History ExecutiveMeddling / ProfessionalWrestling

*** Though once he returned from a recurrence of leukemia, he finally turned heel, with his conceited "Tribal Chief" gimmick and the associated "Bloodline" storyline getting him out of the XPacHeat he had long suffered. However, he became subject to a different form of meddling, namely by Vince booking the world championship scene into a corner that. as of fall 2023, no one has been able to break.

*** [[Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli Cesaro]], despite being very talented in the ring as well as being very over with the WWE Universe, was a victim of stop-and-start pushes that has also been the norm of many mid-card talents on the main roster due to the fact that Vince [=McMahon=] wasn't a fan of his. [=McMahon=] has even gone on record saying Cesaro "doesn't connect with the fans", which is pretty much the definition of a SelfFulfillingProphecy[[note]]To wit: Claudio is getting over just fine in 2022... in AEW[[/note]]. Anyone who [[EnsembleDarkhorse listens to the crowd]] during Cesaro's matches (especially live ones) know how untrue that statement is.

** Rick Steiner was forced to debate [[Film/ChildsPlay Chucky]], who shilled the then-upcoming ''Film/BrideOfChucky'' movie. Later, Robert Wuhl, the star of ''Series/{{Arliss}}'', had a guest commentary spot, in-character as Arliss, which was made even worse by his commentary being non-stop burial of the match he was calling (Wrestling/RandySavage vs. Wrestling/BillyKidman) and pro wrestling in general.

* In the WWE, while people tend to gripe about the [=McMahons=] all the time, until around the mid-2010s they failed to mention Kevin Dunn, the Executive Vice President of Television Production. A little background on Dunn: he's Vince [=McMahon=]'s best friend, or at least the closest to it. Dunn was promised a job for life after his father risked his life to save some tapes from a fire during Vince Sr.'s reign, tapes that were instrumental to the company's programming at the time. He's been with the company since the eighties, and did whatever Vince has asked of him over the years, from cable to HD. Either way, Dunn has been Vince's go-to-guy for decades, and has always had his ear -- he's even a member of the Board of Directors. However, he's a ''TV'' guy, not a wrestling guy. That's where the problems begin.

Thankfully, Dunn left the WWE towards the end of 2023 as one of the victims of the Endeavor takeover.

** Another factor going against Cena turning heel is that the man is well known for his charity work (including setting the record of over 500 visits to Make-A-Wish Foundation kids) and WWE is worried about losing such a great positive connection with young fans and the media.

** Dunn was also the brains behind the Diva Search. It wouldn't be too far to believe that he and Johnny Ace are responsible for the greater emphasis the division has put on looks. In fact, according to most sources, how he views the Divas are so objectifying if not sexist that many are surprised he hasn't been arrested yet. Former WWE writer Alex Greenfield once recounted a story of being in the WWE corporate jet alongside several writers that were captained by Vince [=McMahon=], Dunn, and Michael Hayes. They were flying back from TV after taping one of the early shows of WWE's ECW brand, the one where Wrestling/KellyKelly has just been introduced as the exhibitionist girlfriend of Mike Knox. Hayes was telling [=McMahon=] that he felt that she wasn't connecting, [=McMahon=] agreed, saying that she needed to find her sensuality. Then Dunn, with sniggering laughter, was trying to get [=McMahon=] to pay attention to him. When [=McMahon=] turns to him, Dunn tells him, "She needs to find some '''''TITS'''''!" Dunn continued to snicker, eyes on [=McMahon=], begging for approval. [=McMahon's=] only reaction was to snort and continue the conversation with Hayes. However since late 2015, the WWE has pretty much done away with the emphasis on the female talents' looks in favor of actual wrestling talent thanks in large part to the rise of the Four Horsewomen (Wrestling/SashaBanks, Wrestling/BeckyLynch, Wrestling/{{Charlotte}}, and Wrestling/{{Bayley}}), not to mention getting rid of the Divas moniker altogether in April of 2016.

** Reigns is currently being groomed by the WWE as the successor to Cena despite hatred from numerous wrestling fans due to the fact that Reigns "can't wrestle" while being pushed ahead of fan favorites Daniel Bryan, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Cesaro, among others. But Reigns has huge support from Vince [=McMahon=] and Kevin Dunn and to a lesser extent, Triple H due to Reigns's look and marketing ability. CM Punk mentioned on a Wrestling/ColtCabana podcast that the plan was for "Reigns to look strong" despite going over the Shield. That being said, it wasn't really the wrestling ability people had problems with later down the line, and Roman's wrestling ability improved leaps and bounds over time -- it was the character. After people started turning on Reigns, Vince personally stepped in and started taking over the direction of Roman's character...and turned him into a ''Wrestling/JohnCena'' clone. That's when everything went downhill for him, as it became very clear that the character did not fit him at all. When that didn't work out (to no one's surprise), Roman went through many character changes while the crowds kept having tepid reactions if not being outright hostile. The company continued to push him regardless even though business was suffering for it (RAW's ratings went through a noticeable dip during his title reign after WM 32 -- it was dangerously close to going under a 2.0). The madness didn't stop until Reigns violated the Wellness Policy, forcing the company to take the title off him and drop him down the card while the heat died down.

** In an effort to avert this trope Vince hired former Mid-South Wrestling promoter and WCW executive producer "Cowboy" Bill Watts as his booker in 1995, with the promise that he would have '''complete control''' over creative. This lasted for all of ''three weeks'' before Vince stuck his nose into things, editing an episode of ''Monday Night Raw'' against Watts' wishes (Cowboy Bill also wanted to take the world title off of [[Wrestling/KevinNash Diesel]] and put it on Wrestling/BretHart, Vince was insistent on Wrestling/ShawnMichaels being the next top guy.[[note]]Michaels had actually started out in Mid-South and had been fined for arriving to a show late. When Watts came to the WWF Michaels walked up to him and said "You asshole, you fined me $50 two weeks into my career!" Watts asked if he ever had to fine Michaels again and when Michaels said no Watts responded with "Well, then I guess it worked."[[/note]]) Watts immediately quit, telling Vince that "There's only one titan in Titan Sports[[note]]Before the company went public it was legally known as Titan Sports, Inc.[[/note]]." Vince, knowing he went back on his word, paid Watts a nice severance package and the two men shook hands and parted amicably. Shortly thereafter Bret ended up beating Diesel for the belt anyway. Vince has tried hiring other people to book for him at various times (at one point he hired Wrestling/PaulHeyman to book ''Raw'' and Wrestling/EricBischoff to run ''Smackdown''), all of whom end up quitting for the same reason Watts did (though Heyman is still around in his usual manager role).

** For better or worse, Vince [=McMahon=] is well known for having a very hands-on style of managing Wrestling/{{WWE}}. He always has final say on everything that happens in the promotion. Unfortunately, as a businessman who was born way back in 1945, [=McMahon=] doesn't always do a good job of keeping up with popular culture[[note]]It's been said by a lot of people that worked for him that Vince isn't really aware of ''anything'' going on outside his own company, particularly anything entertainment related. He might watch the news, but that's about it[[/note]], and he's nixed a few gimmicks and angles because he personally didn't understand them. For example:

*** Allegedly, the reason Wrestling/{{Raven}} was barely utilized during his [=WWF/WWE=] run was because [=McMahon=] personally disliked him (he was party buddies with [=McMahon=]'s son Shane during his Johnny Polo period) and forbade the bookers from pushing him.[[note]]Supposedly Vince wasn't even aware he'd been signed and when he saw Raven backstage he angrily yelled "Who the fuck hired Raven?!?"[[/note]]

** For starters, Hogan is notorious for his very limited wrestling ability. The thing is, Hogan, while never a technical wizard, could carry his end of a match. He was trained by Florida "house shooter" Hiro Matsuda, and could play the foreign big man heel in Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling (one of the most physically demanding positions in wrestling) quite well, performing shoot-style submission moves and high impact moves like the enziguiri. But when he came to the WWF under Vince [=McMahon=], Sr. he was told to wrestle like a generic 'big man' character, and Hogan was able to get by on his admittedly, massive amounts of on-screen charisma while letting his opponents do most of the work. Hogan's side of the story has varied between "No one ever asked me to work hard so I didn't bother" to "they wouldn't let me work hard".

* Over the years, WWE pay-per-views tend to be held in top-drawing markets (Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, the NYC/NJ area, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Houston in particular, tend to each get a PPV every year) while ignoring lesser markets such as Seattle, Portland, Kansas City, Denver, and several others.[[note]]Canada, especially Toronto, has also been ignored over the last few years thanks to crowds (again, especially in Toronto) that do ''the exact opposite'' of what Vince and the creative team want them to do. The will loudly cheer heels (particularly ones that are really good mat wrestlers, along with, obviously, Canadians), vicious boo the babyfaces (members of the Clique and ex-WCW guys tended to get the worst of it), and basically spend the whole show amusing themselves. And it's all very much deliberate. Toronto has been referred to as "Bizzarro World" by fans and even some in the industry thanks to the wild crowds and while WWE will run house shows in Canada they tend to avoid doing TV and pay per views. Picture Philadelphia wrestling fans minus the constant F-bombs and violent antisocial behavior and you get the idea.[[/note]]

* Over the years, WWE pay-per-views tend to be held in top-drawing markets (Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, the NYC/NJ area, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Houston in particular, tend to each get a PPV every year) while ignoring lesser markets such as Seattle, Portland, Kansas City, Denver, and several others.[[note]]Canada, especially Toronto, has also been ignored over the last few years thanks to crowds (again, especially in Toronto) that do ''the exact opposite'' of what Vince and the creative team want them to do. The will loudly cheer heels (particularly ones that are really good mat wrestlers, along with, obviously, Canadians), viscously boo the babyfaces (members of the Clique and ex-WCW guys tended to get the worst of it), and basically spend the whole show amusing themselves. And it's all very much deliberate. Toronto has been referred to as "Bizzarro World" by fans and even some in the industry thanks to the wild crowds and while WWE will run house shows in Canada they tend to avoid doing TV and pay per views. Picture Philadelphia wrestling fans minus the constant F-bombs and violent antisocial behavior and you get the idea.[[/note]]

** As a man of aesthetics, Dunn tends to favor a certain look. He's a big fan of Cena, explaining partly why he has a near-perpetual push[[note]]Cena is basically retired now, but absolutely massive amount of charity work that Cena was (and still is) doing also helped[[/note]]. He's also reportedly a huge fan of Wrestling/RomanReigns due to the fact that Dunn, like [=McMahon=], loves Reigns' look and wrestling pedigree. He's not so high on Wrestling/{{Sheamus}}, which explains his inconsistent booking considering Sheamus's ties to Hunter. Dunn was also reportedly responsible for the infamous 18-second squash match between Sheamus and [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]] (which both wrestlers hated), owing to the fact that he didn't like both of them.

** It has been confirmed that Cena ''has'' wanted to turn heel at some points, considering the fact that he's been a face for ''years'' (the HeelFaceTurn essentially started at Survivor Series '03 and was solidified by ''[=WrestleMania XX=]'' - and he's never made a FaceHeelTurn since then, meaning he's been a face for almost a ''decade''). Whether he wants to ''now'' is possibly an entirely different story. Bret Hart noted this problem in a shoot interview. It isn't whether or not Cena has ever been capable of playing heel (because we all know he can), it's whether or not he can do it ''now''. Cena's character hinges on the kids and their dreams and being their hero and all that other good stuff. The question is whether or not he can handle the heartache of doing such a thing to said kids - much like Bret and his own FaceHeelTurn all those years ago. Unless the kids themselves start hating him too, and that's the majority of them, then he's stuck as a face. On the other hand, a press interview prior to [=WrestleMania 29=] had Cena make the inane insinuation that he can't turn heel because he's "not a bad guy in real life", which has UnfortunateImplications toward almost every single wrestler that's ever been around for more than a cup of coffee. He's also been rumored and accused of having bullied several wrestlers over the years. [[labelnote:i.e.]]Ruining both Kenny Dykstra's career and personal life by sleeping with his then-fiancee Wrestling/MickieJames (as well as cheating on his own wife in the process), killing Alex Riley's push when Riley refused to take some ribbing from him, stopping Tyler Reks from using his modified Burning Hammer finisher, etc.[[/labelnote]] Whether these particular rumors are true or not, his push as essentially being the WWE CreatorsPet has also led to the momentum of many hot acts being damaged if not killed just to make him look good, as the list of people who work with Cena over the years has actually helped at all since he's been cast as TheHero can be counted on one hand.[[note]]There was a term for getting your push stopped dead in its tracks upon an angle with Cena among internet fans: The InCENArator.[[/note]] Many of his detractors believe that not only does he has a certain degree of creative control which comes with being the face of the company, he either actively uses that stroke to protect himself at the expense of his co-workers or he ''doesn't'' use it to reign in Vince's dependency on him and help build the other talent around him as much as he should at this stage in his career.

*** [[Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli Cesaro]], despite being very talented in the ring as well as being very over with the WWE Universe, was a victim of stop-and-start pushes that has also been the norm of many mid-card talents on the main roster due to the fact that Vince [=McMahon=] wasn't a fan of his. [=McMahon=] has even gone on record saying Cesaro "doesn't connect with the fans", which is pretty much the definition of a Main/SelfFulfillingProphecy[[note]]To wit: Claudio is getting over just fine in 2022... in AEW[[/note]]. Anyone who [[EnsembleDarkhorse listens to the crowd]] during Cesaro's matches (especially live ones) know how untrue that statement is.

* One rumor floating around about WWE is not so much executive meddling as much as ''tenured'' meddling. Some are arguing that younger talent is being buried so the older wrestlers (Wrestling/TheUndertaker and Wrestling/TripleH especially and most recently, [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] and Wrestling/BrockLesnar) can milk the last few years of their careers for all they're worth (as evidence from ''[=WrestleMania=] 29'' in which the three main events featured four of its part-time talent). Some of it is minor (no one on the roster can have gear that looks like The Undertaker's). However, some of it's more serious, like the claim some have argued that Triple H forced Chris Masters to keep doing the Masterlock Challenge, long after it stopped being entertaining, making Masters universally loathed by fans, and possibly torpedoing his career before it could get off the ground, and the claim that The Undertaker has also helped hold back talent in the ''women's'' division by having WWE keep that belt on his then-girlfriend, now wife, Wrestling/MichelleMcCool[[note]][=McCool=] would admit in interviews that part of the reason she retired was because of the repeated accusations she was getting in that she got pushed as the top female star of [=SmackDown=] due to her relationship with Taker[[/note]]. This might be even more JustForFun/{{egregious}} because it buried the much more talented, popular, and ''experienced'' Wrestling/MickieJames. Wrestling/BethPhoenix might have been spared this only due to her ACL injury, so they'd taken to burying Wrestling/{{Melina}}. It is believed that The Undertaker gets little flak for using his pull in the company because of the many stories of him keeping other wrestlers in check. People are wondering why guys like Wrestling/EvanBourne and Wrestling/SheltonBenjamin got nowhere fast in WWE, and many think it's this[[note]]Though Bourne's constant injuries and [[Main/TheStoner failed drug tests]] (after leaving WWE he was jailed in Japan when he was caught with cannabis in his luggage and then deported and [[Main/PersonaNonGrata told not to come back]]) didn't help his cause, and even Benjamin's biggest fans will readily admit he's not exactly Mr. Charisma and he can't cut a promo to save his life[[/note]]. The reason it seems that part-time talent such as The Rock can draw, while most of the younger full-time talent do not, probably because [[Main/SelfFulfillingProphecy they keep getting pushed aside for the part-timers]].

** They also nixed at least one gimmick before it started; [[Wrestling/{{Goldust}} Seven]], a mysterious dream/SevenDeadlySins character, was introduced in promos the network felt uncomfortably close to child abduction (the gimmick itself was thought to be based on the 1995 movie ''Powder'', written and directed by a convicted child molester, and people confused the character with the director).[[note]]This was notable because Rhodes actually made his debut as Seven... and immediately grabbed a microphone and cut a Main/WorkedShoot promo burying the character and killing it off, completely breaking kayfabe. The 90 seconds or so from when he first walked through the curtain to when he said "My real name is Dustin Rhodes" probably makes this the shortest lived wrestling gimmick (that actually made it to TV) ever.[[/note]]

* One rumor floating around about WWE is not so much executive meddling as much as ''tenured'' meddling. Some are arguing that younger talent is being buried so the older wrestlers (Wrestling/TheUndertaker and Wrestling/TripleH especially and most recently, [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] and Wrestling/BrockLesnar) can milk the last few years of their careers for all they're worth (as evidence from ''[=WrestleMania=] 29'' in which the three main events featured four of its part-time talent). Some of it is minor (no one on the roster can have gear that looks like The Undertaker's). However, some of it's more serious, like the claim some have argued that Triple H forced Chris Masters to keep doing the Masterlock Challenge, long after it stopped being entertaining, making Masters universally loathed by fans, and possibly torpedoing his career before it could get off the ground, and the claim that The Undertaker has also helped hold back talent in the ''women's'' division by having WWE keep that belt on his then-girlfriend, now wife, Wrestling/MichelleMcCool[[note]][=McCool=] would admit in interviews that part of the reason she retired was because of the repeated accusations she was getting in that she got pushed as the top female star of [=SmackDown=] due to her relationship with Taker[[/note]]. This might be even more JustForFun/{{egregious}} because it buried the much more talented, popular, and ''experienced'' Wrestling/MickieJames. Wrestling/BethPhoenix might have been spared this only due to her ACL injury, so they'd taken to burying Wrestling/{{Melina}}. It is believed that The Undertaker gets little flak for using his pull in the company because of the many stories of him keeping other wrestlers in check. People are wondering why guys like Wrestling/EvanBourne and Wrestling/SheltonBenjamin got nowhere fast in WWE, and many think it's this[[note]]Though Bourne's constant injuries and [[Main/TheStoner failed drug tests]] (after leaving WWE he was jailed in Japan when he was caught with cannabis in his luggage and then deported and [[Main/PersonaNonGrata told not to come back]]) didn't help his cause, and even Benjamin's biggest fans will readily admit he's not exactly Mr. Charisma and he can't cut a promo to save his life[[/note]]. The reason it seems that part-time talent such as The Rock can draw, while most of the younger full-time talent do not.

*** He has used his ExecutiveMeddling to benefit as well. He did such an efficient job filtering the ideas that Wrestling/VinceRusso and Ed Ferrera came up with that for years Russo was credited as the genius behind the Attitude Era boom. Russo had a pet gimmick called Beaver Cleavage (a hypersexual take on ''Series/LeaveItToBeaver') that he fought with the rest of Creative tooth and nail over to get on the air. When Beaver Cleavage got the negative reaction everyone not named Russo expected, [=McMahon=] himself pulled the plug and canned the character. This actually led to Russo leaving WWF for Wrestling/{{WCW}}.[[note]]Well, that and suddenly having his workload doubled when the WWF launched its second weekly prime time show Smackdown, without extra compensation, and the breaking point was supposedly when Russo protested about not having time to see his young children and Vince McMahon responded with "You can afford to hire a nanny". The very generous contract from WCW (that basically gave him full control of the entire booking) also helped.[[/note]]

** Reigns is currently being groomed by the WWE as the successor to Cena despite hatred from numerous wrestling fans due to the fact that Reigns "can't wrestle" while being pushed ahead of fan favorites Daniel Bryan, Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Cesaro, among others. But Reigns has huge support from [=Vince McMahon=] and Kevin Dunn and to a lesser extent, Triple H due to Reigns's look and marketing ability. CM Punk mentioned on a Wrestling/ColtCabana podcast that the plan was for "Reigns to look strong" despite going over the Shield. That being said, it wasn't really the wrestling ability people had problems with later down the line, and Roman's wrestling ability improved leaps and bounds over time -- it was the character. After people started turning on Reigns, Vince personally stepped in and started taking over the direction of Roman's character...and turned him into a ''Wrestling/JohnCena'' clone. That's when everything went downhill for him, as it became very clear that the character did not fit him at all. When that didn't work out (to no one's surprise), Roman went through many character changes while the crowds kept having tepid reactions if not being outright hostile. The company continued to push him regardless even though business was suffering for it (RAW's ratings went through a noticeable dip during his title reign after WM 32 -- it was dangerously close to going under a 2.0). The madness didn't stop until Reigns violated the Wellness Policy, forcing the company to take the title off him and drop him down the card while the heat died down.

* One rumor floating around about WWE is not so much executive meddling as much as ''tenured'' meddling. Some are arguing that younger talent is being buried so the older wrestlers (Wrestling/TheUndertaker and Wrestling/TripleH especially and most recently, [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] and Wrestling/BrockLesnar) can milk the last few years of their careers for all they're worth (as evidence from ''[=WrestleMania=] 29'' in which the three main events featured four of its part-time talent). Some of it is minor (no one on the roster can have gear that looks like The Undertaker's). However, some of it's more serious, like the claim some have argued that Triple H forced Chris Masters to keep doing the Masterlock Challenge, long after it stopped being entertaining, making Masters universally loathed by fans, and possibly torpedoing his career before it could get off the ground, and the claim that The Undertaker has also helped hold back talent in the ''women's'' division by having WWE keep that belt on his then-girlfriend, now wife, Wrestling/MichelleMcCool[[note]][=McCool=] would admit in a podcast with Lilian Garcia that part of the reason she retired was because of the repeated accusations she was getting in that she got pushed heavily as the top female star of [=SmackDown=] due to her relationship with Taker[[/note]]. This might be even more JustForFun/{{egregious}} because it buried the much more talented, popular, and ''experienced'' Wrestling/MickieJames. Wrestling/BethPhoenix might have been spared this only due to her ACL injury, so they'd taken to burying Wrestling/{{Melina}}. It is believed that The Undertaker gets little flak for using his pull in the company because of the many stories of him keeping other wrestlers in check. People are wondering why guys like Wrestling/EvanBourne and Wrestling/SheltonBenjamin got nowhere fast in WWE, and many think it's this[[note]]Though Bourne's constant injuries and [[Main/TheStoner failed drug tests]] (after leaving WWE he was jailed in Japan when he was caught with cannabis in his luggage and then deported and [[Main/PersonaNonGrata told not to come back]]) didn't help his cause, and even Benjamin's biggest fans will readily admit he's not exactly Mr. Charisma and he can't cut a promo to save his life[[/note]]. The reason it seems that part-time talent such as The Rock can draw, while most of the younger full-time talent do not.

* One rumor floating around about WWE is not so much executive meddling as much as ''tenured'' meddling. Some are arguing that younger talent is being buried so the older wrestlers (Wrestling/TheUndertaker and Wrestling/TripleH especially and most recently, [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] and Wrestling/BrockLesnar) can milk the last few years of their careers for all they're worth (as evidence from ''[=WrestleMania=] 29'' in which the three main events featured four of its part-time talent). Some of it is minor (no one on the roster can have gear that looks like The Undertaker's). However, some of it's more serious, like the claim some have argued that Triple H forced Chris Masters to keep doing the Masterlock Challenge, long after it stopped being entertaining, making Masters universally loathed by fans, and possibly torpedoing his career before it could get off the ground, and the claim that The Undertaker has also helped hold back talent in the ''women's'' division by having WWE keep that belt on his then-girlfriend, now wife, Wrestling/MichelleMcCool[[note]][=McCool=] would admit in a podcast with Lilian Garcia that part of the reason she retired was due to the repeated accusations she was getting in that she got pushed heavily as the top female star of [=SmackDown=] due to her relationship with Taker[[/note]]. This might be even more JustForFun/{{egregious}} because it buried the much more talented, popular, and ''experienced'' Wrestling/MickieJames. Wrestling/BethPhoenix might have been spared this only due to her ACL injury, so they'd taken to burying Wrestling/{{Melina}}. It is believed that The Undertaker gets little flak for using his pull in the company because of the many stories of him keeping other wrestlers in check. People are wondering why guys like Wrestling/EvanBourne and Wrestling/SheltonBenjamin got nowhere fast in WWE, and many think it's this[[note]]Though Bourne's constant injuries and [[Main/TheStoner failed drug tests]] (after leaving WWE he was jailed in Japan when he was caught with cannabis in his luggage and then deported and [[Main/PersonaNonGrata told not to come back]]) didn't help his cause, and even Benjamin's biggest fans will readily admit he's not exactly Mr. Charisma and he can't cut a promo to save his life[[/note]]. The reason it seems that part-time talent such as The Rock can draw, while most of the younger full-time talent do not.

* One rumor floating around about WWE is not so much executive meddling as much as ''tenured'' meddling. Some are arguing that younger talent is being buried so the older wrestlers (Wrestling/TheUndertaker and Wrestling/TripleH especially and most recently, [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] and Wrestling/BrockLesnar) can milk the last few years of their careers for all they're worth (as evidence from ''[=WrestleMania=] 29'' in which the three main events featured four of its part-time talent). Some of it is minor (no one on the roster can have gear that looks like The Undertaker's). However, some of it's more serious, like the claim some have argued that Triple H forced Chris Masters to keep doing the Masterlock Challenge, long after it stopped being entertaining, making Masters universally loathed by fans, and possibly torpedoing his career before it could get off the ground, and the claim that The Undertaker has also helped hold back talent in the ''women's'' division by having WWE keep that belt on his then-girlfriend, now wife, Wrestling/MichelleMcCool[[note]][=McCool=] would admit in a podcast with Lilian Garcia that the accusations she was getting in that her relationship with Taker was why she got pushed as the top female star of [=SmackDown=] was part of the reason she retired[[/note]]. This might be even more JustForFun/{{egregious}} because it buried the much more talented, popular, and ''experienced'' Wrestling/MickieJames. Wrestling/BethPhoenix might have been spared this only due to her ACL injury, so they'd taken to burying Wrestling/{{Melina}}. It is believed that The Undertaker gets little flak for using his pull in the company because of the many stories of him keeping other wrestlers in check. People are wondering why guys like Wrestling/EvanBourne and Wrestling/SheltonBenjamin got nowhere fast in WWE, and many think it's this[[note]]Though Bourne's constant injuries and [[Main/TheStoner failed drug tests]] (after leaving WWE he was jailed in Japan when he was caught with cannabis in his luggage and then deported and [[Main/PersonaNonGrata told not to come back]]) didn't help his cause, and even Benjamin's biggest fans will readily admit he's not exactly Mr. Charisma and he can't cut a promo to save his life[[/note]]. The reason it seems that part-time talent such as The Rock can draw, while most of the younger full-time talent do not.

* One rumor floating around about WWE is not so much executive meddling as much as ''tenured'' meddling. Some are arguing that younger talent is being buried so the older wrestlers (Wrestling/TheUndertaker and Wrestling/TripleH especially and most recently, [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] and Wrestling/BrockLesnar) can milk the last few years of their careers for all they're worth (as evidence from ''[=WrestleMania=] 29'' in which the three main events featured four of its part-time talent). Some of it is minor (no one on the roster can have gear that looks like The Undertaker's). However, some of it's more serious, like the claim some have argued that Triple H forced Chris Masters to keep doing the Masterlock Challenge, long after it stopped being entertaining, making Masters universally loathed by fans, and possibly torpedoing his career before it could get off the ground, and the claim that The Undertaker has also helped hold back talent in the ''women's'' division by having WWE keep that belt on his then-girlfriend, now wife, Wrestling/MichelleMcCool. This might be even more JustForFun/{{egregious}} because it buried the much more talented, popular, and ''experienced'' Wrestling/MickieJames. Wrestling/BethPhoenix might have been spared this only due to her ACL injury, so they'd taken to burying Wrestling/{{Melina}}. It is believed that The Undertaker gets little flak for using his pull in the company because of the many stories of him keeping other wrestlers in check. People are wondering why guys like Wrestling/EvanBourne and [[Wrestling/TheWorldsGreatestTagTeam Shelton Benjamin]] got nowhere fast in WWE, and many think it's this[[note]]Though Bourne's constant injuries and [[Main/TheStoner failed drug tests]] (after leaving WWE he was jailed in Japan when he was caught with cannabis in his luggage and then deported and [[Main/PersonaNonGrata told not to come back]]) didn't help his cause, and even Benjamin's biggest fans will readily admit he's not exactly Mr. Charisma and he can't cut a promo to save his life[[/note]]. The reason it seems that part-time talent such as The Rock can draw, while most of the younger full-time talent do not.

** In an effort to avert this trope Vince hired former Mid-South Wrestling promoter and WCW executive producer "Cowboy" Bill Watts as his booker in 1995, with the promise that he would have '''complete control''' over creative. This lasted for all of ''three weeks'' before Vince stuck his nose into things, editing an episode of ''Monday Night Raw'' against Watts' wishes (Cowboy Bill also wanted to take the world title off of [[Wrestling/KevinNash Diesel]] and put it on Wrestling/BretHart, Vince was insistent on Wrestling/ShawnMichaels being the next top guy.) Watts immediately quit, telling Vince that "There's only one titan in Titan Sports[[note]]Before the company went public it was legally known as Titan Sports, Inc.[[/note]]." Vince, knowing he went back on his word, paid Watts a nice severance package and the two men shook hands and parted amicably. Vince has tried hiring other people to book for him at various times (at one point he hired Wrestling/PaulHeyman to book ''Raw'' and Wrestling/EricBischoff to run ''Smackdown''), all of whom end up quitting for the same reason Watts did (though Heyman is still around in his usual manager role).

** For better or worse, Vince [=McMahon=] is well known for having a very hands-on style of managing Wrestling/{{WWE}}. He always has final say on everything that happens in the promotion. Unfortunately, as a businessman who was born way back in 1945, [=McMahon=] doesn't always do a good job of keeping up with popular culture, and he's nixed a few gimmicks and angles because he personally didn't understand them. For example:

* One rumor floating around about WWE is not so much executive meddling as much as ''tenured'' meddling. Some are arguing that younger talent is being buried so the older wrestlers (Wrestling/TheUndertaker and Wrestling/TripleH especially and most recently, [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] and Wrestling/BrockLesnar) can milk the last few years of their careers for all they're worth (as evidence from ''[=WrestleMania=] 29'' in which the three main events featured four of its part-time talent). Some of it is minor (no one on the roster can have gear that looks like The Undertaker's). However, some of it's more serious, like the claim some have argued that Triple H forced Chris Masters to keep doing the Masterlock Challenge, long after it stopped being entertaining, making Masters universally loathed by fans, and possibly torpedoing his career before it could get off the ground, and the claim that The Undertaker has also helped hold back talent in the ''women's'' division by having WWE keep that belt on his then-girlfriend, now wife, Wrestling/MichelleMcCool. This might be even more JustForFun/{{egregious}} because it buried the much more talented, popular, and ''experienced'' Wrestling/MickieJames. Wrestling/BethPhoenix might have been spared this only due to her ACL injury, so they'd taken to burying Wrestling/{{Melina}}. It is believed that The Undertaker gets little flak for using his pull in the company because of the many stories of him keeping other wrestlers in check. People are wondering why guys like Wrestling/EvanBourne and [[Wrestling/TheWorldsGreatestTagTeam Shelton Benjamin]] got nowhere fast in WWE, and many think it's this. The reason it seems that part-time talent such as The Rock can draw, while most of the younger full-time talent do not.

* In 1988, a conglomerate of independent promotions led by Verne Gagne's Wrestling/AmericanWrestlingAssociation, Fritz Wrestling/{{Von Erich|family}}'s World Class Championship Wrestling and Jerry Jarrett's Continental Wrestling co-produced the ''Superclash III'' PPV that was supposed to make them all a major competitor to Vince [=McMahon=]... and it was one of wrestling's biggest disasters because of the egos and meddling of those promoters. The main event was AWA champion Wrestling/JerryLawler vs WCCW champion Kerry Von Erich to unify their titles... in a match the promotions had already given away multiple times in the months prior, always with controversial finishes. And on the day of Superclash itself, mere minutes before the main event was to start, they still didn't have a finish because neither promoter was willing to put over the other guy. What made this dumber is how Fritz Von Erich was unwilling to have Kerry put over Lawler clean despite the fact that he was secretly selling WCCW to Lawler and Jarrett knowing they would merge it with the AWA and make Lawler champion anyway. After they finally agreed to a finish that had Lawler walk out with both belts while not looking particularly good and the sale of WCCW was complete... then Gagne screwed over everything by backing out of the merger, refusing to pay Lawler for working the match after Superclash failed to make money (Only about 1500 showed up to the event) and expecting Lawler to still hand over the AWA belt (Which Lawler did not). All major promotions involved with the event were out of business within a few years after.

*** [[Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli Cesaro]], despite being very talented in the ring as well as being very over with the WWE Universe, was a victim of stop-and-start pushes that has also been the norm of many mid-card talents on the main roster due to the fact that Vince [=McMahon=] wasn't a fan of his. [=McMahon=] has even gone on record saying Cesaro "doesn't connect with the fans", which is pretty much the definition of a Main/SelfFulfillingProphecy. Anyone who [[EnsembleDarkhorse listens to the crowd]] during Cesaro's matches (especially live ones) know how untrue that statement is.

*** [[Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli Cesaro]], despite being very talented in the ring as well as being very over with the WWE Universe, was a victim of stop-and-start pushes that has also been the norm of many mid-card talents on the main roster due to the fact that Vince [=McMahon=] wasn't a fan of his. [=McMahon=] has even gone on record saying Cesaro "doesn't connect with the fans." Anyone who [[EnsembleDarkhorse listens to the crowd]] during Cesaro's matches (especially live ones) know how untrue that statement is.

** They also nixed at least one gimmick before it started; [[Wrestling/{{Goldust}} Seven]], a mysterious dream/SevenDeadlySins character, was introduced in promos the network felt uncomfortably close to child abduction (the gimmick itself was thought to be based on the 1995 movie ''Powder'', written and directed by a convicted child molester, and people confused the character with the director).[[note]]This was notable because Rhodes actually made his debut as Seven... and immediately grabbed a microphone and cut a Main/WorkedShoot promo burying the character and killing it off, completely breaking kayfabe.[[/note]]

*** Allegedly, the reason Wrestling/{{Raven}} was barely utilized during his [=WWF/WWE=] run was because [=McMahon=] personally disliked him (he was party buddies with [=McMahon=]'s son Shane during his Johnny Polo period) and forbade the bookers from pushing him.

** As a man of aesthetics, Dunn tends to favor a certain look. He's a big fan of Cena, explaining partly why he has a near-perpetual push. He's also reportedly a huge fan of Wrestling/RomanReigns due to the fact that Dunn, like [=McMahon=], loves Reigns' look and wrestling pedigree. He's not so high on Wrestling/{{Sheamus}}, which explains his inconsistent booking considering Sheamus's ties to Hunter. Dunn was also reportedly responsible for the infamous 18-second squash match between Sheamus and [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]] (which both wrestlers hated), owing to the fact that he didn't like both of them.