Jon Moxley Says Vince McMahon Is The Problem With WWE, Thinks That Triple H Would Be Better
Vince McMahon is considered by many to be the Godfather of pro wrestling. He spearheaded wrestling growing from small territories to a global phenomenon. Jon Moxley recently has been one speaking out against the WWE creative process and took it further with Wade Keller on his Pro Wrestling Podcast.
It would appear, that Vince has insulated himself with people that just go along with his ideas.
"At first, everyone is intimidated by Vince, because he is this mythical figure. To talk to him you got to go into his office, like the 'Wizard of Oz'," Moxley recalled. "Early on we dealt more with Triple H. When I was on my own, they always tell you, 'It's important to have a relationship with Vince, you got to go in and talk to him.' There are like 10 layers you have to go through to get anything approved. Everything comes down to Vince, and what he wants. Some people are scared, like producers and stuff. People don't want new ideas, they just want to do what Vince says because they don't want to go back in and deal with it unless they feel strongly about it. "
The aforementioned '10 layers of people' was a problem for Moxley. So, he decided to just bypass that and go straight to the top.
"My problem was waiting for answers. I would be asking 'What are we doing?' People would say 'We are waiting on Vince.' Well let me go to Vince and hear it from the horse's mouth,' said Moxley. " Then I didn't have to go through the ten layers of people. So, I just started doing that. I always had a good relationship with Vince, even near the end. If everyone is telling you 'No, we can't do that,' and you are like 'I will just go to Vince and then Vince is like I love it. And you come out and say, 'Vince liked my idea,' then all the people against it, think it's the greatest idea in the world. It's Vince's way on everything."
Despite possibly ruffling a few feathers with creative, Moxley feels he had a good relationship with Vince, even near the end of his WWE run.
"Vince always liked me. Even if he asked me to do something I didn't want to do, went out, did it, and didn't pull it off, we were cool,' Moxley recalled. "He has over the years like a lot of my ideas. Towards the end, especially in the last few months, I felt I was one of Vince's guys. Looking back though, Vince is the problem. It's a shame, I'm not trying to tear him down, I'm trying to help. I'm telling you, that's the problem and It's a shame. Because there is so much talent, there has never been so much talent, the pool is so talented. The resources they have, with the network, with television it should be so great. But, the one guy that screwed it up, I think is Vince."
Moxley doubled down on that statement by drawing comparisons to NXT. Where Vince does not have as much say and Triple H is in charge.
"You look at NXT. I have never been there (in its current incarnation), so I cannot tell you how it is," said Moxley. "But everyone seems to like the show. What's the key ingredient that's missing? Vince. He is the guy that created wrestling. But now I feel like he is the guy holding it back. He needs to take a break, maybe just let Hunter run things for a month."
Those statements could be seen as disparaging to someone that has achieved what Vince has. Moxley feels that Vince's 'golden touch' has faded and he is clueless as to what is going on.
"Over this time, especially the last few months, I didn't see this 'genius' Vince," Moxley explained. "In the 80's he was a genius, when he created Hulkamania, took over the territories, and put wrestling on cable television. In 2019 I do not think he knows what is going on. We need to figure it out or step aside and let someone who knows what's going on takeover."
It is believed that Triple H is the next in line to succeed Vince. Moxley agrees with that assessment and feels WWE would be different, if not better for it.
"Who else is there?' Moxley asked. "He has clearly been preparing for this. When Vince isn't there, he is the guy you go to his ideas are his ideas. He is very cerebral and not super collaborative. He is a guy that thinks about things a lot. I think he is a much better option between the two of them. He would be more open to giving people more freedom. But, if he sees something and thinks there is a better way he will come and tell you. He watches television and he is the closest thing to Vince that we have."
You can listen to the full interview below. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.