MR. TITO: What If Vince McMahon Jr. Did NOT Exist Within the Pro Wrestling Business or WWE?

Right now, I’m watching the Vince McMahon 6-part documentary on Netflix and I’m about 2/3 through it… Overall, it’s entertaining but nothing surprising to a wrestling columnist who has covered the WWE and Vince McMahon extensively since October 1998 (26 year anniversary of Mr. Tito is coming soon!). To me, it feels like a well produced A&E Biography on a various WWE topic or wrestler, but it’s primarily focused on Vince. However, to my wife (Mrs. Tito), this documentary is captivating as she’s a non-wrestling fan. Thus, to all of the online wrestling marks out there, this Vince documentary is NOT FOR YOU but to anyone in the general public who hasn’t been snorting lines of Vince McMahon’s dandruff for the past 40 years. Geesh.

The one thing that is compelling me from the Vince documentary on Neftlix, however, is just the thought of how much Vince McMahon CHANGED the pro wrestling business. He was truly a change agent or an inflection point, and maybe Eric Bischoff during 1996 was the only one close to Vince as someone who shook-up the wrestling business. That said, Eric’s success was on the backs that Vince made very successful in the WWE.

Vince McMahon really took a wrecking ball to the wrestling business from the way it was known before 1982. There was a territory system before Vince Jr. bought the renamed “WWF” from his father Vince McMahon Sr. and promoters from each territory respected their boundaries. Vince wanted to go national, so he had zero boundaries. Vince raided those territories for their best talent and then challenged their television contracts. Then, Vince not only gets on USA Network, but puts his national brand on Mtv with Cyndi Lauper involved. Also, Vince got deeper into merchandise and made his company big into becoming pop culture.

His business model ran out of steam through 1990 and was on a 6-year downslide until he reinvented his company and figured out how to make new stars again (or hired Jim Ross for talent relations). Vince not only pushes back on WCW, but destroys them and buys them just a few years later. Then, for the next 25 years, he turns his WWE into a powerful corporation that further distances itself from any wrestling competitors. Good lord, they just signed a $10 billion deal with Netflix. Do people realize how effective he has been as a wrestling promoter and business man?

Of course, I feel guilty saying all of this because behind the curtains and behind closed doors, Vince McMahon is POND SCUM, period. He’s not only ruthless as a businessman, but he treats women horribly as this documentary alludes to but also the $20 million in settlements paid out to female employees or even female wrestlers who were victims of Vince’s sex games.

But yet… This WWE ride has been one hell of a ride with Vince McMahon conducting it. I’m grateful for the decades of entertainment that the WWE has provided, as I personally wouldn’t have liked the in-ring style of the older territory system. You can rip the match quality of Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant all you want, but the hype leading up to Wrestlemania 3 sold that event. Them just standing there, toe to toe, inside of the ring made it worth it. The joys of great tag team divisions, the Ultimate Warrior shaking the ropes, Hulkamania running wild, Macho Man Randy Savage coming down to the ring with Elizabeth (those red panties!), anything Bobby Heenan did, the amazing in-ring work of Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels killing it inside the ring, the phenom known as the Undertaker, Stone Cold saying “Austin 3:16” and then going on to rule the business for 3 years, Mick Foley finally making it, the Rock emerging as a huge talent, Triple H figuring out the main event scene, the Corporation and the heel boss Vince McMahon, Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho entertaining us weekly, the Class of 2002 debuting (Orton, Cena, Lesnar, Batista), the TLC trio of Dudleys/Hardys/Edge & Christian, CM Punk and Daniel Bryan making it in the WWE, the Shield debuting and stocking us with 3 future World Champions (Roman, Seth, Dean), Brock Lesnar returning in 2012 and literally carrying the WWE on his back through the WWE Network era, and the Bloodline starting in 2020 to save the WWE from the pandemic.

Sure, Vince McMahon is a human piece of garbage… But I make ZERO apologies for supporting his WWE product that entertained me for DECADES. Why? Because the wrestlers, road agents, ring crew, creative staff, production staff, non-wrestling personalities, network executives, and others were each put in a position by Vince McMahon to succeed and take part in this massive expansion. THEY matter and watching them all succeed within Vince’s promotion matters. Now, without Vince McMahon, Triple H and TKO are building on the foundation that Vince and everyone he empowered created.

Two things can be equal at the same time… Vince is a human piece of garbage for the way he treats women, but he’s also the most successful wrestling promotion ever who has given us so many entertaining moments.

While he used and abused many wrestlers along the way, other industries did the same thing as him in terms of drug abuse and concussion. Difference between wrestling and pro sports is that pro sports had an offseason to heal up and protected their players, via unions, while wrestling did not. Wrestlers were expected to perform literally at least 300 days per year, if not more and wrestling used to have double shots per day. THAT is where Vince McMahon deserves the criticism, as he worked everyone like dogs to keep up with his demands and his insane work schedule. It’s no wonder why wrestlers increasingly had to self-medicate while needing to find quicker ways to not only maintain a tight looking muscular physique, but also to heal up from injuries quicker.

Then again, when you have a snitch like Hulk Hogan who protects Vince McMahon at the top to remain powerful and hurt the rest of his locker room, Vince is going to keep more of his money and treat his wrestlers like animals. The BEST thing about the documentary is Hulk Hogan actually admitted to snitching on the wrestlers about unionizing before Wrestlemania 2, as he has kept quiet about that for decades. Jesse Ventura tried to lead the charge but was shot down because Vince McMahon had advanced notice thanks to the rat named Hulk Hogan. Vince rewarded Hogan by paying him more just to help justify why top stars would NEVER want to unionize, as Vince could just fire any midcarder who wished to do that and he’d still have his handsomely paid top guys.

I could go on and on, as I’ve covered Vince McMahon for almost 26 years now… Except for 2007 through late 2009 when I disappeared not only as Mr. Tito, but as a wrestling fan.

Eddie Guerrero‘s death was tragic for me, as I was tired my favorite wrestlers dying so easily under the age of 50, let alone under 40 for many of them. Then to start 2006, WWE introduces their new Wellness Policy. I was satisfied by that, but then by 2007, the crap hits the fan to show was a total smokescreen the initial Wellness Policy was. Chris Benoit snaps and murders his family likely from his aggressive personality + brain damage + steroids + medications taken + becoming an alcoholic after Eddie’s death. Wellness Policy? What exactly did it do? It was later revealed that it tested wrestlers, but did absolutely nothing about any positive tests particularly steroids or other performance enhancers. Worse yet from Chris Benoit, it was revealed that WWE didn’t take head injuries seriously at all and that’s despite what happened to Bret Hart and others who were forced to retired early. Then, the online pharmacy sting happened shortly after Benoit and many WWE wrestlers were caught red-handed.

I stopped watching cold turkey and didn’t write columns from 2007-2009. Once I saw that the Wellness Policy was now functional and had some teeth (exceptions do apply for bigger stars, unfortunately), I tried watching again… There, I saw a wholesome product that purged its Attitude Era vulgarity and was trying, though unsuccessfully, to push new stars behind John Cena as the main star. This wasn’t bad… Then, I randomly reviewed RAW on a Lords of Pain non-wrestling blog during the Spring of 2010 and it was well received. And then I wrote another and another, and suddenly, Mr. Tito was back.

Since 2010, I’ve enjoyed being a wrestling fan again even when it has its frustrating moments, such as overpushing an inexperienced Roman Reigns as a babyface. Yet, even with that frustration, Vince McMahon KNEW Roman Reigns would become the #1 star… Just gotta call it a “6 year plan”… But the other person who lacked experience was Triple H. He struggled as Talent Relations and Creative EVP during the 2010s, but like Roman Reigns, he needed the experience FAILING in order to SUCCEED later. Triple H had a 10-year plan and by the Summer of 2022, he was mature and prepared enough to build an amazing product on top of Vince’s older foundation. For as BAD as Vince McMahon’s transgressions have been for the last 2 decades with $20 million paid out in settlements, he let a good dude become his son-in-law and groomed him to be a damn good wrestling promoter. That “good dude” Triple H may have been very competitive and political as a competitor, but he treats Stephanie McMahon like GOLD and even uplifted her spirits to participate during Wrestlemania 40 weekend. Now, HHH is providing opportunity and a positive culture to so many in the WWE and WWE is thriving because of that post-Vince.

Vince McMahon empowered Triple H and Nick Khan to make a WWE and now on their own, they are making an even better WWE.

Now, Vince McMahon will just have to be held accountable for his actions towards female employees or even wrestlers of the WWE. Money and political friends can shield you from most things, but money has a finite amount and political power can change at any time. Vince did some terrible things and now, he’ll have to answer for them. While he’s waiting for legal challenges to come his way, he can look back at the amazing WWE empire that he built. Vince is the most consequential human that has ever participated in pro wrestling, period, and he changed the promotion for the better in my opinion. Sorry, but the 1970s business model for wrestling didn’t appeal to me and it’s unwatchable now. I could watch Vince’s shows anytime and I’m proud to be a WWE fan of the current product here in 2024.

Vince McMahon made a HUGE impact on the Pro Wrestling business… But what if Vince McMahon did NOT exist? Or maybe this possibility… What if Vince McMahon Sr. just never met his son Vince Jr. and enlisted him to eventually join the WWWF (became WWF and WWE)? In my opinion, things would be SIGNIFICANTLY different.

WHAT IF Vince McMahon Jr. did join become involved with Professional Wrestling?

Territory System would have survived longer, but possibly failed together.

Obviously, Vince Jr. entering the equation destroyed the territory system. He signed away each territory’s top talent while also attacking television deals to push his WWE product within those very territories. Without Vince McMahon Jr. around to buy the WWE during the early 1980s, it’s very likely that Vince Sr. sells to Gorilla Monsoon. With Gorilla in charge, it’s likely that Bruno Sammartino takes a more active role within the WWWF. That’s right, no Vince McMahon, no renaming of WWWF to just “WWF” (and eventually “WWE”).

I don’t believe that Gorilla would attend the NWA Convention, as Vince McMahon Jr. did, and basically walk out and defy the entire group. Gorilla is going to cooperate because by early 1980s, WWWF was lacking in serious star power. I see WWWF cooperating with the NWA and likely sharing talent. I believe that Andre the Giant remains retired.

Without Vince, Georgia Championship Wrestling remains on TBS and I believe it would merge with other Southern promotions at the time, such as Florida and Crockett’s Mid-Atlantic. I believe this is the biggest growing point for pro wrestling and a possible landing spot for Hulk Hogan after the same frustrations in AWA happen to him. Then, Hogan becomes a big star within the NWA system, though I’d expect a big toned down from the WWE merchandise machine that we actually saw. Rocky 3 happens with or without Hogan, but I just don’t see any promotions pulling in Mr. T or Mtv like Vince McMahon did. Nobody thought of wrestling as “entertainment” like Vince.

I’m expecting AWA to be a big more competitive and able to keep some of their stars, but I believe its creative team and backstage politics will still drive Hogan away. Curt Hennig, I believe, becomes an bigger star in AWA but I believe that Gagne runs out of steam, anyway. Plus, remember, ESPN backed out of the wrestling business by the mid 1990s.

World Class, unfortunately, is going to be World Class. There was no filter on the Von Erichs and while they delivered great moments, they were doomed to self-destruct… HOWEVER, if the NWA’s actions change without Vince McMahon around, then maybe David Von Erich doesn’t travel to Japan and maybe outcomes are different? His death shook the rest of the family and pushed several deeper into substance abuse. Maybe Kerry doesn’t lose a foot if David somehow survives? World Class, too, was also doomed with the ESPN contract. Then again, if everyone’s alive, they will be more successful and able to thrive on television.

In short, NWA becomes the nationwide product and the territories will be beholden to it, particularly the Southeast corner with the TBS contract.

Where I have major issues is that nobody remaining from this system was as creative as Vince with pushing television or merchandise like Vince. Vince was very aggressive with both as a means to grow his audience and actually create brand new fans. Going nationwide made his version the biggest brand of wrestling and grew the business to new heights while the territory fanbase were getting older or tired of that style of wrestling.

I just don’t see Von Erich, Crockett, or Gagne, along with any of their possible apprentices rising up. Bill Watts was in a territory that had economic hardships, so I believe a UWF merger with NWA either happens again or maybe a stronger World Class merges with him. Watts and Fritz working together could be interesting, but I could see clashes happening too.

*****

What happens to USA Network?

The biggest variable, in my opinion, is the USA Network. If Vince McMahon doesn’t join them, then what other promotion joins them instead? Could AWA or World Class go there rather than ESPN, and then grow from there? USA Network was a better TV partner than ESPN, as seen by the morning shows and eventual prime time specials (including RAW later).

There’s a chance that if AWA goes on USA Network, they’ll put Hulk Hogan in the spotlight and he stays there. If so, AWA could get stronger in this alternative reality, but I still don’t trust or like Verne Gagne’s booking long-term. World Class goes there instead of ESPN, that matters too.

*****

Starrcade or Great American Bash becomes the biggest event in the country.

NWA’s Starrcade event was already the top event before Vince McMahon created Wrestlemania. Without Vince, Survivor Series 1987 does not get created and that doesn’t put the major screws to Starrcade. In my opinion, Wrestlemania made Great American Bash eventually look smaller by comparison. If Vince McMahon doesn’t exist, Starrcade and Great American Bash will continue to grow without competitive interruption.

Given what we saw from both World Class and AWA with their major events, I just don’t see them tackling the Pay Per View market that well in comparison.

*****

What happens to Eric Bischoff?

After AWA folds, he joins WCW. Then he works his way up and makes a great pitch to become Executive Producer of WCW by early 1993. But if AWA isn’t stripped of its talent and can hold on just a while longer, Bischoff likely stays with AWA as an announcer. Thus, he won’t join WCW, if that exists at all in this alternative timeline without Vince McMahon Jr.

If he stays in AWA, he has Verne’s family to contend with or anyone who married into his family. I just don’t see any chance he rises up to the levels he brought WCW during 1996. If that’s the case, then say goodbye to the New World Order era that made wrestling grow significantly again.

*****

What does Ted Turner do?

If Ted Turner doesn’t have a bad experience with Vince Jr. regarding the Georgia Championship Wrestling takeover, then Ted could be content with just being a TV provider for GCW or the local NWA affiliates. By 1988, he had to bailout the NWA Mid-Atlantic promotion because Jim Crockett foolishly tried to expand into the Texas market that was dying because of World Class’s decline but also after buying Bill Watts’s UWF promotion.

I also believe that Jim Crockett was trying to overspend to compete with the WWE, but spent money in the wrong places to expand. Without that sense of urgency, he’s making more sensible business decisions.

Ted would just be a television executive hosting shows rather than an owner of a promotion. Thus, no Ted owning a company means that wrestler salaries may drop without Ted constantly overpaying wrestlers guaranteed money.

If Ted doesn’t buy NWA to become WCW, then that’s a corporation removed and would make territories have a chance to compete WITHOUT Vince Jr.’s aggressiveness and Ted’s money.

*****

Wrestlers eventually unionize.

While other promoters ran their companies with an iron fist, too, and other promotions also worked their wrestlers like dogs, I don’t believe any of them had more to lose than Vince McMahon Jr. did if his soon-to-be-national wrestling promotion unionized.

ALSO – Vince went to court and argued (and won) that his WWF company was “entertainment” and “not sports”, which was a means to get around drug testing. If Vince does not exist, who is there to make that distinction?

If they remain considered a sport, then wrestlers will not only be heavily drug tested (blessing from God, actually), but they would be considered a sport. If so, then the influence of other sports league would come into play and they’d unionize, I believe. Plus, no Hulk Hogan to snitch on Jesse Ventura and the boys with Vince McMahon.

*****

Canadian promotions have more success.

Stu Hart’s promotion can retain its talent and keep growing. Thus, all of the Harts remain in Canada to help their dad and then future great Canadian born stars work for Stampede or other Canadian independent promotions that died during the 1980s.

Owen Hart would become a massive star, as he can showcase his talents for Stampede without having to wear the Blue Blazer costume as WWE commanded him to do.

No Vince, Owen Hart is likely to be here to this day.

*****

Lack of women’s wrestling.

While other wrestling promotions had female talents, both wrestling inside the ring and acting in non-wrestling capacity, nobody put it on a national stage like WWE. While Vince McMahon is the most consequential person in wrestling history, Miss Elizabeth is that for females. She created a character that everyone believed was real and brought such beauty and elegance that wasn’t featured as strongly or perfectly before. Sorry, but Fabulous Moolah wasn’t bringing extra eyeballs to the screen but Elizabeth did and made the WWE product better with Macho Man and eventually the Mega Powers.

Sunny walked through that door, as did Sable. Both of those women were featured heavily and showed the potential for women to have a larger role. After them, Trish Stratus took the mantle and was a great character but then proved to be a great wrestler too. 10 years later, after chipping away at the foundation while also having Triple H believing in women as an in-ring asset, women’s wrestling becomes a big thing in the WWE that was finally taken seriously.

Without Vince’s national stage, however, and featuring the likes of Elizabeth, Sunny, and Sable, there’s a chance that female involvement isn’t as heavy as it is now.

*****

No Extreme Championship Wrestling?

Without Ted Turner possibly owning NWA Mid-Atlantic, Paul Heyman doesn’t get squeezed out of WCW and then feel the need to go create his own wrestling brand in Philadelphia, PA.

Question is this with Paul Heyman… Where does he go? Such a major mystery, but I don’t believe ECW gets created because Turner executives wouldn’t have caused him to quit and want to prove them wrong with an entirely different brand of wrestling. Also, Heyman wanted something as the polar opposite of WWE. No Vince Jr., Paul is in a different world and likely still working as a manager of wrestlers in the 1990s.

*****

Jim Ross becomes a big factor for NWA’s growth across the country.

Without Vince, NWA Mid-Atlantic isn’t bought by Turner and his executives don’t break the company as they did during the early 1990s. Instead, Jim Ross is more sought after by the Southeastern promotions of the United States for his mind in addition to his announcing skills. He’s more appreciated in the South instead of letting the Turner executives getting in the way.

Crockett, Ole, and those within Florida would need a helping hand and Ross is the perfect guy. Eventually, those guys become impressed with Ross’s skills and give him more responsibility. He’ll be valued instead of discarded as he was in WCW during early 1993. Ross could then remake someone’s roster during the 1990s to make them a powerhouse instead of WWE.

*****

And I could go on and on and on…

Vince McMahon is the most consequential person in wrestling history, period. I’d argue that he changed wrestling for the better and that’s my opinion. He also SUCKS as a human being based on the way he overworked wrestlers, took many people for granted, lack humanity, and really harmed women… But he empowered many many people to get into the spotlight and make a major impact. Think about how much Hulk Hogan and John Cena has done with the “Make a Wish” foundation, for example.

Problem that I have is that Vince McMahon will NOT hold himself accountable for his own actions while lacking empathy for anyone whom his actions could have harmed. He’s very similar to WWE Hall of Famer Donald Trump, who lacks empathy for anyone who disagrees with him or is outside of his circle. If Vince McMahon would just own-up to his awful office behavior, he could be in a better spot today just like Trump would have a better chance during the 2024 election if he’d just let the 2020 election go.

Vince is wired differently and broken inside based on childhood issues, and that can’t be fixed. Yet, Vince McMahon is 79 years old and show know better.

But, problem with Vince (and Trump, too) is that he had enablers surrounding him forever and never held Vince accountable for any mistreatment of other human beings. Then, their money bought their freedom.

Vince McMahon should be CELEBRATED for the amazing WWE that he built while empowering many to succeed in his own ecosystem. Yet, many of his past mistakes still haunt him and go after him because he’s too stubborn to accept change or to evolve as a human being.

Hope you enjoyed my column and just chill… Till the next episode!

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