Vince McMahon is a Sleaze & Nothing Will Change

There's been a joke running around the internet ever since the Vince McMahon story in the Wall Street Journal that goes something like this: non-wrestling fans are shocked about this Vince McMahon story, wrestling fans who've been watching since the 90s are wondering how it took so long.

And, whether you think this is a time to make jokes or not, that's true. And we're not just talking about wrestling angles or onscreen stuff either. We're talking about all the rumours and the stories and everything else we've heard about Vince McMahon for the last 30 or 40 years. They're not good. Many of them are downright terrible. 

The WWF/WWE has given a lot of people a lot of great entertainment for decades and, personally, it has left me with several fond memories, but the truth remains that Vince McMahon is a sleeze and likely much worse. He's done a lot of terrible things in the name of "it's just business" and everyone knows that. And yet it's never stuck. Just like a certain former president (and, honestly, you can kind of choose which former president you think this applies to), he's been able to do whatever he wants for his entire business career. Everyone knows what he's like and everyone just decides to ignore it. Whenever any of it is mentioned, he just skates away.

And now he's "stepping back" so Stephanie can be interim CEO. Some people think this could be the end for him, but he's still apparently doing his "creative" role backstage, so that's hard to see. It certainly looks like they're making the moves they are because it looks good to shareholders. And shareholders are their primary - and potentially only - concern. They're a publicly-traded corporation after all.

These moves make it look like they're doing something. Stephanie is a woman (so you could see her changing the "old boys club" culture). She's new to the role. She's a sign that the company wants to change. 

But she's still a McMahon.

Whatever happens with WWE going forward, it isn't going to be a huge move that transforms the company in one swoop. This is a massive corporation, not a wrestling angle. It will be business as usual (or as close to that as possible) for the foreseeable future. And, in case you're thinking that Vince is gone, look at this:

Mr. McMahon will appear on SmackDown tonight at 8 PM ET live on FOX. pic.twitter.com/6XEEDwR0Hy

— WWE (@WWE) June 17, 2022

He's going to be on Smackdown tonight. Or "Mr. McMahon" is, which is likely worse.

I don't know Vince McMahon. I've never met Vince McMahon. I only know as much as anyone else who has been watching wrestling for about 30 years. But that experience has taught me that Vince McMahon sees challenges like this as situations where you need to "fight back."

There's an incredibly high chance that he is going to use all this to pop a rating on Smackdown and make himself look "strong" and "defiant" to his audience. He might even start a wrestling angle out of it. That's what he does.

I really, really hope there will be actual change in the company. From how it sounds, the culture is terrible and many people (especially many women) have likely been mistreated and demeaned and harassed for years. But I don't see it. This is who Vince McMahon is. This is what he does. And, despite how it looks, he's not really going anywhere.

I hope I'm wrong.