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WWE is currently the biggest pro wrestling organization in the world and it is due to the fact that Vince McMahon made some shocking decisions over the last 25 years. Because of those decisions, WWE has been able to penetrate the markets of various other countries and create a monopoly in this business.
Vince McMahon has made some questionable and risky decisions during his time as chairman. Some of them improved the product while the others were dreadful and resulted in tarnishing the company's credibility.
Swerves are a regular and an integral part of wrestling and no one can shock the fans better than Vince McMahon. In this article, I will discuss 4 shocking decisions made by Vince McMahon that changed WWE forever.
#4 The Montreal Screwjob
At Survivor Series 1997, the most infamous incident in the pro wrestling industry took place-The Montreal Screwjob.
The match between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart is perhaps the most talked about match in WWE history as it caused a wildfire in the pro wrestling community. This match was for the WWF Championship and was supposed to end with Hart retaining the title and dropping the title at a later date, but Vince McMahon had a different plan in his mind.
The match ended in a questionable manner as Michaels put Hart into the Sharpshooter and the referee Earl Hebner under the order of Mr. McMahon called for the bell after a few seconds and announced Michaels as the winner. But there was only one issue.
Bret never tapped out!
Hart went nuts after the conclusion of the match as Vince screwed him. He got so frustrated that he spat in Vince McMahon's face. Many people say this was the match that led to the rise of the Mr. McMahon (the evil boss) gimmick and marked the beginning of the Attitude Era.
#3 CM Punk's Pipebomb
No one can forget the infamous 'pipebomb' by CM Punk, even though the promo was preplanned, it was absolutely marvelous. With this promo, CM Punk broke the fourth wall and blurred the line between reality and kayfabe.
This promo generated a huge buzz in the pro wrestling community and it skyrocketed Punk's popularity. Punk mentioned various other wrestling promotions like NJPW and ROH in his shoot against the company which no WWE superstar had done before.
This promo made CM Punk the underdog and helped him become the representative of the disappointed fans. This also solidified his gimmick as 'The Voice Of The Voiceless'.
WWE cashed in on Punk's popularity and made him the WWE Champion. This promo further cemented Punk's legacy and changed the landscape of WWE forever.
#2 Extending Raw To 3 Hours
In 2012, WWE decided to extend Raw to 3 hours. The extra hour of the show provided WWE with much more revenue, but, it came at the cost of quality.
WWE managed to create good storylines that kept the fans invested in the product during the initial years, but, after that, they couldn't keep up with it. The third hour of Raw puts the creative team under more stress they have to come up with more storylines and rivalries.
The effect of this decision can be felt now, more than ever as WWE creative is constantly struggling to create engaging storylines and this has resulted in massive viewership decline, especially during the third hour of Raw.
#1 Vince McMahon Admits Wrestling Is Scripted
February 10, 1989, was the day that it was publicly revealed that pro wrestling was scripted. It was perhaps the biggest and the most debatable decision ever made by Vince McMahon. To avoid the regulations of the Athletic Commission and save hundreds of thousands of dollars of the company, McMahon sought to have wrestling removed from a list of commission-regulated sports.
Vince McMahon representing WWF in front of the New Jersey State Senate defined pro wrestling as- "an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for the purpose of providing entertainment to spectators rather than conducting a bona fide athletic contest.".
These lines confirmed the suspicions of everyone around the world- pro wrestling was scripted. This news sparked a wildfire among the wrestling fans around the world and the mystique around wrestling was gone. Some fans even stated that wrestling will die, but Vince McMahon proved everyone wrong and created a multi-billion dollar company which currently has over a billion global social media followers.
No one can deny the fact that Vince McMahon has made some controversial decisions, but one, cannot also deny the fact that some of those decisions have helped WWE and pro wrestling as a whole to come this far.
