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THE GOLDEN TICKET GOES AWAY
For all the talk of Endeavor acquiring WWE (should the deal close at the end of the year as expected), there was a lot of talk overnight about Vince McMahon running Monday Night Raw last night and what that means going forward for WWE and its talents. Whether last night was a one-off occurrence because McMahon was in Los Angeles and wanted to do what he wanted to do because he's Vince McMahon or whether this will be the "new" (old?) normal for the company probably won't be revealed until this Friday in Portland, Oregon when we get to Smackdown and find out whether Vince has once again replaced Paul Levesque on the headsets or not.
However, the one element of this sale that is extremely interesting is that the second the deal closes, Vince McMahon will no longer have the Golden Ticket that enabled him to return to WWE, force out those who investigated and/or turned down the idea of him returning from his "retirement" and sell the company to Endeavor: his preferred Stock, which includes the vast majority of his 48.09% ownership of WWE as it existed.
That preferred Stock is what enabled McMahon to effectively rule WWE all these years, even after it went public, since he maintained such a huge ownership stake that he could never be forced to give up or sell unless he wanted to do so. He was effectively Superman in that regard and even with the scandals that came out over the last year, there was no Kryptonite that could weaken him. Hell, he chose to step down. He wasn't forced to do so - and no one could force him to remain away, because of the Class B stock. It was effectively his immunity ticket to prevent him from being eliminated from WWE, forever.
Once that sale goes through and WWE shareholders' stock is converted into 49% of the new company's ownership, Vince loses that immunity. He won't be able to lord over every aspect of the company from an ownership perspective and will be part of the minority portion of ownership. That Class A stock goes away and with that, Superman disappears into the Fortress of Solitude forever. Vince will be far richer and he will be the Executive Chairman of WWE, but he'll no longer be the Made Man who is untouchable.
If there's another scandal, if he and Ari Emanuel end up at odds, if there's a political upheaval, if WWE under his purview falls by the wayside, something we can't predict comes up on the horizon, Endeavor decides to sell this new company to Disney one day, whatever...he can be replaced.
Vince McMahon used to brag about beating Ted Turner in the Monday Night War, but Ted Turner's true downfall was his company merging with Time Warner and then AOL, realizing that his power and influenced waned when the latter was done. This could very well be the case for Vince McMahon one day down the line.
Vince won the battle to return.
That doesn't mean he survives a post-merger war down the line.
The second Ari Emanuel sits at the top of the pyramid that now controls WWE, Vince McMahon, no matter his history, ferocity or smarts, is no longer the ruler of the realm.
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PERFECT TIMING
Last night's angle with Bad Bunny was absolutely perfect as a way to entice ways and get them excited for Backlash, especially fans who are Latin and feel a big piece of pride for the PPV coming to San Juan, Puerto Rico - as they should.
Puerto Rico has a long, storied history of fans who deeply love their heroes and would be willing to go to war against their villains. Anyone who has seen the footage of the old World Wrestling Council promotion run by Carlos Colon has seen firsthand the insanely passionate crowd reactions to Colon, TNT and other heroes as they battle Hercules Ayala, Abdullah the Butcher and more. Local heroes against the unstoppable villains is a pro wrestling story that works well every time, because they touch on the most base of emotions - those who are "home" standing tall against the invaders encroaching on their territory.
While The Bad Bunny stuff was excellent, WWE has another potentially excellent story right under their noses that is perfect for Puerto Rico.
With Zelina Vega a babyface for the first time in her WWE run as a member of the LWO, it seems to me like Vega, who is Puerto Rican, playing the babyface challenging chasing heel Rhea Ripley for the Smackdown Women's Championship is one of those stories that just line up perfectly in a number of ways. The location of the show makes Zelina an instant babyface who will be cheered just out of Island pride while Ripley, who has been presented as such a great monster over the last year battling the smaller Vega makes it a perfect David vs. Goliath story.
While WWE could choose to do that match or story anywhere, the fact Backlash is in Puerto Rico allows them to create a "Rocky" moment where Vega gets a title shot in front of her people against an unstoppable champion. It worked for Ricky Balboa in Philly against Apollo Creed and it could surely work here.
Some time ago, the company promoted Vega as performing at a Madison Square Garden Smackdown taping on the anniversary of 9/11, where Vega lost her father. That night, her bout was pulled for timing issues. While I am sure apologies were issued, it's hard to argue that the company doesn't owe one to Vega. By presenting her as the challenger to Rhea at Backlash in Puerto Rico, they have a moment to expand the LWO group in a different way and to make up for any past errors with Vega. It's not about Vega winning the title, but having a moment where she is presented as important, and timing and location for Backlash next months allows the company a perfect opportunity to make a moment.
Besides, as we head towards the King and Queen of the Ring Tournament, The reigning Queen vs. The Champ has a nice ring to it.
Hopefully, WWE realizes that for themselves, because for Vega, that Island would be home - which puts her in the same position as all those other heroes fighting for the fans in Puerto Rican wrestling history, if WWE goes in that direction.
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