For years, Vincent K. McMahon has been credited for revolutionizing the professional wrestling industry, and at other times, has been labelled a detriment to the sport. Despite this conflict of opinions, many wrestling fans can agree that Vince is truly a promotional genius, and has indeed changed the face of the business numerous times. Take for example, Hulkamania, back when wrestling was first becoming more sports entertainment than pure sport. Many critics felt that involving celebrities and such in a sports program was highly inappropriate and would only spell failure for WrestleMania; however, as history shows, WrestleMania is now considered the biggest stage in all of wrestling. Many fans can remember a few years back to the "Attitude" era, where controversy was almost constantly on the rise for McMahon's company, and yet the groundbreaking changes made in this time surely revolutionized wrestling amidst all the contention from the media. That brings us to 2005, when Vinnie Mac proved to the world once more that he is legitimately a genius, at least one when concerning the state of professional wrestling.

Since the fall of both ECW & WCW, the WWE has been deprived, lacking the necessary competition that drove the WWF creative staff to make the best shows they could when their rivals were giving them a run for their money. Fans complain the product is stale, old, and boring, seeing as the same faces are being pushed to the top, and a lack of fresh storylines adds to the choler. Vince has been said to be opposed to the involvement of the wrestling business on the Internet community, stating that the 'net fans would be the cause of a major downfall to the business, as nothing is sacred anymore. In a sense, he was right; for example, whenever a new wrestler is slated to debut, or a major change is in the works, anyone with Internet access and the ability to search for wrestling websites will be able to know of the plans being developed. In the old days, this information was available in magazines called "dirt sheets," but the difference being that kayfabe was somewhat maintained in the magazines, as not all rumors were proven true, some were just made for the purpose of drawing the reader's attention. This has always been a pet peeve of Vince, as he feels that with so much easily accessible information, the business would have so much trouble adapting that it seemed next to impossible.

Then along came Matt Hardy, Version 1. Vince is said to be more in favor of the stronger and larger wrestlers, but it is also said that McMahon was very fond of Hardy's work both in the ring and on the microphone during Matt's time on WWE SmackDown. When Hardy requested to be traded to Monday Night RAW in order to be able to spend more time with his off-screen girlfriend, Lita, Vince was happy to oblige to Hardy's request. The only problem was that the writers on RAW were unable to really develop a strong storyline upon Matt's arrival, and this is clearly illustrated by the fact that in his first month on RAW, he had never won a match. Fast forward to an angle with Lita and Kane, where Kane was a creepy stalker hell bent on getting Lita, and Matt was seen as her proverbial knight in shining armor. This feud went over pretty well, and was helping to establish Hardy once more as a top player for the WWE. But, as soon as his star rose again, it came shooting down when Matt was sidelined with serious injuries that put him out of action for nearly an entire year.

Enter Edge, a man now bitter and paranoid over never being given a fair shot at the World's Heavyweight Championship. Granted, Edge had not really been put over in the previous years prior to this push, but he was just not getting over with the fans as a heel. Edge's reactions were that of discontent, not hatred, as the fans were known to chant "Boring" and "This match sucks!" during many of Edge's matches. Hardy and Edge were actually very good friends behind the scenes, and Matt even said he trusted Edge more than most people in the locker room. Perhaps lonely from all the nights travelling alone, with her boyfriend stuck at home with an injury, an affair between Lita and Edge ensued, this a betrayal not only to Matt but Edge's wife as well. Hardy had filmed vignettes to promote his return to the WWE, anticipating a return at WrestleMania 21, and even Triple H, who backstage has a lot of sway with McMahon, agreed that the vignettes were stellar and he was even anxious for Hardy to return.

When Matt found out about the affair, he was irate, livid, there was just so much animosity brewing backstage between now former friends. McMahon decided that since Hardy had been injured, and creative had no plans for him as of yet, that it would be easier and smarter to let Matt go while he worked out these personal problems. But Matt Hardy was not one to be silent about this turn of events, as he funded his own website, discussing all the details from his point of view as to why he was released. With an exponentially increasing number of "You screwed Matt!" and "We want Matt!" chants erupting whenever Edge or Lita appeared on screen, Vince knew something had to be done to control the situation.

Although he has been an opponent of the Internet's involvement in the wrestling community, Vince realized that the times are changing, and it was now the time to use what he had hated for so long to his favor. With Hardy posting numerous public rants about Amy (Lita), Adam (Edge), and the entire WWE, Vince knew that bad press is better than no press at all, so negotiations began for the imminent return of Matt. The negotiations were done very privately, as rumors circulated that Matt would debut perhaps in the Ring of Honor or even NWA-TNA, adding to the uncertainty of what just may happen next in this sordid turn of events. Matt made his return to a WWE ring on Jully 11, but not in an official format. The fans saw Matt rushing the ring through the crowd, and even heard him promote the Ring of Honor on RAW. Furthermore, using the WWE Internet telecast Byte This!, the WWE had Lita as a guest when Matt made a surprise phone call that would further prolong this storyline, as the conversation was candid, very personal, and seemingly true to life. Matt even promoted ROH on the telecast, unheard of even in this day and age. This leads us to Matt making his return to the WWE, and after months of ranting, Hardy and Edge finally collided in a match at SummerSlam, then once more this past Monday night in a brutal street fight match.

This angle is proof positive that Vince McMahon is truly a genius in the world of professional wrestling. Using Matt's website, the Byte This! telecasts, and even their own website, Vince parlayed a hatred of the Internet's involvement in wrestling to creating a storyline based purely off what was reported on the Internet, even going so far as to use the 'net as a tool to further this angle. The fact of the matter is that Vince once again has revolutionized the industry, by creating a storyline drawn from what was reported on-line to be the truth of the situation. Fans are intrigued because this angle is perhaps one of the few things in wrestling today that is still "real," still believable to the casual fan as well as the educated ones. The genius has found yet another way to make sure we stay put in our easy-chairs and stay tuned for his product, and for that, Vince has proven to the world once again that he indeed knows how to change the face of professional wrestling as we know it and still keep all of us hooked on his brand of programming.

by Robert Zarp ..