Vince McMahon in a WWE ring WWE
WWE legend Bully Ray has drawn parallels between Vince McMahon and two sporting giants, stating that many people have wanted all three entities to fail.
McMahon, who had a firm grip over WWE for decades, was forced to step down following sexual assault allegations. Ray discussed with "Busted Open" host Dave LaGreca the impact Vince McMahon would've had on pro wrestling, in particular AEW, if he had stayed on as the head of WWE. The WWE Hall of Famer believes that McMahon is comparable to two sports teams: MLB's New York Yankees and the NFL's Dallas Cowboys. He argues that, like these teams, McMahon is hated by many and often hoped to fail due to his success.
"Dave, who are the two most polarizing sports teams in all of pro sports," Ray asked LaGreca. "Everybody wants to beat the Cowboys and the Yankees. Even if the Cowboys suck, you still want to beat America's team. Even if the Yankees suck, you still want to take down the empire. That's the way it has been forever because they are so successful, you just want to be the one to take them down. Vince McMahon was the Yankees and the Cowboys all rolled into one, and everybody wanted to take him down because the perception is Vince took everybody else down."
Ray stated how McMahon, like the late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and the Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, could buy anyone he wanted, which resulted in others wanting to "take him down." He believes that every wrestling promotion that went up against McMahon has tried to dislodge him and WWE as the top dog in the business. This, he believes, is why many people want to see an alternative like AEW flourish. But, Ray stated that ECW was the only true alternative wrestling promotion to WWE.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Busted Open" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.