The Posse of Wrestlers in the WWE

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Mr. McMahon has a gift—make that many gifts—that, in sum, allowed one of the greatest wrestling promoters to create an empire. He transformed a regional sport into a force for entertainment, generating vast wealth and making careers. One of his talents is finding and supporting athletes/performers. Mr. McMahon is a promoter who creates strong bonds. When the stars are around, he can be a starmaker.

Strengths: He can spot talent; if he sees or senses something interesting, he’ll support the performer through a lengthy trial, experimentation, and creation process. He gives the performers latitude. That said, Vince’s other strength is making compelling storylines. And if you were to build the perfect posse or running crew for wrestling, it might look like the WWE. The WWE is credited with giving wrestlers the latitude to be creative and experimental and to find their way. Some superstars who’ve appeared in the WWE spotlight include:

The Wrestlers

Let’s start by looking at The Undertaker. Mark Calaway created the character, and it’s precisely what you’d expect—and a firm fan favorite! The Undertaker persona was born in 1990 and lasted for over thirty years! It was the storyline that wouldn’t die.

And then there is “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, who, many say, blossomed under McMahon’s guidance, which is to say that McMahon somehow saw the potential to create a conflict between the every-dude, calm Stone Cold Austin persona and his own image, and to play up the antagonism angle. It worked and became the stuff of ringside legend, so much so that it laid the foundation for the WWE’s Attitude epoch. And fans loved some attitude in the ring.

The Doctor of Thuganomics, John Cena, was in the house and the ring and to cure whatever was ailing the audience. The baaaad doctor was the face of the WWE for over a decade and kept it all healthy.

Dwayne Johnson/The Rock is a solid performing athlete. Channeling a likable, everyday (perfect) sort of guy with a sweet twinkle in his eye, confidence (why wouldn’t he be confident? He’s The Rock?), and a megawatt smile. The Rock, who started as “Rocky Maivia,” has a strong camaraderie with his boss to this day and has become a character who keeps a firm, unmovable place in fans’ hearts.

Paul Levesque, now called Triple H, owned a wild character arc, starting as a 1%- er. Then, McMahon mentored and cultivated the wrestler, and together, they worked together to create an act that would appeal to the youth culture demographic. The character’s name turns lean, Triple H. The naming is excellent. He and Shawn Michaels did this tag-team PR thing and came up with D-Generation X in 1997. Mr. McMahon isn’t the only one who saw something in the wrestler. Triple H and Mr. McMahon’s daughter, Stephenie, are married, and Triple H is now part of management and an intimate part of the machine. As to Mr. Vince McMahon, he’s a dynasty-maker.