Breaking Down Best Ways to Use Vince McMahon Upon Return to WWE Programming

Leading up the August's SummerSlam, Mr. McMahon was very clear in his displeasure with Daniel Bryan and his potential WWE Championship win. He voiced his opinion of the "goat-faced little troll" in consecutive weeks but prior to the big match, suddenly disappeared.

Since then, his daughter Stephanie and son-in-law Triple H have dominated the airwaves as the power-hungry Authority. They have toyed with the WWE Superstars and, in some cases, adversely effected their personal and professional lives, all in the sake of what is best for business.

With Big Show's impending lawsuit threatening to bankrupt his company, coupled with reports from F4WOnline (by way of WrestlingInc.com) suggesting that he will make his return to television sooner than later, the Mr. McMahon character seems poised to play a major role throughout the remainder of the year and on the Road to WrestleMania.

What role will that be? Is it as obvious as it appears to be and, if so, how will the creative team go about keeping things interesting and entertaining and not predictable and boring?

What if McMahon's involvement is not as clear cut as it seems? What other possibilities exist once "No Chance in Hell" plays and he makes his return to Monday Night Raw?

As fans anticipate his return, here is a breakdown of some of the more exciting ways McMahon could impact his company's programming in the near future.

The REAL boss is back

As mentioned above, there is an obvious route the company can take with McMahon upon his return to television and it involves a power struggle with The Authority for control of World Wrestling Entertainment.

It is a logical step. After all, Triple H and Stephanie have made decisions based on what they believe is best for business but that does not necessarily mean that Vince agrees with those decisions.

Add to the fact that they have threatened the financial stability of the company thanks to their actions toward Big Show and his subsequent lawsuit and you have every reason for McMahon to return and want to resume control of his company.

The potential angle that resulted, would see McMahon align himself with a Superstar (or several) to do battle with the oppressive Authority.

Ideally, it would lead to some sort of big WrestleMania match that would bring a satisfying conclusion to the angle that has dominated WWE since August.

The best and most suitable end to the angle would see McMahon recruit Daniel Bryan, the very same man he refused to accept as the WWE Champion and face of the company, to battle Triple H and win back control of his company.

It would wrap the story up with a nice, big bow and finally elevate Bryan the way most assumed he would be from the beginning, all the while providing a hot angle for the company leading into its biggest event of the year.

A match made in hell

The year 2000 saw Mr. McMahon return to WWE and seemingly engage Triple H and Stephanie in a bitter battle for control of the company. Then, at WrestleMania 2000, he revealed his true colors and aligned with them, helping The Game become the first heel to leave the company's marquee event with the WWE Championship intact.

Could the company reenact the angle 13 years later and still have it be effective?

The answer to the question is a resounding "yes." The audience has changed so much since 2000 that there is a whole new generation of fans who have only seen that angle play out on video.

A McMahon heel turn swerve would absolutely be effective because, if anyone knows how to play the character that Triple H has largely failed at over the last three months, it is Vince.

As much as he tormented and harassed Steve Austin and made his life a living hell, McMahon understood that the payoff was always him getting embarrassed, humiliated and one-upped by the Texas Rattlesnake. He always knew his co-star was the bigger star and that he existed only to help tell a story and continue putting Austin over.

Triple H has struggled in the heel authority figure role, largely because he still sees himself as a wrestler and is hesitant to allow himself to look foolish or weak at the hands of another Superstar.

McMahon's return to television would help smooth over an angle that has had more than its fair share of bumps along the way.

More importantly, he would allow himself to be the butt of the joke in a way that Triple H has been unwilling to.

"The devil made me do it"

On the October 28 episode of Raw, the Wyatt Family attacked both Daniel Bryan and CM Punk and after leaving them on the mat, exclaimed "the devil made me do it."

There has been a great deal of speculation among fans that the so-called "devil" he is speaking of is Paul Heyman. After all, Heyman referred to himself as "Satan himself" prior to the Hell in a Cell match against Punk the night before and it would make perfect sense that he would want revenge on Punk for the assault he suffered at his hands.

It does not, however, make sense that he would also want Bryan taken out.

Mr. McMahon, on the other hand, has every reason to want both Superstars taken out.

The last two years have seen Bryan and Punk rise to stardom in WWE, despite the objections of McMahon. Punk, in 2011, held McMahon up for a new contract and several perks, made an ass out of him and captured the WWE title, despite the boss' attempts to stop him.

McMahon repeatedly referred to Bryan as a "goat-faced troll" and scoffed at the idea of him beating John Cena at SummerSlam and becoming the new face of WWE.

Odds are, strictly from a storyline perspective, he could not have been very happy when Bryan joined Punk as one of the marquee names in the company.

What better way to prevent them from interfering in the work of The Authority and to gain a measure of retribution for their success than to sick the dangerous, twisted, sadistic Wyatt Family on them in hopes of eliminating them from WWE?

It go a long way in giving Wyatt, Harper and Rowan the push that would cement them as legitimate main event stars in the industry. It would also give fans a second main event program to run parallel to the Triple H-Big Show angle which, on its own, is unlikely to sell pay-per-views and drive in television ratings.