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Although WWE has dozens of creative team members, Vince McMahon still has the final say on the weekly storyline developments on RAW and SmackDown.
One example of this came in 2020 when Triple H revealed that Vince McMahon decided to book Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 36. Ripley had made a name for herself on Triple H’s NXT, but it was Vince McMahon who wanted her to receive the WrestleMania spotlight.
In recent weeks, footage has emerged of Vince McMahon giving Keith Lee directions backstage about what he wants from the RAW Superstar’s character. These examples show that, while Triple H is responsible for developing WWE’s future Superstars, Vince McMahon undoubtedly calls the shots on the main roster.
Now, as we enter into 2021, Vince McMahon has a lot of important decisions to make. How does he fix RAW’s plummeting ratings? Who should headline WrestleMania? Will he really allow The Undertaker to stay retired?
Lots of WWE Superstars recently revealed some of their New Year’s resolutions in a WWE YouTube video. Vince McMahon, of course, did not appear, which is a shame because WWE fans would probably like to know his 2021 wishes more than anyone.
In the absence of Vince McMahon’s real resolutions, let’s take a light-hearted look at five things the WWE Chairman should consider doing this year.
#5 Vince McMahon resolution: Learn when to let people go
If it was not obvious already, 2020 proved that Vince McMahon loves The Undertaker more than any other WWE Superstar. The WWE Chairman spoke glowingly about The Deadman in the Undertaker: Last Ride docuseries on the WWE Network. At one stage, the cameras even had to stop rolling because he became emotional when discussing how much Mark Calaway means to him.
Now, with all that being said, it is time to let The Undertaker stay retired. The WWE icon has repeatedly said that, in his mind, he has already retired multiple times. However, the one person he cannot refuse an offer from is Vince McMahon. When Vince McMahon calls in an emergency, ‘Taker reverses his unofficial retirement and returns to work to do his boss a favor.
Survivor Series 2020 marked the end of The Undertaker’s legendary 30-year WWE career – or so we think. Vince McMahon himself appeared in The Undertaker’s final farewell, which hopefully means he has decided once and for all to let his favorite Superstar retire.
#4 Vince McMahon resolution: Stop causing problems between close friends
It is fair to say that Vince McMahon and WWE’s creative team had a mixed year in 2020. Granted, the last 12 months have been great for singles Superstars such as Bayley, Drew McIntyre, Roman Reigns, and Sasha Banks. However, certain aspects of WWE programming, particularly tag team wrestling, has left a lot to be desired.
Some of the tag team break-ups that took place in 2020 made total sense. Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross, for example, separated because The Goddess seemingly became possessed by The Fiend Bray Wyatt. While the split has not exactly helped Cross, things are working out very well for Bliss.
That is one example of a separation that was easy to understand from a storyline perspective. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for several other break-ups. Drew Gulak and Daniel Bryan had a good thing going on SmackDown, so why did Vince McMahon allow their alliance to abruptly end in mid-2020?
Maybe Vince McMahon felt that it was finally time to separate Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville and Billie Kay & Peyton Royce. But when Rose gets a new partner (Dana Brooke) and Royce begins teaming with Lacey Evans, was it really worth it?
Andrade & Angel Garza, Heavy Machinery, Lucha House Party (Kalisto), The New Day (Big E), and Seth Rollins & Murphy also separated in 2020.
Perhaps 2021 could be the year when Vince McMahon finally makes WWE’s tag divisions feel important again.
#3 Vince McMahon resolution: Learn when to let grudges go
Vince McMahon does not seem like the kind of person who holds a grudge in real life. If he did, the likes of Bruno Sammartino and The Ultimate Warrior would never have been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Now, as for Vince McMahon the storyteller, he definitely enjoys holding a grudge – sometimes, unfortunately, for a little too long.
WWE fans have often complained in recent years that the same Superstars face each other for multiple months at a time. In 2020, that storyline pattern continued on RAW and SmackDown, with Seth Rollins’ rivalry with the Mysterios being the standout example.
If a storyline is so compelling that it has to be told over a long period of time, then nobody can have any complaints. Daniel Bryan and Becky Lynch’s WrestleMania main-event triumphs were both fan-driven and in the end, were told very well. Those examples are rare exceptions, though.
Did Zelina Vega and her various clients really need to feud with The Street Profits for five months in 2020? No. Did Roman Reigns’ rivalry with King Corbin need to go on for six months? No.
In the future, perhaps Vince McMahon could pull the plug on these storylines before fans get tired of seeing the same thing over and over again.
#2 Vince McMahon resolution: Try not to give up on people
To clarify, the last resolution referred specifically to storylines that Vince McMahon should give up on when the story has clearly run its course. This resolution is based on the frequent reports that claim Vince McMahon has given up on pushing a certain Superstar.
A quick search of “Vince McMahon has given up on” returns the following names from 2020:
- Apollo Crews
- Cedric Alexander
- Humberto Carrillo
- Lacey Evans
- Mustafa Ali
- Ricochet
- Shayna Baszler.
It is unclear if Vince McMahon really did give up on all of those Superstars in 2020. After all, the men and women of WWE have lots of ups and downs throughout their careers. One month a Superstar could be in a WWE PPV main event, the next they could be in a kickoff show match.
Take Mandy Rose, for example. It would be an exaggeration to say that anyone has “given up” on her. However, it is difficult to understand why she is suddenly a tag team wrestler again after she seemed to perform well as a singles competitor.
Moving forward, maybe Vince McMahon could try to give his Superstars more of a chance to prove themselves in 2021.
#1 Vince McMahon resolution: Stick to the rules
In 2016, Vince McMahon decided that the WWE roster needed to undergo a drastic change. At that point, RAW’s three-hour weekly show was far superior to SmackDown, which had essentially become a glorified live event.
Vince McMahon’s top two shows became equal to each other following the 2016 WWE Draft. RAW and SmackDown both had their own separate rosters, while SmackDown began to air live.
The brand split appeared to work well for the next three years. With a few exceptions, RAW Superstars appeared on RAW and SmackDown Superstars appeared on SmackDown. Then, presumably due to RAW’s disappointing ratings, Vince McMahon introduced a Wild Card Rule in 2019, allowing some Superstars to appear on both shows.
The 2019 Draft and 2020 Draft separated the rosters again. However, that did not stop Vince McMahon from using some Superstars on brands that they are not assigned to.
If future roster changes are going to mean anything, 2021 has to be the year that Vince McMahon sticks to his own WWE Draft rules.
