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The king of wrestling. The heir apparent. They don't always see eye to eye on business, but sometimes they do agree.
Once upon a time, the WWE was known as the WWWF--which stood for the World Wide Wrestling Federation. The WWWF was a regional promotion, albeit one of the larger ones, and traded talent with other regions and mostly stayed out of their territories. Their biggest competitors were probably Verne Gagne's AWA, and the National Wrestling Alliance, much of which was owned by Jim Crockett productions.
Then Vince McMahon Sr turned the business over to his son, Vince Jr., and prepared to enjoy a well earned retirement. However, the younger McMahon didn't see the business the same way his father did. He began to enact sweeping changes, many of which permanently altered the way that the wrestling business operates in the United States and around the world.
Vince Jr. invaded other promotion's territories, pointing out that there was no real legal standing to bar him from running shows wherever he wanted. He began to poach big name talent for his newly christened WWF--having dropped the Wide--such as Greg Valentine and Harley Race. And in his biggest coup, he acquired the services of one Terry Bollea from Verne Gagne. Bollea is better known by the name Hulk Hogan--perhaps you've heard of him?
Just as Vince Sr. knew he would have to hand over the reigns to his son, so Vince Jr. knows he must eventually hand over his business to his son in law, Paul Michael Levesque, better known as 'The Game' Triple H.
As anyone who has been paying attention to the WWE in recent years can tell you, it seems to be a company with a split personality. On Raw and Smackdown--the promotion's 'main' brands in spite of their protestations to the contrary--big men like Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, and Braun Strowman are at the top of the card, despite their somewhat limited wrestling ability. But on the developmental brand of NXT, the biggest names are men like Adam Cole and NXT champion Tomasso Ciampa, both of whom weigh a fraction of Braun Strowman.
With Vince again dipping his toe into the world of professional football, there has been much speculation that Triple H will begin to exert more influence beyond the borders of NXT. Then there is the slightly unpleasant prospect of Vince McMahon's advanced age and how much longer he will be able to be the man with the final say in WWE.
Whatever the case, here are five things that Vince and his son in law Triple H disagree on about the WWE's future direction, and five ways they are in total agreement.
Disagree: Bigger is better
In terms of the most obvious, at least from the observable phenomenon, comes this disagreement between father and son in law.
If you look at most of the WWE champions in the past thirty years, you will find a great deal of big men. There are exceptions, such as Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins, but most of the world champions are over six feet tall and two hundred sixty pounds. This is true from Hulk Hogan to the Rock to Brock Lesnar.
Triple H, despite being over six feet tall and two hundred fifty pounds, disagrees that size is what makes an ideal champion. Look no further than the men who have held the NXT title; Neville, Rollins, and now Ciampa are all on the smaller side for wrestlers. This is one area that the two men do not see eye to eye on.
Agree: WWE is a first class, big budget operation
There is a lot of common ground between Triple H and Vince McMahon. One of the things they definitely agree on is that WWE is all about prestige and high class presentation.
Take the stage set up and lightning for Wrestlemania 34 as a good example of this. The WWE spent millions of dollars on the lighting, rigging, and LCD screens for a single show, which would never be used again.
This big budget approach does cost more money, time, and resources, but it yields the results the WWE wants; A glitzy, dazzling, high class production featuring top quality sound, graphics, and closed circuit screens.
While Triple H and his father in law may disagree on many things, they are both in total accordance on the fact that WWE should be treated as something special, because it is something special.
Disagree: Acknowledging other wrestling companies exist is bad for business
Something that Triple H and his father in Law Vince McMahon definitely disagree on is how to treat other wrestling promotions on air.
Vince McMahon has long held the belief that the WWE must not acknowledge other wrestling promotions. While it's certainly a bad idea to give free advertising to the competition, on the other hand most wrestling fans don't watch one promotion exclusively, especially in the era of internet streaming.
Triple H believes that there's no harm to be done to the WWE by acknowledging that other wrestling companies exist. This has been especially true for the Ring of Honor promotion, which has been mentioned by name on NXT broadcasts.
This points to signs that Triple H's vision for the WWE and Vince McMahon's vision aren't always in alignment.
Agree: The WWE needs to expand globally
The World Wrestling Entertainment organization is, without a shadow of a doubt, the largest pro wrestling company in the world. Its profit margin is higher than its nearest rival by nearly a hundredfold, and when most non-wrestling fans think of a professional wrestler, it's probably someone from the WWE who comes to their mind.
That being said, the WWE has been an aggressive expansion in recent years, attempting to gain market shares in India, Mexico, Europe, and Asia. NXT UK is possibly their most ambitious project in this regard, and has already garnered interest with wrestling fans all over the world.
This is one area that Vince McMahon and Triple H definitely agree upon. Both men would like to see the WWE expand its global footprint beyond the United States of America.
Disagree: Who should be the 'top guy' in the company?
When it comes to the WWE, there has always been, and always will be, a 'top guy' in the company. This person--not necessarily, but usually, the big belt champion--is treated as the 'star' of WWE shows. The storylines and angles are built around the top guy, and they always feature prominently on the card at or near the main event level.
In the WWE's 'classic' era, the top guy was without a shadow of a doubt Hulk Hogan. After Hogan's departure, it sort of fluctuated between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. Then in the Attitude Era, Stone Cold Steve Austin was the top guy. He was replaced by first the Rock and then John Cena, who was himself replaced by Roman Reigns.
Now that Roman Reigns is on a medical leave of absence, Triple H and Vince McMahon are butting heads on who should be the top guy in the WWE. Vince is rumored to want Drew McIntyre to walk out of Wrestlemania 35 with the Universal title, while Triple H would prefer that fell upon Seth Rollins.
Agree: WWE must continue recruiting new blood
The thing about a pro wrestling company is that it will continuously have a roster that is in a state of constant flux. While established stars will always be a part of programming--it's hard to imagine a WWE without Randy Orton or Kofi Kingston, for example--there will also always be new stars just coming into their own spotlight.
Some of the WWE's more recent big name signings include Limitless Keith Lee and former UFC Ultimate Fighter contestant Matt Riddle, as well as established women's veteran Mia Yim. These athletes are WWE's hope for the future, that they will one day be considered in the same ranks as Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock.
Triple H and Vince McMahon are absolutely in agreement that the WWE must continue to hire the best of the best in the wrestling business to stay on top.
Disagree: Established stars must change their identity when joining WWE
Something that is sometimes frustrating to longtime wrestling fans is the WWE's propensity to rebrand wrestlers who found stardom in other promotions first.
They did it in the 1980s when they transformed no-nonsense hard hitting heel tag team the Sheepherders into the lovably goofy Bushwhackers. They did it again in the 1990s when they brought in the Road Warriors but refused to call them anything other than Legion of Doom, and tried to pretend they had never wrestled anywhere else prior to WWE.
Vince wants to make sure that if a given wrestler finds stardom, the WWE can take full credit--and retain full trademark rights. Triple H, on the other hand, would rather build on the reputation of established stars like AJ Styles.
This dual approach is evident in the photo above; Chris Hero was forced to adopt the name Kassius Ohno--a name WWE had already trademarked before he was even hired with no particular wrestler attached to it--while Bobby Roode was allowed to keep his look, name and gimmick he'd utilized in TNA/Impact and the indies.
Agree: The WWE must utilize social media to keep itself fresh and relevant
It's an ever changing world we live in, and advancements are made both technologically and culturally at a rapid pace.
Professional wrestling and sports entertainment have always excelled at adapting to the zeitgeist, often outpacing other forms of entertainment in this regard. That's why it's no surprise that the WWE has made such massive use of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
Currently, the WWE has been running the Mixed Match challenge as a Facebook Watch exclusive, and nearly all of its superstars have their own social media accounts which they use at various degrees of intensity. Triple H is known to be an avid tweeter, though Vince rarely does so under his own name.
But they can both definitely agree that using social media is key to maintaining their place as the premier wrestling company on the planet.
Disagree: Fans want more technical wrestling in WWE product
The WWE's signature style has evolved over the years, changing to reflect the mores and desires of society and wrestling fans.
For example, in the #metoo era, it's hard to conceive of the WWE having a bra and panties match due to the negative backlash they would receive. But during the Attitude Era, this was a staple of most shows and PPVs featuring a women's match.
This tendency to change with the times is also reflected in the very way that WWE wrestles perform their matches. For example, during the Attitude Era there was a lot of punching and kicking and not much wrist locks, but of late the emphasis seems to be on providing more technical wrestling action for the fans.
This is one area where Father and son in law disagree. Vince McMahon thinks that technical wrestling isn't as important as other aspects to a wrestler's profile, whereas Triple H is trying to integrate more rest holds and scientific maneuvers into the WWE cannon.
Agree: WWE has a bright future
Despite the many ways that they disagree, one thing that Triple H and Vince McMahon have in common is that they are hopeful for a bright future for the WWE.
As the two continue to build the company to new heights, they might butt heads but it's important also to remember that they are on the same side. They both want WWE to be the most successful company possible even if they disagree on the specifics of how that must be done.
With Shane McMahon assuming more of an on-camera role and Triple H becoming the 'number two guy' in the company, you can be sure there has been plenty of tension. However, the whole family, including the man who married into it, are certain that the WWE can and will continue to grow more successful as it continues into the next century.
There you have it; Five things McMahon and Triple H agree on, and five things they don't see eye to eye on. Questions or comments? Please leave them below, and thanks for reading!
