After less than six months away, Vince McMahon is officially back in WWE, and seemingly everyone has an opinion on the matter. Fans worry about whether or not the veteran promoter will snatch back the book from his son-in-law Paul “Triple H” Levesque, current wrestlers worry that he will sell the company to the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, and Hall of Famers wonder just how much they will recognize the company they worked for in the past when all of the dust settles following any sort of sale.
But why is Mr. McMahon back? Did he never want to leave in the first place, as his retirement was very much spurned on by the allegations of impropriety reported on by the Wall Street Journal and others? Or did retirement simply not suit the eccentric Billionaire, who doesn't have many hobbies outside of wrestling save his interest in exercising and his well-noted love of steak? According to everyone's favorite multi-faced performer, Mick Foley, it's definitely the latter.
“It’s the second-shortest retirement in WWE history [laughs], following only mine, which lasted for six weeks,” Foley said via Fightful. “Hey, look, I know JR had told me years ago that he was worried for Vince in retirement because it’s safe to say that JR is a workaholic. There is a negative connotation because you apply so much of yourself to working. But even JR, he’s got the Oklahoma football, he has stuff that he loves in his life. I don’t think Vince, Vince loves his family unconditionally, but I’m talking about hobbies. There no golfing, none of the things that you usually associate with men of his age. No scrap-booking for Vince. No birdwatching. Business was very, very personal, like his life revolved and his family revolved, around the business. So that was one of my concerns. What is he doing to do? He loves working. I don’t imagine him not being there in that Gorilla Position. It would seem like something was amiss if he wasn’t there.”
Will Mr. McMahon eventually return to Gorilla to work through television as it goes on? Only time will tell, but Foley does worry that things could get ugly if McMahon tries to take the book back from Levesque, especially as the company bathes in the near-universal acclaim of their current televised direction.
Mick Foley predicts rough waters ahead for WWE.
Discussing Mr. McMahon's return further, Foley discussed how keeping fresh eyes on the wrestling book can be beneficial and revoking Triple H's control could be viewed negatively internally and externally.
“The company has been in a really good direction,” Foley said. “There’s a reason why Jerry Lawler and Jerry Jarrett changed up the book every six months. Whether it was needed or not, it was a pair of fresh ears and eyes on the product, and they all put their own stamps on it. I think Hunter has had a chance to do that, and it’s a really fun show, with a lot of improvements made. I don’t know. I wouldn’t to be there because this is family, and now it’s become competition. I don’t know. It sounds like it has the possibility of getting ugly. I do feel for Vince, and I care very much about Vince as a person. I’ve had my ups and downs with him over the years, but that’s been largely business. Always respected him, always genuinely liked him, and I want to make sure that this guy who meant so much to my life is happy. Let’s see what happens. I was given the iggy a few months ago that something might be happening, and now it’s happening. It’s going to be interesting, for sure. But Vince coming around, you’re talking about a guy who literally stole last year’s Mania with the Stunner for the ages. Sorry Steve [laugh].”
While some will quibble with the declaration that Steve Austin's stunner on Mr. McMahon's Stunner “stole the show,” as the move was called the “worst Stunner of all time,” one thing that can't be argued is the long-time booker's nature to shake things up, as he would routinely re-write television shows mere hours before they went live on air regardless of how many times he booked the same match.
“I don’t know. He’s Vince,” Foley said. “It’s in his nature to shake things up, right? It may not have been the most efficient way to write a show and perform a show where a gentleman takes a sharpie through six days of hard work. But I believe that’s how Vince feels he works best, under pressure. That’s his way of doing things. I think he loves the idea of shaking things up so he can thrive. I don’t know if that means he would shake things up after the Rumble, before Mania, or wait untitled afterwards, but it’s going to be interesting for sure.”
Follow Us
Subscribe