CvC: Vince McMahon Is THE Face of the WWE

Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and the Undertaker are just some of the legendary names to have made a huge impact on the WWE. Each of these men have been “the man” at one point or another during their run with the company.

However, when it comes to discussing who THE face of the WWE, that discussion begins and ends with Vincent Kennedy McMahon.

McMahon is in the unique position of having to represent the WWE on two fronts; both as an on-screen character, but also as a real life business man.

We all must remember one important thing, that the WWE is first and foremost a business, so let’s examine McMahon on the business side first.

In the business world, the highest man on the totem poll is usually the most recognized person from his or her organization.

You rarely see someone other than the owner/president of an organization making television appearances or making press releases.

Sure a good company man (Cena) or a talented employee (HBK) can help the business grow tremendously, but at the end of the day, no one wants to hear from the subordinates.

People want to hear from the big boss.

As owner and CEO of the WWE, there is no one that outranks McMahon.

When the then WWF was facing the very real possibility of losing the Monday Night Wars to WCW, who changed the entire branding and positioning strategy of the company to the Attitude Era we all know and love?

On the flip side, in a time of PG ratings and Hornswoggle shenanigans, who do we complain about, and insist that he improves his product?

When the WWE ran into a scheduling issue with the Pepsi Center back in May do to a double booking because of a Denver Nuggets playoff game, we didn’t see Cena, Triple H, or any of the main event guys getting quoted or interviewed for their thoughts.

Who we did see was Vince McMahon getting interviewed on ESPN telling why he felt that owner Stan Kroenke had a lack of faith in his own basketball team for scheduling a WWE event during the NBA playoffs.

ESPN’s show E:60 ran a special about the spectacle we all love known as Wrestlemania. While some wrestlers were interviewed for this special, McMahon received the bulk of the face time to explain to the common sports fan what Wrestlemania is all about.

Besides being responsible for the talent, and running the day to day operations of a successful organization, McMahon has also been heavily involved as on-screen talent as well.

Now we must remember that this is a competition to decide who the greatest face of a promotion, not who the greatest wrestler is.

It would be ludicrous for me to defend McMahon’s wrestling abilities because his actual wrestling appearances were few and far between, and his move set was minimal to say the least.

In all fairness, several main event players such as Hogan, Cena, and the Rock never had the biggest arsenal either, but I digress.

What McMahon did do was provide one of the most memorable heel characters in wrestling lure.

The Mr. McMahon character was someone that most fans could connect with and immediately grow to hate. He played the role of an overbearing and oppressive boss to a tee. Belittling crowds wherever he went, McMahon had no problem gaining heat.

As mentioned above, McMahon was no Kurt Angle in the ring, but there was no denying he gave us several moments that will be ingrained in our minds for a long time.

How many other men do you know would willingly allow themselves to be shaved bald in front of 70,000 people, doused by a beer hose, or shoved up another man’s rectum?

He has also put his body on the line on several occasions in some very dangerous spots and while he will never be involved in a match of the year, there is no denying he has delivered some great moments in the ring.

Take a look back at his Wrestlemania X-7 match against his son Shane.

He has also not been afraid to mix it up with wrestling royalty .

Not enough violence for you, check out the final part of his street fight with Triple H at Armageddon .

Some may feel that the WWE had become over-saturated with emphasis on the McMahon family, and there is some truth to that.

There is no denying this fact though; every wrestler that became a major player in the company has been involved with Vince McMahon in a storyline at some point during their time with the company.

Sure everyone loves the Texas Rattlesnake, but where would he be had McMahon not been willing to this on several occasions? McMahon placed himself and his reputation on the line here to help lay the foundation for one of the greatest feuds in professional wrestling.

Randy Orton is a great talent, but what cemented him as the best heel in the WWE today was when he punted the 63-year-old McMahon.

These are just two examples, but I’m sure you get the idea. If a wrestler was thrust into a storyline with McMahon, that meant big things we’re in store for that particular wrestler.

Vince McMahon does more for the WWE then any other member of the organization. He makes sure that the business runs smoothly, but he also rolls up his sleeves and is a significant player in major storylines.

Representing the company both in the ring as well as outside of it can be a thankless job sometimes, with brutal hours, but at the end of the day McMahon is the man that is always in the public eye, and for that reason he is THE face of the WWE.

Remember, don’t cross the boss .