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If WWE is the biggest wrestling promotion in the world right now, it is because of Vince McMahon. Although he has been getting a lot of heat lately for being out of touch (which he is by the way) you have to give the man his credit for what he did through the years.
From using what you have for the best to winning over your competition, there are a lot of things that one could learn from Vince McMahonno matter which business you are running. With that said, here is a look at some of the brilliant tactics that Vince McMahon used for the survival and rise of the empire that we know today as World Wrestling Entertainment.
By being the ‘Boss’
Being the boss is something that really matters in the wrestling world. If you do not have a leash on your wrestlers and how things are running, you are destined to be doomed. WCW was a major example for this as the place was a big mess due to the backstage politics and wrestlers running the show.
To get the facts right, there were backstage politics in WWE as well. This however never crossed the limits that Vince set. He was always in total control of the situation and gave the wrestlers some proper freedom at the same time. The organized and ordered model that Vince followed throughout his career eventually benefited WWE.
Embracing ECW and having Paul Heyman on his side
ECW was something that turned the entire Monday night wars scenario upside down. Although the promotion was not in direct competition with the likes of WWE and WCW, Paul Heyman was building up a cult following that wanted to see the type of wrestling that ECW offered.
Vince was convinced about the potential success of this new style and wasted no time in taking it up. He soon gave birth to the Attitude Era and instead of burning the bridges, Vince built them. He helped ECW in some ways and made sure that he had Heyman by his side. Once ECW went out of business, Vince hired Heyman and gave him creative jobs in both SmackDown and OVW.
SmackDown and OVW saw some of its best years under the writing of Heyman and he ended up giving WWE many stars like Brock Lesnar, CM Punk, Beth Phoenix and more. Now, that is how to lure your competition into your camp and make good use of him.
Going PG
A lot of fans out there might be surprised to see this on the list but looking from a wider angle, it was what Vince had to do. The company was going through a tough time with all the drug problems and what happened with Chris Benoit. Vince took a real effort to change the image that everyone had about WWE and going PG was part of it.
He transformed WWE into a product which was enjoyable for the entire family rather than focusing on the male demographic. The business did boom with the bold move even though a lot of fans found it hard to adjust to the change. WWE might be experiencing a bad run creatively, but from a business point of view, going PG was a great move.
The Usage of Women
Professional wrestling was and is still a male dominated business. Vince is getting a lot of heat lately for the way he treats his women, but back in the days it was a different story. Almost all the women that showed up in the business were either valets or minor characters, but Vince managed to break the pattern and ended up making stars out of them.
A perfect mixture of sexuality and character driven angles was what worked and just like that, WWE made legendary divas like Sable, Chyna and Sunny. The formula was followed up with the likes of Lita and Trish Stratus as well and it would be safe to say that Vince was the first promoter who proved that a woman could go on to be more marketable than male superstars.
Breaking the territory rules
Back before the golden era came by, there were boundaries for promoters. They were only supposed to hold shows inside their territory and breaking this law was seen as a grave mistake. These territory rules restricted a national power in the business. The first thing that Vince McMahon did after he acquired the company from this father was breaking these territory rules.
He acquired talent from all the territories and secured a television deal for his promotion. This really made a lot of enemies for him but Vince stood tall on his decision and went from one success to another. He soon gave birth to the concept of WrestleMania and the rest is history.
Love him or hate him, the man clearly knows the meaning of business and leadership.
