Is WWE Still Being Run by the Spirit of Vince McMahon?
Is WWE Still Being Run by the Spirit of Vince McMahon? originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
WrestleMania 40 featured one of the biggest feel-good moments in WWE history. Cody Rhodes had finally dethroned Roman Reigns for the WWE championship. Triple H was now running the company. This was the beginning of a new era that would lead WWE into a prosperous and fan-friendly future.
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Just over a year later, WWE has squandered much of that goodwill with the fans. The company is still making truckloads of money and is the clear leader in the pro wrestling world. But the public relations department seems to have taken an extended vacation, with several moves taking place that evoke the cutthroat spirit of deposed WWE leader Vince McMahon.
R-Truth (Getty)
When R-Truth announced on Sunday that WWE was not renewing his contract, many fans thought he must be joking. After all, he had just wrestled John Cena on Saturday Night's Main Event. Truth's fans and co-workers poured out their love and support for the beloved and versatile star, who had just spent 17 years with WWE. Then, the other shoe dropped.
Carlito announced that he was also being let go, despite appearing every week on TV as a member of The Judgment Day. Truth is 53 and Carlito is 46, and they can't be employed as wrestlers forever. But the timing and optics are terrible. Also, with the release of Braun Strowman, Dakota Kai, and several other wrestlers last month, we seem to be back in the Vince McMahon days when wrestlers and staff members are expendable and dropped from the payroll just to please the WWE (now TKO) shareholders.
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Another example of WWE acting like the old days its aggressive tactics in counterprogramming AEW pay-per-views. WWE scheduled three shows on the weekend on Double or Nothing and will do the same in July against All In Texas. When AEW moved the All In start time to the afternoon, WWE scheduled the Great American Bash head-to-head!
It all looks bad. WWE management is not acting like the confident leaders of the pro wrestling world. Instead, they are putting profits before people and acting like they are scared of any real competition. We'll see if they can right the ship or whether they continue to waste the goodwill they have built since WrestleMania 40.
Related: John Cena Should Face a Different Opponent at Saturday Night's Main Event
Related: Will Ospreay Issues Unique Challenge to Released WWE Wrestlers
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
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