WWE: Is Vince McMahon's Possible Return to RAW Good or Bad for the Program?

How does Monday Night RAW look to you right now?  I watch, week after week, like most fans, and I attempt to enjoy the product.  For the most part, I do.

The matches are usually good, the spots, though too numerous and drawn out at times, seem to transition fairly well, from one to the next.  The commentary is decent, and it’s nice to have Jim Ross back where he belongs at the desk.  

The ridiculously annoying General Manager angle seems to have finally fizzled out, and seeing Triple H as the man in charge is a welcome change of pace for the brand.

Apart from the section of my brain that functions as Bleacher Report Featured Columnist, and tediously analyzes every moment of the program, I have to say, I do still enjoy Monday Night RAW.

But is that merely familiarity talking?  The Monday night ritual that has been in effect for me since the early days of the company’s war with WCW has yielded some great moments.  And, some admittedly not so great moments.  As a true fan of the business, I have hung in there, sticking with the company through thick and thin.

I know what you’re thinking.  Oh great, yet another WWE mark who just can’t stop bragging about Vince McMahon and thinks the company can do no wrong.  

Not at all.  In fact, I am a little unsettled right now due to the latest rumor that Vince will be returning to WWE television, possibly as early as this Monday.

On one hand, I suppose it’s warranted, as RAW has recently experienced its lowest rating in 14 years. I can only imagine the sheer panic that has developed backstage, the emergency meetings that were called with WWE corporate stockholders and the creative team, in order to find an answer to the problem.

Yeah, that probably didn’t happen.  Scratch that, there’s no way that happened.

This is Vince McMahon we’re talking about here, the guy whose company was nearly run into the ground by a billion dollar corporation, and some of the biggest names the industry has ever seen. It was a close call, one that a lot of fans, myself included, were not very sure that WWE could overcome.

But, overcome they did.  And when Vince McMahon and company concentrated their efforts, WCW ended up face down in a pool of its own self-righteous arrogance.

So, RAW had a bad rating.  So what?  Move to plan B.  Put Vince back on TV, and let him hype his creations, hype his company, put himself over, and remind all of us doubters out there that not only is he not concerned about sagging numbers, he could care less.

And, if he does care, it’s not to the point that he would allow any of us to see it.
Here’s the thing.  I realize that WWE is Vince’s company, that his future, his family’s future, and the future of a lot of employees hinge on how his product does on TV.  I get that.  But, for me, I just don’t know if I want Vince back on the air.

A lot of work went into the night that he was “fired” from his position.  It was a huge moment for WWE, a shocking time for fans all over the world.  Let’s be honest, it was good television.

Will his return negate that moment, rendering it irrelevant?  

Maybe it’s just a case of wishful thinking on my part, but I really felt that with Vince stepping out of the spotlight, that the company would now have a chance to move ahead, to evolve, to become new, and fresh,  in the eyes of the fans.  

The rise of CM Punk, and the so-called “Reality Era” is a great concept, one whose time has come. Punk’s existence and his spot in the company is proof that the fans indeed do have a voice, and that if given enough attention, we can make a guy just as well as WWE.

Having Vince there to stop Punk at every turn, much like he tried to do with Stone Cold Steve Austin, would have been interesting, perhaps even fun.

It also would have been the same old song and dance that we have seen countless times before.

Face it, how many times have we heard about WWE wanting to get younger, to push the talent that they develop, building their image as something hip, and user friendly for the next generation?

That only applies to the in-ring talent?

Despite what manner in which Vince returns to the fold, the fact is that he can do whatever he pleases, and by now we should all be used to that.  

WWE has been just as much about him, and his family, as it ever has been about any one wrestler.  WWE is the house that McMahon built, and it is the same one that will feature them, for better or worse, whenever the need arises.

So, back to my opening question.  How does RAW look to you right now?  Because once Vince comes back, it will begin to look at lot like it has for years, and will continue to look, for years to come.