Vince McMahon=more George Costanza than Genius?

Scott,


Quick question for you and the blog.

Reading your Observer Flashbacks and I came across a blurb that read that Vince wanted to run 3 cities for WM 3 after the disastrous WM 2 debacle. The only saving grace was Toronto (I believe) pulled out and fate stepped in and next thing we know 93,000 saw Andre and Hulk make history. But looking back, isn’t a lot of the WWF/E’s history made up of these types of moments where his Plan A is one thing and is forced to do a Plan B and it ends up changing the business. I know Vince has been called a genius in the past, but looking back at his track record, isn’t he’s more of a George Costanza? – where if his instinct is wrong, the opposite must be right. It seems like Vince books things best when his back is against the wall better than he would if he planned it out for months and he has to go against what he planned…

Case(s) in point –

1) Steroid Trials of 91/92 – This was horrible for the company when it happened I’m sure but if it didn’t you have to believe we would’ve had YEARS more of guys like Hogan, Warrior and Bulldog on top. Hence, guys like Bret and HBK might not have gotten their shot at the main event in the mid-90’s and Hogan might have stayed in the WWF and the Monday Night Wars might never have happened. The domino effect is crazy if you think about it.

2) HHH/Curtain Call – If the Curtain Call doesn’t happen, HHH is KOTR is 96 and we never get the Austin 3:16 moment when we did. Does Austin rise the way he would have without it?


3) Austin’s Neck Injury in 97 – What if Stone Cold won the IC title at Summerslam from Owen Hart clean as it was supposed to happen? I don’t think he would’ve had a reason to go on a rampage for the next few months stunning Vince himself in an iconic moment in MSG, he would’ve been the reigning IC Champ. Same question – would Austin rise the way he did and change the business forever without these seeds planted for the start of Austin vs. McMahon which would be the most popular feud possibly of all time?

4) Daniel Bryan – Most recently, if the fans don’t hyjack the shows, we would’ve gotten Orton vs. Batista at WM 30.

I’m sure there are countless other examples, but do you feel THIS might be why the WWE is such a funk right now, a lot of their history was constructed by nothing more than luck? If the original plans for any of these scenarios happened there’s a good chance there might not even be a business today. I’m sure Vince wishes fate would’ve stepped in the case of the WBF, XFL, and Invasion 2001. Wanted to hear your thoughts. Thanks

​I think history has shown that Austin’s King of the Ring win was not the career-defining moment that everyone just assumes now. Undoubtedly the 3:16 thing was cool, but Austin as a personality was breaking out around that time one way or the other. The KOTR win certainly helped but aside from an alternate shirt design Austin was still taking over the business.

But yes, definitely a lot of Vince’s greatest successes have been based on blind luck or bizarre happenstance. That being said, Vince also took a lot of giant risks over the years and threw a lot of stuff at the wall, so to speak. Who knew hiring a video store clerk to write his magazine would end up altering the way he did business so much? Hell, look at the way they’re fundamentally changing the entire wrestling business right now by dropping PPV entirely and going all in to the "WWE Network / TV rights" model​. The WWE Network could have blown up in his face in a huge way.

But Orton v. Batista would have REALLY sucked, that is true.