5 Smartest business decisions that Vince McMahon took

#4 Battle of the Billionaires

Vince McMahon knows what makes the crowd go wild and what brings mainstream attention to his company. Back in 2007, Vince promoted WrestleMania 23, centered around one match: The Battle of the Billionaires.

Donald Trump's presence, Stone Cold Steve Austin's return as a special guest referee, and the huge stipulation attached to the bout between Umaga and Bobby Lashley, made sure that the PPV buys would be going through the roof.

WrestleMania 23 garnered tons of mainstream attention, perhaps the biggest after Mike Tyson's involvement in WrestleMania 14's main event. The event bagged 1.2 million PPV buys, a record that stood strong for the next 5 years, until The Rock and Cena broke it.

Also read: 5 Superstars who reminded fans of former wrestlers

#3 Hiring his competition

After WCW and ECW folded, Vince McMahon took in Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman, two legit geniuses who were Vince's competition back in the day. Bischoff became possibly the greatest heel authority figure in WWE after Vince McMahon.

Heyman saved SmackDown in 2002 with the help of "SmackDown Six" after the show was almost on the verge of getting canceled.

Years later, Vince has hired the two men as the Executive Directors of Raw and SmackDown Live, in a decision that has been hailed by many in the wrestling industry.

These two have sound wrestling minds which would only help improve the quality of WWE's weekly shows as we move ahead.

About the author

Abhilash Mendhe is a pro wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda with nearly five years of experience. He completed his MBA from the Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management in 2016 and worked with multiple banking institutions, including Tech Mahindra. While he started writing WWE articles for Sportskeeda in 2019 as a hobby, it eventually became a significant part of his professional journey.

Abhilash checks his articles thrice before sending them to the editing team, ensuring his work is highly accurate and reliable.

He has interviewed prominent pro wrestling personalities like Noam Dar, Angry Miz Girl, Brendan Cobbina, and Jesse Lambert. Abhilash is a big fan of AEW star Orange Cassidy, as he believes the former International Champion’s on-screen gimmick of an extremely lazy guy resonates with him.

Given the opportunity to script WWE’s next big storyline, Abhilash would treat fans to the second installment of The Bloodline Civil War. He would book Roman Reigns to re-form The Bloodline with The Usos and Sami Zayn upon his comeback. The angle would see The Tribal Chief-led group go head-to-head with The Rock, Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, and Jacob Fatu in a blockbuster family feud.

When not reporting on pro wrestling, Abhilash likes to work out, go on walks, read, and explore new eateries.

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Edited by Zaid Khan