Paul O'Brien
Old Hands, New Fans
By Paul O'Brien
Oct 25, 2005, 16:59

Am I foolish and insignificant or am I great? I gave all the individuals in the world cause to kneel down in front of me.
- Sun Myung Moon.

He was known for his risk taking. Never did any one promoter go after the pomp just like he did. He created Wrestlemania, Rock n Wrestle, Hulkamania, RAW, Attitude, Sports fucking Entertainment, all by himself too, no help from anyone. “Look Ma, no hands.”

Not quite.

Vince McMahon made a name for himself by watching all around him, stealing liberally and putting those exact blue prints as a foundation of his own vision. It worked time and time again.

I understand the common man because I understand me in that regard at least.
- Vince McMahon.

Any peak time McMahon has had, was when he was able to catch that crest of a new wave. PPV. MTV. The internet. Society’s love for the anti-hero. Dare I say, ECW.

McMahon always adapted and outdid his muse or competition in what they had started. McMahon was a gifted promoter because he was a gifted modifier and a gifted matchmaker. He could marry the popular trend with the flair of his performers like no one else. He knew he’s wrestlers would never be ‘entertainers’ without the backdrop of the times behind them. He always seemed to listen, seemed to know what we wanted to see. Then it all began to fade.

Never more so than now.

Ironically, it’s the side McMahon hates to show the most is the side that throwing him off pitch. The walk tries to hide it. The steroids serve to slow it, but soon, they will accelerate it. All the pyro, all the generic rock, all the girls, all the leather, lace, metal, Lycra, Lypo, make up, outrageous interviews, failed football companies, oiled up chest muscles and publicly staged displays of manhood in the world, cannot hide the fact that, Vince McMahon is an old man.

No more scouting. No more searching. No more wondering what the young world wants next. He probably wouldn’t know it now if it came up and Styles Clashed him out of his shiny leather $1,000 shoes.

Vince McMahon has become the bloated, drunken father, who at a family wedding is trying to ‘busta move’ with the hot eighteen year old bridesmaid.

The way McMahon sees the world, or himself in that world no longer matters to the people he wants to reach most of all. It doesn’t look like word has reached him yet though.

I'm not too good at lying still in the sun... the biggest thrill in the world is entertaining the public, there is no bigger thrill than that.
- Vince McMahon.

Well, fucking entertain us then.

No more moles, hands, asses, Michael Cole, midgets, Boogeymen, colon “jokes”, Mae Young in any state of undress, balls, grapefruits, handicap matches, Austin v McMahon, ref bumps, grounded cruisers, generic OVW musclemen, Stephanie, Linda, Hogan, cheap finishes, ‘creative’ teams, births, deaths, rapes, fires, coffins, mannequins, skits, “searches”, divas or otherwise, poopy, gay, racist or just plain stupid jokes, Stephanie, Linda, Undertaker, Viscera, narcissist gimmicks, heel GM’s, GM’s, live bands, HHH 20+ minutes of promos, rebel against the boss storylines, burying titles, feet on the fucking rope finishes, wrestling announcers, wrestling ring announcers, wrestling strippers, wrestling owners and most of all….stop. trying. to. write. comedy.

Last night was embarrassing. Not because it was good ol’ JR. Not because it was a scumbag thing to do. Not even because they were mocking a man’s real life situation when he couldn’t defend himself(Ross will be back for sure.)It was embarrassing because it had wrinkled fingerprints all over it. It was embarrassing because ‘gross out’ humour peaked four years ago and Vince thought his “performance” was so good he obviously couldn’t bring himself to edit it.

But most of all, it was embarrassing because the great modifier has nothing left to steal and nothing yet to marry.

Only a film he saw a clip of back in the late nineties.

I love our audience. We always go to them and listen because they always tell us exactly what they want to see.
- Vince McMahon.

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Drop Paul a line at:

Paul@WorldWrestlingInsanity.com