Matt Hardy believes that Vince McMahon won't be able to control himself after his return to WWE, as he will put his fingerprints on the creative side of the company.
On January 10, Stephanie McMahon announced her resignation as WWE co-CEO and chairwoman, and Vince McMahon was unanimously elected the Executive Chairman of the Board. These developments came just days after Vince, who retired in July 2022 amid a WWE board investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and hush money, returned to the company on January 6. Ahead of his return, McMahon announced his intention to return in order to participate in negotiations for media rights deals.
Matt Hardy worked for Vince for many years throughout his time with the company. Speaking on his Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, the veteran shared his thoughts on the situation. When asked about McMahon stating that he didn't plan to change the structure of content creation/creative, Hardy described how he doesn't think McMahon will be able to help himself. He noted that McMahon will likely want to increasingly have an influence on the product. Hardy also cited a WWE talent who said that the January 9 episode of WWE Raw felt "different" after McMahon's return, and they felt like Vince had his fingerprints on it.
"I feel like even if Vince is being sincere about that, he won’t be able to control himself like that. If he is back, he is going to put his fingerprints on things. It’s just who he is. It’s absolutely who it is. There was someone, I would just say randomly, without mentioning names, who said, ‘Raw felt different on Monday. I’ve got a feeling Vince may have had his fingerprints on it.’ Which is interesting. But I think if Vince comes back, I think he kinda continues as it is, and then you see a little more influence from Vince, a little more, a little more, a little more, a little more, and then it might get back to the point where he’s going, ‘Damn it, this is my show, and nobody’s better at doing this than me. This is my baby, I’m gonna raise my child, and I’m gonna see it through,'" Hardy said.
When co-host Jon Alba brought up the legal hurdles that could prevent McMahon from simply taking control of creative again, Hardy responded by saying that it would likely be a slow process. He cited his history working with McMahon and noted that he has a good understanding of his former boss. Hardy again emphasized that he believes McMahon would want to regain control.
"It would be a slow process, but just knowing Vince, he’s not my best friend, but I worked with him, and I’ve been around him a lot, and I feel like I have a pretty good grip on his actions, and kind of his thought process. As time would go on, you would see a little more, and a little more, and a little more, and a little more, until he got back to where he felt like he was controlling the helm of the ship," he said.
McMahon is being sued by a WWE shareholder for breaching fiduciary duty. More information is available here.
Ric Flair recently stated that he's glad McMahon is back. Check out his comments here.
Eric Bischoff has said he can't imagine McMahon's primary focus will be WWE creative. Click here to see what he had to say.
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