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Zanatopic: The Vince Is Dead Universe

It seems that my attempt to make a Friday column dedicated to the most spectacular injuries in wrestling didn't take off like I hoped, so here's another try.

Let's take one aspect of the past, change it, and attempt to extrapolate what the future might have looked like in this alternate universe.  The bookworm term for this is "counterfactual".  One insane person has spent an entire lifetime rebooking WWE history from the perspective of Vince McMahon having a hard on for Ricky Steamboat instead of Hulk Hogan:

http://whatifwrestling.blogspot.com

Let's not be that insane, but let's see if this is something that we could have fun with.

Zanatopic 1 (out of a likely total of 1): Imagine that somebody takes Daniel Bryan's time machine, goes back to 1981, and assassinates Vince McMahon Jr.  What happens to the wrestling industry?

Vince McMahon Sr. was against national expansion from the start, and was not long for this world anyway.  Linda probably would have wanted nothing to do with running the World Wrestling Federation, and an 11 year old Shane McMahon wouldn't be able to do so either.  So the industry would go on to be directed by other forces.

Does some other organization that gains national exposure through cable, such as Jim Crockett Promotions, World Class Championship Wrestling, or the American Wrestling Alliance, make a play to become the dominant force of wrestling?  Does Paul Heyman or Eric Bischoff come along in the 90's to take over in a Vinceless world?  Does the territorial system live on to this day?  Does it morph with MMA to become some type of hybrid?

Or, as I believe, does professional wrestling just fade into obscurity like roller derby?

What say you, Blog of Doom?


Comments

  1. During the "burial" of Daniel Bryan in 2013-14, I kept asking, "If they're burying him, why is he in the opening segment and the main event of almost every RAW and Smackdown?" If WWE really wants to bury somebody, they can just take him off TV altogether or start having him lose squash matches.

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  2. You have just made a fan. good job. haha :)

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  3. Plus, he went on a 4 PPV run from SummerSlam to HITC, where he was in the main event against Cena or Orton, and either won, or had the match clearly won all 4 times.

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  4. Probably the NWA, especially if Turner still buys them.

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  5. I think that most of the territory guys were going to implode anyhow. There would have been some consolidations, and some supercards, and probably some big houses, but no one else understood cable the way that Vince did, and no one else understood how to build a spectacle the way that Vince did.


    Hogan sits in the AWA, maybe gets that title, maybe not, but even if he does Gagne has no idea how to promote him properly and without Hogan and MTV there is no boom. Eventually everyone goes broke. If Turner decides to buy WCW then they survive maybe to this day, but in a much smaller capacity.

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  6. The worst part is, he's making an argument that "20000 buys" is a cause for extreme panic and immediate change... And the main event was Ambrose vs Rollins... OOPS!!

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  7. It's just... bizzare. You can't pretend those 700,000 network buyers don't exist... The fact that they're still doing TNA numbers on PPV despite having a network where it airs for ten bucks is a cute way to kick TNA, but I don't think it says that much about WWE.

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  8. I'm pretty sure had they closed the show with Cena-Orton, it would have been 200000 buys by minimum.

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  9. If it applies to your argument, you can pretend anything! That's the Internet way! :)

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  10. haha yep, 180000 people would have ordered it mid-way, after reading on 411 and Ambrose/Rollins was in the midcard. :)

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  11. Nearly won doesn't count. Do they give a Nobel prize for attempted chemistry?

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  12. haha, I think it kind of does count in Rasslin'. Gotta protect the losing guy, baby!!

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  13. Meh, screw it, I'm bored at work, I'll listen to the Petulant Child podcast!!

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  14. The important thing is that you go in with an open mind!

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  15. Listening to it will add one more dollar to his 20 million dollar bank account :S

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  16. I am totally gonna worship and defend Punk to the death in just 3 hours!! (I pause podcasts a lot)

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  17. I'm sorry but you can't just compare buys like that. firstly, TNA's buyrate is closer to 2000. HIAC's buyrate was about 75,000 and there's also another 800,000 subscribers on the network.

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  18. So he should tie them into 'iron clad' contracts. Same thing as with TV programs. You sign up for a show, there is a standard five year contract (or maybe it is seven years). If the show is a hit, or there is a break out character, then you have five years of that person appearing on your show. Think of Steve Carell on the office, he would have bolted as soon as he became the next big thing, but had a contract to fulfill. I think this Vince is afraid people will leave thing if they get too popular is a bit over-blown. If there is a scenario where they have the next Rock or Stone Cold under contract, that is a good thing, you worry about them leaving down the line.

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  19. I honestly don't get the appeal of Zack Ryder either. He does a Jersey shore gimmick on youtube, 3000 people pop one time for him at one show, and all of a sudden he's screwed? I disagree with the way WWE does and/or doesn't push people a lot of the time, but I don't see a problem not pushing that guy. He was never anything special in the ring that I remember.

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  20. Yep, I fully admit that WWE did indeed bury the hell out of him, but... I just don't like the guy, so I got enjoyment out of it.... :)

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  21. Hogan was halfway to mainstream success already when he left AWA, wherever he ended up would have been the first big dog. So there's two things to consider
    1) Where does Hogan end up?
    2) Does this company succeed to the extent WWF did or do they fall back to being one of a group of companies.

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  22. Specifically on Sandow, the guy has been killing it with whatever they've given him for a while. What's funny is the Rhodes Scholars were over, they broke them up, and now... they are both back in tag teams.

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  23. Really enjoy your imaginary Dynamite vs Steamboat and Roberts vs Rude feud.

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  24. Not mine, but thanks anyway.

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  25. Is that true? If that's true, that's fucking retarded.

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