Comparing Vince McMahon to a Hip-Hop mogul feels strange. Even more so given that WWE programming isn't above getting outright racist at times (I'm looking at you Lawler and Hornswoggle). But in a lot of unexpected ways the two are very similar. Both have brought us iconic stars (B.I.G. and The Rock), screwed their savior (Shyne and Bret), under-promoted some of their best talent (The Lox and Tyson Kidd), and benefitted from an aging demographic looking for something different (Attitude and Jiggy eras). But a lot of that can be simply chalked up to the moves of major players in the entertainment world who were operating around the same time period. And these are all intended consequences that were executed on purpose (work shoots). Its the unintended consequences that are really fascinating.
Around the turn of the millenium I'll never forget the feeling of excitement that underground/independent music gave me. Folks were flocking in mass to the sounds of artists not found on the radio or with huge displays in music stores at the mall (this is pre-iPod takeover). And indie artists were thriving, getting a lot of attention, being name dropped by the mainstream artists in the media, and introduced us to future stars of tomorrow such as Kanye West. This musical resurgence (that I could write a whole other Hip-Hop centric article on) was a blatant rejection of the new Jiggy era being lead by Puff Daddy and other shiny suit artists of similar ilk. It was a cry out for variety of choice, quality of artistry, and putting a stop to having our intelligence insulted by what music we're told to like. In much the same way that Columbus accidentally discovered the North American continent, Puff had unintentionally created a market for underground Hip Hop. Does this sound familiar?
After partially bankrolling Paul Heyman's baby just so that the WWF creative team could steal their ideas and rebrand it as "Attitude" Vince used that momentum to eventually put WCW and ECW out of business. The void this left in the world of professional wrestling thus created an opening for a mass influx of independent promotions. ECW and WCW folded in the spiring of 2001. A quick look through the wikipedia page that lists independent promotions will show you how many new upstarts rushed to fill that void immediately following (ROH and Chikara being two of the most notable). Vince attempted to monopolize and did so to a great degree. WWE remains the only household name in the country and is associated with wrestling the way q-tips are with cotton swabs. However, in the process, he created a vibrant indie market that flourishes (and employs a lot of his former mat workers) to this day.
Puff forced the jiggy sound on the Hip Hop landscape. Vince stole one rival promotion's angle to push his main competitor out of business. Fans responded and the underground/indie scene caught fire. I could have just as easily named this article "Ring of Honor is Wrestling's Rawkus Records". A decade plus after this all transpired its encouraging to see the end result. Independent wrestling promotions and Hip Hop artists alike are being seen and heard to a level previously thought impossible. With new technology has come new opportunities as mp3s and iPPVs have shown the way to the future. No longer do you have to be on the radio or in the WWE to be relevant with a sizable fan base. Unintended though it may be, that deserves its own chant. "Thank You Vince! - Thank You Puff!".
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