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VIP EXCLUSIVE COLUMN - Early release from PWTorch Newsletter #991...
"McNeill Factor"
Newsletter Headline: Kicking away the crutch
Originally published: September 22, 2007
From Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter #991
A Brief History of Mr. McMahon: For the past several years, the hoariest cliche in professional wrestling has been the evil authority figure. It is difficult to say exactly when the original idea took shape. Perhaps it started in 1989, when Eric Embry and the Dallas babyfaces had to wrest control of World Class Championship Wrestling from the diabolical General Skandor Akbar. Maybe it was back in 1991, when Global Wrestling Federation commissioner Max Andrews was revealed as the evil mastermind behind the Cartel heel stable.
On a national scale, fans who watched wrestling during the Monday Night Wars probably remember late 1996. Roddy Piper revealed on WCW Monday Nitro that WCW producer and announcer Eric Bischoff was actually a puppet of the New World Order, the heel faction run by Hulk Hogan, the Outsiders, and Ted DiBiase. Over the next few months, Bischoff became the on-camera manager for the NWO while the announcers (correctly) pointed out that Bischoff was in charge of World Championship Wrestling. Bischoff provided an extra layer of insulation for the bad guys, going out of his way to screw the WCW babyfaces at every opportunity for the next couple years.
No, Vince McMahon didn't invent the heel authority figure concept, but he refined it into an art form. The infamous Montreal screwjob of November 1997 put a lot of heat on Vince McMahon, so much so that there was no way Vinnie Mac could return to his old job as lead announcer of WWF Raw. McMahon and Vince Russo, who was head of WWF Creative at the time, decided to take advantage of the anti-McMahon sentiment among diehard fans and turned McMahon into an on-air heel character. With Shawn Michaels on the shelf due to a back injury, McMahon became the lead heel working against new champion "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. The novel storyline brought in huge business for the promotion, which regained the top spot from rival World Championship Wrestling. The storyline resonated with longtime fans and casual fans alike. Everyone knows what it is like to have a bad boss, and would like to be in the position to get revenge the way Stone Cold did to the Chairman.
We're about to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the 1997 Survivor Series, the show that made Vince McMahon the heel to end all heels. All good things must come to an end, and the heel authority figure ceased to be a good thing some time along. Why, you ask?.
General Managers: Take a look at this week's episode of Raw. Jonathan Coachman the acting general manager of Raw, concocted a plan with lead heel Randy Orton to have Orton beat up Cena's father while Cena was unable to protect his father. Why? Because Cena had knocked Coachman down the previous night at the Unforgiven pay-per-view. That's a pretty dastardly deed for a heel authority figure. Announcers Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler put over how heinous and reprehensible Coachman and Orton's actions were. But despite all WWE's efforts, the fans weren't disgusted at Orton and Coachman. Why should they be? WWE fans have seen variations on the same evil theme every Monday night for nearly a decade.
Vince McMahon had some short runs as a babyface, but by and large, he has been the some cocky, swaggering, jacked up bully on television since right around WrestleMania XIV. When McMahon was absent, his role was played by a variety of evil bosses. Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon filled in for Daddy at various times. Jonathan Coachman has had a good run as the villain. So has William Regal. Shawn Michaels turned heel as WWE Commissioner to help out his old buddy Triple H. Ric Flair was briefly allowed to reprise his heel authority figure role from the end of WCW. Eric Bischoff, the man who initially made the heel owner role his own in WCW, got to play the surrogate McMahon for a little bit. The last babyface authority figure on Raw was "Sheriff" Steve Austin, and that gimmick ended three and half years ago.
Once, it was shocking to have a commissioner, owner, or authority figure in league with the heels on a wrestling program. Now it's a breath of fresh air to have a show like WWE Smackdown, where General Manager Teddy Long is a fair and somewhat impartial figurehead. In fact, most wrestling fans have seen so many different crooked commissioner storyline in this decade that it's difficult for the writers to come up with anything that hasn't been done before. That's something to keep in mind when you read fan feedback about Raw episodes seeming "stale."
In Vince We Trust: There's another problem with World Wrestling Entertainment using heel authority figures. It is a problem that rarely gets touched on when discussing WWE booking......
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