission to create and use his Broken character, which not only revitalized Hardy's career but also sent ripples across sports entertainment.
#6 Joe Koff
Who is he?
Joe Koff is the Chief Operations Officer for the Ring of Honor wrestling promotion. He was an executive at Sinclair Broadcasting Group, and was placed in charge of Ring of Honor when Sinclair acquired the promotion.
Joe Koff isn't a world stomping promoter like Vince McMahon, but he does wield a mighty hefty amount of clout due to his leadership of the Ring of Honor promotion.
For over a decade, Ring of Honor has influenced other promotions across the world with its focus on technical in ring performance.
Joe Koff has insisted repeatedly that Ring of Honor is 'not mainstream' and the company never intended to compete directly with WWE.
Rather, they fill a niche for wrestling fans who appreciate more athletic artistry in their sports entertainment.
Influence he's had on the pro wrestling industry: Joe Koff is the man who gave the okay for Jay Lethal to become a dual champion, and has always strove to ensure Ring of Honor talent are allowed a great deal of creative freedom in the ring. Indirectly Koff has influenced every other promotion currently active, including the WWE.
#5 Harold Meij
Who is he?
Harold Meij is the president of the New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion.
Of Dutch descent, Harold Meij is a stark contrast to previous presidents of the New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion because he is Gaijin, or a westerner.
However, his hard work increasing the amplitude of pro wrestling in Japan earned him his promotion to president of NJPW.
Meij is tri lingual, and has been focusing his efforts on continuing the expansion of New Japan Pro Wrestling into other markets than Japan, including the WWE-dominated North American market.
Influence he's had on the pro wrestling industry: Fans who have wondered why the New Japan Pro Wrestling superstars no longer curse or slip the middle finger on air can thank this man. He made this decision because of NJPW's expanding exposure across the world and he didn't want to alienate new viewers.
#4 Cody Runnels
Who is he?
Cody Runnels is the Executive Vice President of All Elite Wrestling. He is allso a highly decorated pro wrestler who has held the WWE Intercontinental championship, the tag team championships with several partners, and the Ring of Honor World championship.
Cody Rhodes was a talented amateur wrestler in high school, but turned down a college scholarship to pursue a career in pro wrestling.
He was trained by a list of WWE and pro wrestling luminaries, including his famous father Dusty Rhodes, as well as Randy Orton, Al Snow, and Ricky Morton of the Rock and Roll Express.
Cody zipped through the developmental territories and made his debut on the WWE main roster while still a teenager.
He changed from heel to babyface over several different gimmicks, including the villainous face painted Star Dust, but never broke into the main event.
Cody requested his WWE release and hit the international circuit with the goal of turning himself into a major star. He succeeded beyond his wildest expectations, and wound up forming an alliance with fellow independent powerhouses the Young Bucks.
By now, everyone knows the story of how All In became the basis for All Elite Wrestling. With the wealthy Khan family backing him up financially, Cody and the Bucks are now officially wrestling promoters.
Influence that he has in the wrestling industry: Cody is effectively in command of the biggest threat to WWE's dominance the industry has seen since the days of the Monday Night Wars.
#3 Stephanie McMahon
Who is she?
The daughter of WWE CEO Vince McMahon and the wife of company Chief operations Officer Triple H.
She serves the WWE as its Chief Brand Officer (CBO) which means her duties mainly revolve around how WWE is presented to the media and maintaining certain standards across the company's various segments, such as Raw and Smackdown Live. She also performs as an on screen authority figure and occasional wrestler.
Stephanie McMahon has been around the wrestling business her entire life. In the late 1990s during the Attitude Era she began appearing on screen as part of story lines. While initially a sympathetic character, she would evolve into a heel persona based on her father's villainy.
For many years her real life marriage to Triple H was not acknowledged, but in 2009 it was finally admitted on camera.
Since then she has presented a united front to the world with her husband, with the two teaming together in matches such as the one they had at Wrestlemania 34.
Influence she's had on the pro wrestling industry: As WWE's CBO, Stephanie oversees the artistic direction of the world's largest sports entertainment company.
#2 Jean Paul Levesque (Triple H)
Who is he?
Jean Paul Levesque, better known to the world as Hunter Hurst Helmsley AKA Triple H, is the Chief Operations Officer for the WWE. It is his duty to implement the creative vision developed by his father in law, Vince McMahon. He is also in charge of the NXT brand.
Jean Paul Levesque got his start in the independent scene, where he wrestled as Terra Ryzin. Terror-rizing, get it?
Fortunately he would leave that gimmick behind and become a blue blooded lackey for William Regal. The two would form both a tag team and a life long friendship.
Triple H soon left WCW for WWE, where he was re branded as a wealthy blue blood from the North East named Hunter Hurst Helmsley. When he joined Shawn Michaels in Degeneration X, this was shortened to Triple H.
The Game would rack up an impressive double digit world title count and was a dominant force in both the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression eras.
His elevation to backstage management has limited his involvement in actual wrestling matches, but he remains an on call performer if the event is prestigious enough. Most recently he has helmed the critically popular NXT brand.
Influence he has in the pro wrestling industry: It's all but destined that when and if Vince McMahon retires Triple H will become the head of the company.
In addition to having his boss's ear through their familial connection, Triple H heads the NXT brand which is the only brand that is not regularly lambasted by the internet wrestling community.
#1 Vince McMahon Jr.
Who is he?
The CEO of the WWE, the world's largest pro wrestling promotion, but that's just the tip of the ice berg.
There's a good chance that if you watch wrestling today, you do so because of the efforts of Vince McMahon in the 1980s.
Frustrated with the limitations of the old territorial models of the pro wrestling industry, Vince McMahon decided to expand nationally across the USA.
This rankled a great many of his fellow promoters, but since McMahon broke no laws there wasn't much they could do but consolidate themselves. By and large two entities divvied up the lion's share of the old territories, Jim Crockett Productions and the WWE.
JCP would eventually be sold to Ted Turner and re branded World Championship Wrestling.
McMahon used the Rock and Wrestling connection and the surging popularity of MTV networks to leverage the WWE into the national spotlight. He took wrestling out of bingo halls and into major arenas, and helped make the industry that much bigger.
The biggest challenge to the WWE came in the form of WCW during the Monday Night War.
History tells that McMahon won the Monday Night War and bought out his competition, thus becoming the most powerful figure in pro wrestling history.
Influence he has in the pro wrestling industry: Mr. McMahon is often backstage at every Raw and Smackdown, overseeing every nuance of the performance from top to bottom. He can make or break careers, and continues to influence almost every aspect of sports entertainment.
There you have it; Ten of the most powerful and influential people in wrestling. Questions or comments? Please leave them after the article and as always thanks for reading!
One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE
