The Corporation: Where are they now?

The Corporation were one of the biggest stables of the late nineties. They were led by the boss, Mr. McMahon, and merely existed to make life difficult for the wrestlers who were over with the crowd. It certainly created months of storylines, especially when they were going up against the Ministry of Darkness.

Last week I took a look at the Ministry and where they are now. You can find that article here.

The Corporation would eventually merge with the Ministry of Darkness to create the Corporate Ministry but as soon as this happened, the storyline swiftly lost direction and momentum and the group disbanded slowly but surely. We’ll be purely concentrating on the fates of the original members of The Corporation so as not to confuse things.

However, it should be mentioned that the McMahon-Helmsley era which dominated the early noughties rose from the original group. This was basically The Corporation 2.0 and included DX. It’s certainly interesting to analyse how the group evolved and the massive impact it had on the storylines, talent and the company as a whole.

The talent that filled the roster of The Corporation stable is absolutely phenomenal. Many of the superstars that were members went on to have multiple World Title reigns, multiple main event appearances at WrestleMania whereas others never quite lived up to their billing.

Let’s take a look at what became of the members of the oppressive group.

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#10 Chyna

That’s right, the 9th Wonder of the World aligned herself with The Corporation back in the 90s. She was easily the most powerful woman the WWF had ever seen. She was able to hang with the guys and was a very effective bodyguard early on in her career, for the members of D-Generation X.

It was the dissolution of D-Generation X, however, that led to her joining The Corporation and fighting by their sides. She turned heel on Triple H a day after the 1999 Royal Rumble, joining McMahon and Kane in the beginnings of the group.

Bear with me here because it gets complicated. Chyna turned on Kane at WrestleMania XV by hitting him with a chair. She had appeared to rejoin her original stable DX. But, in another swerve, Chyna, along with Triple H, then helped Shane McMahon win his match against X-Pac, meaning she never really left The Corporation and turning on Kane was just a red herring.

Chyna would go on to perform as a singles wrestler following the break-up of the group. She captured the Intercontinental Championship and even became the number 1 contender for the WWF Championship. After becoming more of a ‘diva’ in the early noughties and a romantic storyline with Eddie Guerrero, Chyna left the company in 2001.

She then pursued a career in the adult film industry. It was rather successful but she had alienated herself from the WWE. Her personal life spiralled out of control and she became addicted to substances, releasing increasingly worrying videos of herself under the influence.

This eventually caught up with her and Chyna, real name Joanne Laurer, died in 2016 of an overdose. I thank Chyna for giving many years of her life for our entertainment. Hopefully, she will get that Hall of Fame spot she so rightfully deserves.

#9 Kane

The Big Red Machine Kane was once a member of The Corporation. To be fair to him, he didn’t really have much of a choice. After interfering in the famous Buried Alive match between Austin and The Undertaker and costing his brother the match, McMahon was furious and had him committed to an insane asylum.

Kane joined The Corporation to avoid this outcome and had a few matches under their banner. It wasn’t long after though, that Kane was betrayed and was thrown out of the stable.

The Devil’s Favourite Demon did not let that hold him back though. He had multiple title reigns following this including a couple of World title reigns. He learned how to talk without a voicebox, he revealed his face to the world and even had an on-screen relationship with the third member of Team Extreme, Lita.

There is no doubt Kane has been a loyal member of the WWE, always there for the top bras if they needed to boost a card or a storyline. He has made many stars and he has destroyed many stars. One might even attribute Daniel Bryan’s success to the tag team he had with Kane, Team Hell No.

Kane has recently left WWE behind for a while as he runs for Mayor of Knox County. You can’t help but feel that people will vote for him out of fear of being chokeslammed.

I have no doubt Kane will be back, especially if his political campaign proves unsuccessful.

#8 Big Show

If there’s a guy you want on your side, it’s a 7 foot 500 pound monster in the form of the Big Show. Before earning this name though, he performed as Paul Wight first of all, followed by Big Nasty, and settling on the Big Show name we all know and love.

Big Show debuted as part of the Corporation and used the group to establish himself as a major player in the WWE. Fresh off the back of a successful WCW run, Big Show clearly spotted that WWF was the place to be and made the switch.

He made his debut during the cage match between Vince McMahon and Steve Austin at St. Valentine’s Day Massacre: In Your House by coming from beneath the ring and actually inadvertently costing McMahon the match by throwing Austin through the wall of the cage.

He feuded with Mankind, firstly wrestling him at WrestleMania XV for the right to referee the main event. He finished the feud with Mankind in a Boiler Room Brawl, then turned face, punched McMahon and left the Corporation.

Since then, Big Show has had a glittering career in WWE, despite his less than stellar record at WrestleMania. He has won multiple Championships including the WWE Championship twice. There are too many to list here but the trophy cabinet I not short of belts that’s for sure!

Unfortunately, though he is still active with the company, Big Show has stated his intentions to retire in February of 2018. Here’s hoping he gets one last good storyline to cement his legacy in the business.

#7 Ken Shamrock, Test & Big Bossman

We’ll start with Test as he did not have a major role at all in the Corporation though he was officially one of their members. He was involved when Triple H helped Shane McMahon win his match at WrestleMania XV. He left The Corporation in the end to join The Union, the stable opposing the regime.

His career kickstarted a bit more when he was put into a storyline with Stephanie and was about to marry her before Triple H came in to start the McMahon-Helmsley era.

Following this, he had a great tag team with Albert and captured some championships in WWE but failed to make a real impact following this.

He retired in February of 2009 from in-ring action. Unfortunately, he died a month after retirement in 2009 at 33 years old due to an overdose of oxycodone. He was found with brain damage attributed to many years of trauma to the head.

The Big Bossman was present throughout the 80s but managed to reinvent his gimmick as a SWAT type character and firmly planted himself next to McMahon as one of his goons. He was Corporation from beginning to end but added a bit of pizazz to his career by pursuing the Hardcore Championship.

He did not do a lot more following this, having been relegated to the minor shows and eventually worked as a trainer until 2003 when he was released. Unfortunately, Bossman died in 2004 of a heart attack.

He was inducted posthumously Hall of Fame 2016. What a brilliant character.

The third of the mid-card trio was Ken Shamrock. 1998 King of the Ring and legitimate badass. He joined The Corporation after winning the Intercontinental Championship in October 1998. Shamrock actually captured the Tag-Team Championships with Bossman too, becoming a rare double-champion.

He left the Corporation and joined The Union shortly after his sister was abducted by The Undertaker. This was as The Corporation transitioned into the Corporate Ministry.

Shamrock could still be found fighting in MMA as recently as 2016, but after failing a drug test, his right to fight was revoked and he has instead recently launched “World’s Most Dangerous Podcast” where various topics will be discussed.

#6 Gerald Brisco, Pat Patterson & Sgt Slaughter

Ah, the original three stooges. It would be criminal not to mention these three because although they were not technically active wrestlers, they were one of the biggest and best parts of The Corporation.

Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson had a role on TV as McMahon’s closest confidants and were shown to do anything for their boss, including taking horrific beatings from the Rattlesnake and being lambasted ad nauseum by Vince.

It was brilliant television and until their usefulness ran out in the early 2000s, they were on TV extremely regularly.

Just because they were no longer on television, does not mean they did not have roles to play though. Gerald Brisco worked as an agent until health issues took over and forced him to leave for a time. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008.

He did return to work as an NXT scout and is responsible for quite a lot of the talent we see developing in front of us nowadays.

Pat Patterson, already a Hall of Famer from his 1996 induction is now all but retired, but he worked as a producer beforehand for the WWE. He appeared on Legend’s House where he famously and emotionally came out as gay publically. Fair play to the man.

Sgt Slaughter is a Brand Ambassador and became a Hall of Famer in 2004. During his time in The Corporation, he was the Commissioner. He got his fair share of beatdowns and TV time, but only lasted a month before giving it up. This is where our next man comes in…

#5 Shawn Michaels

That’s right, good ol’ HBK was a part of the evil regime too. He took over from Sgt, Slaughter as the commissioner of the WWF and pledged allegiance to The Corporation.

He used his unrivalled charisma to throw his authority around and screw over the babyfaces at the time. He actually played a brilliant heel. Although one might argue that he had played a heel before, I would say he was more of a polarising figure more deserving of the term ‘tweener’. This full-heel role was something new for the audience but it was good to see Shawn Michaels on TV again.

He actually left The clutches of The Corporation to join his own stable D-Generation X but was sidelined from TV to have the surgery on his back that had stopped him from competing in the ring.

It would not be until 2002 when Michaels made a return for a one-off that he realised he was completely healed and resumed his career.

As fans, we got many more years of The Showstopper and he had many feuds to remember such as Chris Jericho and The McMahons, but none were more jaw-dropping than his final feud with The Undertaker.

He put on two 5-star matches with the Deadman at WrestleMania 25 and 26 respectively. The latter saw his career on the line against The Undertaker’s streak. Shawn lost the match and has stayed retired ever since.

He has appeared in various movies and is essentially on a legends contract with WWE. He now teaches the finishing class, which is the final class before making it to NXT fully, at the WWE Performance Centre.

#4 Triple H

You’ve already read during the article when Triple H decided he was going to become a part of Vince McMahon's powerful stable. He ensured a win for Shane O’Mac at WrestleMania XV, by interference.

It was during this period that he began to develop into The Game we know and love. He left DX behind and started to build his own identity, all while doing The Corporations bidding. He never really officially left the group and even became a part of the Corporate Ministry.

However, as well as being a part of the storylines for the Ministry, he had his own feuds and his own conquests. It was during this time he made the move to the main event and began challenging for the WWF Championship.

He would then evolve the group that had pretty much broken up into the McMahon-Helmsley era, and brought a new powerful stable into the fold, but this one had the WWF Champion as it’s leader, so one might argue it was an upgrade on the original Corporation.

It would take me all night to list HHH’s accomplishments in the ring so let me tell you what he’s up to now. He created NXT, the developmental brand and works as the Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events and Creative in WWE.

All this, while still wrestling part-time, recently losing to Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 33. I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of the Creator or The Destroyer.

#3 The Rock

Survivor Series 1998 is still bitter in my mouth. I remember watching and thinking that Mankind was a shoe-in for his first WWF Championship but wanting The Rock to win because of his journey through the tournament.

When he got the win because The Corporation screwed over Mankind, I was furious. It made The Rock an instant heel. To give you some context, The Rock had been a Roman Reigns type character, booed out of buildings all over the country. He then won the fans over, only for the WWF to shove it back in their face again.

It was the perfect heel move.

The Rock enjoyed his time in The Corporation, trading the Championship with Mankind until losing it to The RattleSnake, Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania XV (for one of the worst WrestleManias ever, a lot happened huh?).

When he failed to win it back at Backlash: In Your House, he was kicked out of the faction and he went out on his own, fully established as a main event star and draw for the WWF. He won the crowd back relatively quickly as his heel persona had failed to be as effective as it once was due to how charismatic The Rock was on the mic.

Again, just like Triple H, The Rock went on to be extremely successful in the WWE, capturing many more championships and accolades. To go through them all would take all night so let’s move onto his new career: acting.

The Rock is easily one of the most successful actors of all time. Not one person would have predicted this from the wrestler with a bit-part in The Scorpion King. A main cast member of the Fast And Furious, he topped this list for highest paid actor in 2016.

The Rock is currently working on a spin-off based on his character Hobbs, before the release of Fast 9.

#2 Shane McMahon

Here comes the money…

Shane McMahon became a full part of The Corporation about 30 minutes before The Rock at Survivor Series 1998 when h screwed over The Rattlesnake and made sure he didn’t progress in the Deadly Game tournament for the WWF Championship.

He wrestled The Corporation away from his father for a very short time, giving him a taste of leadership, before joining forces with him again as it evolved into The Corporate Ministry.

Shane would go on to feud with the best in the business for years to come. Putting on 5-star matches regularly. It’s weird to think that Shane was pretty much a member of the roster as much as he was an authority figure. He was as good as anyone in the business at putting on a show.

He would leave the WWE for a few years due to differences with his father, including his advice to buy the UFC going unheeded.

He made his return in 2016 and became the General Manager of SmackDown after the second brand split. He remains in this role to this day and still wrestles, having faced AJ Styles, The Undertaker and most recently, Kevin Owens in the past year.

Here’s to many more years of having Shane on our screens.

#1 Vince McMahon

“It was me all along Austin!”

The Corporation and The Corporate Ministry were all headed by Vince McMahon. The mastermind of them all, the CEO of the WWF and the best heel character of the late nineties. Without his leadership, charisma and ability to connect with an audience, the stables would not have been nearly as popular.

They were born out of Mr. McMahon's hatred of Stone Cold Steve Austin. He employed stooges, bodyguards and none of it really helped. During his Corporation days, he had Corvettes destroyed, he was embarrassed repeatedly and there was nothing McMahon wouldn’t let Austin do for the crowd’s entertainment.

This still comes about today, the message is still the same. Vince McMahon will never ask you to do something he would not do himself. Look at some of the things he did, I mean he peed himself in the middle of the ring once. Nothing is more embarrassing than that.

He still runs the company, still acts as its CEO and makes the odd appearance on WWE TV when ratings start to dip. He has a big hand in creative decisions. One can often see the ramifications when plans change last minute because Vince doesn’t like something. The Internet Wrestling Community goes into an uproar.

Occasionally Vince will listen to the fans. For example, the women’s revolution would never have come about if it wasn’t for the voice of the WWE Universe.

I believe Vince will still be calling the shots until the day he takes his last breath.

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