Best For Business: 5 Times Vince McMahon Knew Better Than His Critics

Vince McMahon is certainly the most powerful and influential figure in the last century of professional wrestling, if not of all time. Between business strategy and creative decisions, he has been all but untouchable in the wrestling world, including building the WWE brand as one synonymous with the business to casual fans.

McMahon is nothing if not controversial. At virtually every step of his journey, he has faced critics and detractors who suggest his business tactics won’t work in the long term, or that he has lost touch with his fan base. The Chairman may not make the right choice every single time. Nonetheless, his track record at large is beyond reproach, and there are certainly those times when he made questionable, arguably even counter-intuitive choices that wound up paying off in the long run. This article takes a look back at five times Vince McMahon really did know what was best for business, and proved himself to know better than his critics.

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5. Going All The Way With John Cena

John Cena's success at the top of WWE wasn't a foregone conclusion.

After the Attitude Era, and after the initial wave of WCW talent had been incorporated into WWE, the company got behind Brock Lesnar as its new top star. For all of Lesnar’s athletic prowess, impressive look, and good initial performances, however, some of the luster had come off by the time he approached two full years on the main roster. Moreover, Lesnar decided WWE wasn’t really for him when he walked away to pursue professional football and then MMA.

WWE needed to hitch its wagon to a new face of the company and went with John Cena. Not only did Cena get a big push from 2004 into 2005, and beat JBL for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania, he was moved to the higher profile RAW brand where he went on to dominate the main event scene for a decade.

Cena may have never appealed to the WWE fans base in ways that Hulk Hogan or Steve Austin did. Despite criticisms, however, he did evolve into a guy who could deliver great matches when the spotlight was at its brightest. Moreover, Cena was a reliable star who kept his nose clean from controversy and managed to stay relatively healthy despite working a rigorous schedule. In short, he was the ideal company man, and threatens to further reward WWE for its trust in him with his blossoming acting career.

4. Going National

The idea of McMahon taking his wrestling company national was revolutionary at the time.

When Vince McMahon first bought WWE from his father and made clear his intentions to expand to a national promotion, it came across as anathema. Wrestling was a regional business and entering this mode of competition was uncharted territory that felt hostile to other promotions. It also came across as a bit of flight of fancy for any single promoter to dream this big.

McMahon won out in the years to follow, signing top talent from across the US and abroad to build a bigger name brand with a larger fan base than anyone might have dreamed possible. Taking advantage of cable, syndicated, and pay-per-view television models, and launching an ambitious national touring system, McMahon integrated his brand into the fabric of America.

Today, it’s all but impossible to imagine wrestling without WWE. McMahon didn't only go national, but put out a successful plan for global domination. All of this is a testament to McMahon’s commitment to his own vision despite critics who questioned his plans.

3. Embracing A Streaming Platform

The concept of the WWE Network as a streaming platform didn't electrify everyone at first blush.

The WWE Network was a conversation piece for years before WWE fully realized their vision. Early conversations envisioned a proper cable network along the lines of The Golf Network or The Food Network that would air programming related to WWE, including tapping into the vast archives at the company’s disposal.

When WWE rolled out plans for the WWE Network in January 2014, the word that it would be streaming platform fell flat to some critics. After all, an extended version of WWE.com didn’t necessarily feel like a huge step forward. Would fans be willing to pay, not for a specific event, but to have access to a library and the promise of future wrestling events?

It turns out WWE was ahead of the curve, effectively taking a step away from the PPV model in favor of tapping into a similar ethos to a brand like Netflix. Rolling PPVs into the $9.99 per month pricing structure has felt like a bargain to fans and insulated the company against more expensive PPVs from other promotions. The vast library of not only WWE-produced, but WWE-owned wrestling content makes the Network a must-have for hardcore fans.

2. The Montreal Screwjob

The Montreal Screwjob didn't go over well at first, but its long-term implications helped WWE.

After two decades, the Montreal Screwjob remains an intensely controversial development in wrestling history. With Bret Hart on his way to WCW, the WWE Champion was unwilling to drop to the title to Shawn Michaels. What was Vince McMahon to do?

The choice to “do business for” was morally dubious at best. Michaels had betrayed Hart's trust and doing the job in his home country could tarnish 'The Hitman's' legacy. Nonetheless, in the heat of the Monday Night War, it is also understandable why McMahon would feel compelled to take extreme measures to protect his top championship and his company.

Maybe McMahon could have done business more nicely. The choice he did make kept the title safely in WWE’s possession. Moreover, The Screwjob generated buzz that led to the creation of the Mr. McMahon heel character, not to mention setting up The Rock’s iconic turn at Survivor Series one year later.

1. Booking Himself Against Shawn Michaels In 2006

Shawn Michaels vs. Mr. McMahon was entertaining, but more importantly led to a DX reunion.

When it came time for WrestleMania 22, Vince McMahon elected to book arguably the best in-ring performer at WWE’s disposal in a No Holds Bar Match against himself.

It’s questionable if McMahon was the right opponent for Shawn Michaels, but The Chairman did have some credibility as a top level heel at the time, and this was a first time pairing in the ring. The resulting match was fun—surely not Michaels’s best performance in a WrestleMania match, but a worthy chapter to add to his distinguished resume at the Showcase of the Immortals.

The program went on with McMahon using his authority to bully Michaels. That included booking a tag match. McMahon and his son would team against Michaels and “God,” in an effort to ostensibly poke fun at 'The Showstopper’s' religion. The angle may have been in poor taste, but it led to Michaels finding backup in the form of old ally Triple H.

A reunited DX was white hot at the time and would become a team WWE would revisit time and again in the years to follow. While the tandem arguably eventually wore out its welcome after too many angles of coming back together, the Michaels vs. McMahon feud was brilliant in the way it told a one of a kind comeback story.

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