Vince McMahon’s Increasing Influence On WWE Creative Sparks Backstage Issues
Recent developments suggest that Vince McMahon’s influence over WWE creative is growing, but his decisions have sparked a series of problems behind the scenes.
In the past few weeks, McMahon made significant changes to the opening segment of the June 19th episode of RAW and prompted a complete rewrite of the June 23rd episode of SmackDown. These alterations even led to the cancellation of matches that had been heavily promoted in advance.
According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the late changes to the programming have essentially returned the creative process to its pre-Triple H era. The situation has been described as “complicated” by someone familiar with the matter, and the constant alterations are disrupting long-term planning.
“There was a lot of talk after Smackdown about how frustrating this was, but it’s pretty much how the booking was done regularly before Paul Levesque was in charge. One person close to the situation said it’s a very complicated matter with so many things playing out at once. Vince is changing things for what in his mind makes for a better show, but it does mess with long-term planning,” Meltzer explained.
McMahon’s current approach aligns with his previous involvement in WWE. Simply put, he firmly believes he knows what is best for the company and has the power to enforce his ideas, regardless of opposition from others.
A source indicated that McMahon has more influence than most people would believe, but he remains entrenched in certain outdated mindsets that could prove detrimental.
“It was noted that Vince is aware that everyone in the company, including the big three, Nick Khan, Levesque and Stephanie McMahon, all operated for months with the idea he would never be back and when he told them he wanted back, they did not support him at first until he made it clear he was coming back.”
It’s noted that Vince believes he understands the business and is doing what he thinks is the best thing, as he always thinks.
As one person close to the situation noted, “He believes in what he says. Is he wrong all the time? No. Actually he’s not. He’s actually got better input than most would believe. Is it all good? No, he’s stuck on certain mindsets that are long gone, and it could be damaging. It’s not the interference itself that is the problem. It’s how and when he does it.’”
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