Highlights
- Tag teams were once popular in WWE, but under Vince McMahon’s leadership, they were pushed to the sidelines, resulting in a decline in the division’s importance and opportunities for talented teams to shine.
- McMahon’s dislike for tag team wrestling stemmed from his perspective on the financial burden it placed on the company. He saw tag team matches as involving more expenses, such as paying multiple talents and additional travel and accommodations.
- With Triple H now leading WWE Creative and McMahon’s retirement, there is a resurgence of tag teams and factions in WWE programming. This represents a significant departure from McMahon’s vision and signals a changing landscape where tag team wrestling gains prominence.
For decades, he reigned over the squared circle, sculpting the sports entertainment landscape to his own vision. However, amidst the larger-than-life personas and championship rivalries, one glaring enigma persisted—Vince McMahon’s curious disdain for tag team wrestling. The tag team division, once a powerhouse of thrilling action and captivating storylines, dwindled into obscurity under McMahon’s watchful eye. As it turns out, there’s an intriguing backstory behind Vince’s aversion to tag team wrestling. As the wrestling world witnesses a seismic shift post-Vince McMahon, the resurgence of tag teams and factions beckons a new era, leaving us to ponder how the former WWE Chairman views this unexpected turn of events.
The Neglect Of Tag Team Wrestling Under Vince McMahon
Tag Teams Were Popular In The 1980s
During Vince McMahon’s reign over WWE, it became evident that the tag team division was consistently pushed to the sidelines. While the spotlight shone brightly on marquee singles stars and high-profile main event storylines, tag teams often found themselves struggling to carve out a meaningful presence. This neglect didn’t occur overnight but was the result of a gradual decline that spanned years. At the heart of this issue was Vince McMahon’s unwavering commitment to his own vision, a vision that often leaned heavily towards singles competition.
For many fans, this was a source of frustration and disappointment. Tag team wrestling had once been a thrilling aspect of WWE programming, featuring iconic duos like The Rockers, The Hart Foundation, The Legion of Doom, and many others. However, under Vince’s leadership, the tag team division lost its luster. Titles meant less, and tag team matches became rare occurrences at major pay-per-view events. As a result, the tag team scene deteriorated to the point where fans and wrestlers alike lamented the lack of opportunities for these talented teams to shine. Even when popular tag teams emerged, they often faced an uphill battle to secure the same recognition and opportunities as singles competitors. This trend continued for years, culminating in a situation where tag team championships, no matter how prestigious they once were, held little importance in the eyes of the WWE Universe.
Vince McMahon’s Dislike Of Tag Team Wrestling
Tag Teams Meant More Money Spent
Vince McMahon is renowned for his shrewd business acumen and relentless drive for profit. During his tenure as the head of WWE, he was always seeking ways to cut costs and maximize revenue. This perspective on the financial side of the wrestling business extended to how he viewed tag team wrestling. In McMahon’s eyes, tag team matches involved twice as many competitors as singles matches, which translated to higher expenses. With tag team wrestling, WWE had to pay multiple talents for a single bout, including additional travel, accommodations, and performance fees. This view saw tag team wrestling as an added financial burden on the company.
Charlie Haas, a former WWE wrestler, spoke on the It’s My Wrestling Podcast, revealing, “Vince doesn’t like tag team wrestling. He looks at it as an added expense, as paying for an extra guy on the road, extra guy in the hotel room. He really doesn’t like it, and he changed a lot of it over the years.”
Arn Anderson, a wrestling veteran, shared a similar sentiment on his Arn podcast “I can’t specifically tell you when it was, I bet you can though, where they went through all these factions, and I was in WCW at the time. Remember the factions, there were probably five, six, seven of them, and they had four or five guys in a group. You know Taker had The APA and all those guys with him. It went from being just a tag team to four guys, maybe five if there was a manager involved, but managers were starting to go away during that period as well. But if you met all those transportation costs to pay and all that, I measure it just get expensive, and it’s probably overwhelming, so when he decided to peel back from factions and all that, he probably just included tag matches in the equation and that was a mistake.”
Freddie Prinze Jr., a former WWE writer, confirmed this notion on his WWFreddie – Wrestling With Freddie podcast very precisely as he revealed what Vince said to him, “Freddie, I gotta pay four guys for one f*cking match.”
The Changing Landscape Of WWE Tag Teams Post Vince McMahon
The Success Of The Bloodline And The Judgment Day
Now that Vince McMahon has forcefully retired from WWE Creative due to scandalous allegations surrounding him and WWE’s acquisition by Endeavor, which aims to keep Vince away from creative decisions, a seismic shift is occurring within the company. With Triple H at the helm, WWE is witnessing a resurgence of tag teams and factions in its programming. Notably, factions like The Bloodline, Judgment Day, LWO, Damage CTRL, and many others have taken the spotlight.
It’s intriguing to wonder what Vince McMahon would think of this newfound focus on tag teams and factions, especially since he vehemently opposed the concept during his tenure. This shift represents a significant departure from Vince’s vision, and as the wrestling world enters what appears to be a “faction era,” it’s clear that the landscape of WWE is changing rapidly, with tag team wrestling gaining the prominence it had long been denied.