Should Vince Take a Break From Wrestling?

[Perfection]

Here is an article from www.tsn.ca/wrestling about whether or not Vince should take a break.


From a media perspective, I can’t say I know Vince McMahon or have come close to meeting him in person. However, from what I’ve seen and heard over the last few days, the experience can’t be all that enjoyable.



Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the past week (or don't subscribe to HBO), you would know that ‘The Boss’ didn't look very flattering in a recent episode of Bryant Gumbel's 'Real Sports.'



The HBO-produced program ran an interesting feature last Tuesday on the fatal hardships that can stem from - you guessed it - professional wrestling. In an eye-popping number crunch, the piece reported that more than 60 current or former wrestlers have died under the age of 45 from injuries sustained in the ring, drug overdoses, and steroid use.



Roddy Piper, who was interviewed for the feature, told HBO that it was brought on by years of living an over-the-top lifestyle of a pro wrestler. Piper pointed out that wrestling is lonely gig, as performers are on the road for as many as 300 days a year with no job security, enduring persistent pain, depression and drug use.



Even more shocking was the fact that Piper said he did not watch himself on television because he hated the man that he saw on the screen and knew what that man was capable of. He also revealed that he has been using drugs and alcohol abuse for 20 years and doubted that he would reach his 65th birthday.



Such disparaging remarks about the industry cost Piper his job with WWE, but the most surprising aspect of the feature was yet to come.



When asked about the issue of steroids in the locker room, McMahon himself told HBO correspondent Armen Keteyian that there were no recent examples of ‘roid rage’ backstage. McMahon added he accepted no responsibility for the drug culture in wrestling, and when Keteyian brought up the issue of drug overdoses in the business, McMahon resorted to mocking him. As the interview progressed, McMahon became more frustrated and at one point tried to ruffle Keteyian's interview papers out of his hand. Like an eight-year-old who refuses to listen to his elders, McMahon proceeded to make silly faces and noises during the interview, distracting the Keteyian from his train of thought.



Ladies and gentlemen, this was the way the owner of a multi-million dollar corporation reacted to a series of simple questions that - compared to all the challenges he has put up with in the past - looked pretty tame. With all the high-profile trials and tribulations he endured with past controversies (like a 1993 grand jury indictment accusing him of conspiring to dispense steroids), the HBO interview should have been a walk in the park.



But considering the fan fallout from what transpired in Tuesday's HBO feature, what happened this week could be considered a major concern and cause for attention for World Wrestling Entertainment.



Make no mistake about it; McMahon and WWE have long demanded respectability from the mainstream media. We’ve seen it with the launch of his bodybuilding federation and the XFL. And every time he tries to push himself into mainstream ventures, the media has taken him to the cleaners and left him flat on his face.



If anything, the HBO interview should have been a chance for McMahon to redeem himself in the spotlight, and by most indications, he failed miserably. If Piper was held accountable for what he said, then McMahon should as well.



Those who saw the ‘straight’ interview will tell you that McMahon looked more like 'Mr. McMahon' the WWE TV character than the Vince McMahon the person. You could play a clip of McMahon’s character from SmackDown! and a clip of McMahon from the HBO feature and not tell the difference. Have years of dealing with controversy, obstacles and ridicule finally gotten to him? Have years of being ‘Mr. McMahon’ leaked his own character into real life? Have the pressures of working 24/7/365 finally made Vince crack?



In a business that can chew up and spit out wrestlers and promoters in a matter of years, McMahon has already proven himself to be a success. He has injected the business into his own veins, and as the Elton John song goes, he’s still standing.



But now, in his mid-50’s, the rigors of the business may have finally caught up with him. Television ratings are down and fan discontent is high. Once a small, family-run business with little accountability, the company now operates to high expectations of shareholders and the bottom line.



That being said, maybe it’s time for McMahon to take a break and let fresher minds inject new life and ideas into the company. Perhaps stepping back and looking at his creation from a distance will give him some better perspectives on how to improve both his product and his own persona with the media.



Maybe then, we can muster up enough courage to do our own one-on-one with him.



Personally I think that Vince should step back for a month or two, leave the programming in Shane's hands. And then after Vince has watched his product just like any other fan, he could make some great changes.

[bez]

I think he shud leave wrestling all together now.  He seems to always go and come back cause some contreversy and then dissappear again for a while, then comeback and do the same old shit again and again and again.  I think its time Vince stopped wrestling and stopped appearing on the major shows and shit, let the wrestlers do what they are paid for and let them wrestle and have a bit more time on the mic, vice needs to stop hoggin the spotlight and shit.  He aint a wrestler.

[Pimpdogg]

yeah he should, in one week that mother fucker got rid of piper and hogan now all he needs to do is sack michaels and flair and all the true legends will be gone.

[TheSheriff]

yeah he should, in one week that mother fucker got rid of piper and hogan now all he needs to do is sack michaels and flair and all the true legends will be gone.

Hogan=damaging his legend as Mr America

Piper=worse than useless

Neither of them can wrestle anymore, especially Piper. Flair CAN wrestle, and his mic skills are as good as ever. Michaels is sitll young and an amazing wrestler.

The Undertaker is still around, as is Stone Cold (though it's doubtful he'll ever wrestle again).

[Perfection]

Nothing can damage Hogan as a Legend. Micheals can only wrestle once or twice a month if that becauseof how bad his back is. Stone Cold is going to have one more match down the road, possible at Wrestle Mania XX. And in case you haven't notice The Undertaker can still wrestle, The Undertaker can still have 30 minute matches. And the match between The Undertaker and John Cena at Vegence should be great match that goods for 15-20 minutes.

[TheSheriff]

Nothing can damage Hogan as a Legend. Micheals can only wrestle once or twice a month if that becauseof how bad his back is. Stone Cold is going to have one more match down the road, possible at Wrestle Mania XX. And in case you haven't notice The Undertaker can still wrestle, The Undertaker can still have 30 minute matches. And the match between The Undertaker and John Cena at Vegence should be great match that goods for 15-20 minutes.

My memory of Hogan is already tarnished due to seeing his flabby gut (though not as bad as Piper's) and his willingness to incite racism. For the same reason, I support La Resistance 100%. They're good wrestlers, and certainly not heels. Vince plays on the ignorance and high emotion of his crowds through both, and I will not be a party to the use of such tools.

And I never said Taker couldn't wrestle.

[Smooth]

I personally don't think Vince should take a break... he's one of the few guys on WWE that still entertains me... he makes me laugh almost all the time when he's out there with his damn facial expressions and shit... haha dude cracks me up!

[Perfection]

La Resistance our heels because when you talk down to the crowd, or feud with guys like RVD, and Kane and bad mouth the country you're in. Then you're a heel.

[funkstylz]

i wanna see vince back as an announcer , that's when i think he was the best

[TheSheriff]

La Resistance our heels because when you talk down to the crowd, or feud with guys like RVD, and Kane and bad mouth the country you're in. Then you're a heel.

They're heels to beer swilling, uneducated, rednecks. (I am only the third)

However, they have done nothing evil, or cruel, or whatever. The crowd were bitches to them first.

[Perfection]

If you critize the crowd and call them a bunch of un-educated Americans, or stupid Americans, then you're a heel. You can't agrue that.