This WWE Legend has sounded off.
The WWE Chairman decided to buy the WWE from his father, Vince McMahon Sr. in 1982 at the age of 37-years-old.
This would be a defining moment in the history of professional wrestling. In the past, we had the territory system, which meant that there was a group of promotion in certain areas of the United States.
For example, the WWE was in the New York area. However, once the younger McMahon decided to change that, pro wrestling would never be the same.
He began expanding the company nationally by promoting in areas outside of the company's Northeast U.S. stomping grounds and by signing talent from other companies such as the American Wrestling Association.
In 1984, he recruited Hulk Hogan to be the company's charismatic new megastar, and the two quickly drew the ire of industry peers as the promotion began traveling and broadcasting into rival territories.
During the late 1980s, McMahon shaped the WWF into a unique sports entertainment brand that reached out to family audiences while attracting fans who had never before paid attention to pro wrestling.
One of his greatest ideas was to create WrestleMania, would be the biggest event of the year for not only the WWE but pro wrestling in general.
After struggling against World Championship Wrestling (WCW), McMahon cemented the company as the preeminent wrestling promotion in the late 1990s when he started the Attitude Era.
In October 1999, McMahon led the promotion in an initial public offering of company stock. McMahon acquired the fading WCW from Turner Broadcasting System in 2001, which brought an end to the Monday Night Wars.
While it looked like a victory at first, it was a mistake if you look back on it. If you do not have any competition, then you get relaxed, and when creating content, that would be an issue.
The ratings and overall interest in the company have dropped off big time since 2001. Some people blame McMahon for this due to the fact that he oversees everything in the company.
In a recent interview with Business Insider, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross opened up on if Triple H or Shane McMahon would succeed as the frontman of the sports entertainment company. Here is what he had to say (transcript courtesy of Wrestling Inc):
"I have an opinion on where the company will go. I will say this — you know, Vince is very healthy. He still works out like a crazy man. He really takes care of himself," Ross said. "So, he ain't going anywhere soon. We don't want him to go anywhere soon. He's the rock that built that thing. He's the rudder in the water. It's an amazing company."
"I think that, if I'm guessing, and it's gonna strictly be a guess — that the money would be on, probably, Paul Levesque to be Vince's successor," Ross said.
"I think Vince is kind of preparing him for that in a lot of ways. You always knew that he was different from the other guys because he was very studious, and very – under control," he said. "He didn't drink. No drugs. He looked to be a lifer early on, and he got a lot of that from being a fan all his life growing up in the northeast — New Hampshire. Then, getting trained by Killer Kowalski who was a great, old-school guy. So, I think he's probably the heir apparent."