Wrestling characters are most compelling when they are
exaggerations of the performer’s personality. So, when Vince McMahon is
portraying the “Mr. McMahon” character we see part of his real-self. “Mr.
McMahon” is ruthless, prone to anger outbursts, sneaky, macho, and above all
else, power-hungry. I love watching him play this role. He also portrays it in
a cartoonish manner, which distances his real identity from the character. However,
I would argue that McMahon’s perceived personality is most strikingly found in
how he portrays the top babyfaces of the WWE. By looking at perhaps his most
successful babyface champions, Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, and John Cena, we can
see elements of what McMahon admires, and what he may ultimately identify as
his most admirable qualities. It is important to note that McMahon has historically differentiated his promotion from others in many ways, but it is
his use of a babyface or protagonist at the top of the card that is most
impactful to the way that WWE frames their storylines. McMahon has
characterized his type of baby-face as, “My Guy”. The fans will want to cheer
for “My Guy” because he is someone people can get behind. Unlike in WCW, in McMahon's promotion the top good guy tends to win more than he loses.
In the case of Hulk Hogan, we saw a spokesperson for all
that was great about America during the overly-optimistic Regan years of the
1980s. Hogan is powerful and wants the power of Hulkamania (which amounts to
millions of people believing in him) to take over the world for the good. He was
obsessed with physical training and vitamin supplements, was a glamours celebrity, and no one could beat
him in a fair fight. During the 80s we see McMahon put out a positive product
that was focused on celebrity, glamor, and touted as very American. Despite
being physically threatened by “old-school” promoters, McMahon also appeared
positive in public about his putting many wrestlers and promoters out of a job. He was ready to take over the world for the better. In
addition, McMahon is a gym junkie and is all about glamor and celebrity.
Following several lack luster years McMahon becomes an underdog. Enter "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. "Stone Cold" fought “The Man”! He was tough, never gave up, and was the only one
with the answer. The answer was, “kick ass and don’t worry about stomping on
people because this is the only way to win the war.” This was during the late
90s when McMahon was in a ratings war with WCW and needed to work harder and be
tougher to win. McMahon won the “Monday Night Wars,”
and likely saw his own toughness and “ends justify the means” behaviors as
admirable qualities.
Finally, in John Cena, we see a person who preaches,
“Hustle, Loyalty & Respect,” but has a penchant for “poopy” jokes (as does
McMahon), is positive no matter what happens to him, loves working out, and
never stops working. He also appears to have a corporate mindset. He believes
the system is fair, and one would just need to work hard to be a winner. During
the new millennium McMahon took his company public and found a good corporate
spokesman in Cena. In addition, workaholic, gym rat, McMahon is very interested in being a good
“corporate citizen”. In fact, we get to see lots of pink once a year in honor of
cancer awareness, and Make-A- Wish participants are shown at televised events.
However, unlike Hogan and Austin, Cena is often booed. The flip side of being a
corporate man is that corporations are hated by many. In his real life McMahon,
the head of the corporation, has been booed by many as well (see examples of
the 90s steroids trail and his spending millions on his wife’s failed
senatorial campaigns). I think Cena represents McMahon’s desire to demonstrate
that he will keep coming to work no matter what people write or say about him.
You can’t keep Cena or McMahon down! However, Cena will get old like Hogan, and physically broken
down like Austin, and a new babyface will emerge. You can bet your bottom
dollar that the next big “My Guy” will be handpicked and molded in the image of Vincent Kennedy McMahon. May God have mercy on our souls.
5 comments:
Vince represents himself as a bad guy. And, you argue, the good guys are a manifestation of himself as well. So, does that make many of the major feuds Vince battling with himself...or, rather, various public perceptions of Vince battling for himself? That would mean, then, that we the audience are watching one man's internal demons play out on stage...or that we are watching him put his various public perceptions and perceptions of self in the ring to battle one another, to tell us who the "real" Vince is? Given how egotistical Vince has no trouble saying he is...that makes sense. :)
I think we are seeing Vince battle himself, and the good Vince always wins in the end. However, the bad Vince, who has many of the same qualities of the good Vince, is always lurking behind the corner. When Vince sits down for an interview with a real reporter, he is always the protagonist. This is how most people see themselves. In family therapy you get different points of view from each family member, and in most everyone's point of view, they are the good guy and other members are the heels. For me, a person who is retired yet culturally Catholic, as I believe Vince is as well, I see the significance of battling one's demons and angels that play out in Vince's storylines. Vince must beat "Mr. McMahon" for salvation, but needs that enemy to be present in order to justify his own weaknesses and wrong doings. Just like a babyface in peril who uses a folding chair, though it is against the rules and just not that nice to do so.
More than most other wrestlers,I think it is too hard to differentiate public and private Vince. The WWE is his life, and we get to see much of his life on screen.
This is a very interesting thread and I can see Tony's position. Perhaps this is akin to the ideal Vince (the face he can never be) versus the real or somewhat real (the heel that he or conditions have made). I would assume similar patterns would be seen in some territory promotions, where the product is someone's life as well.
In contrast, WCW could never have a similar thread in large part due to the lack of coherent leadership, either due to changes in leadership even fifteen minutes or efforts at a committee-style leadership with Ted Turner's money.
Is there a "good Vince to being with?" I think it is just more black and white with Vince. Good storytelling makes good matches, which makes good ratings. All his life, he is fundamentally concerned with ratings. He weaves in his fictional private life to create storyline.
Vince would likely say he's a populist...but then he also likes to frustrate fans sometimes by intentionally not giving them what he wants or by airing a storyline that largely HE just finds funny...I think that helps drive the love/hate relationship his fan base has with him even further...
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