WWE News: Vince McMahon Willing To Be A Weekly Character If It Helps ‘RAW’ Ratings

After being off of WWE television for nearly a year, the chairman of the board Vince McMahon has appeared on two out of the last three RAW shows, and it looks like he’ll be a regular character on the show going forward, as his presence on WWE TV has helped boost the show’s falling ratings.

Over the past decade, Vince McMahon has tried to write himself off of WWE television several times because he feels like he’s too old to be a weekly character. Moreover, he feels like being a weekly character won’t help WWE’s long-term business, which is why he has, for the most part, stayed off camera for the better part of the last couple of years.

Typically, whenever WWE’s ratings are consistently bad, names from the past, such as Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels, are brought back in an attempt to boost the ratings in the short-term. However, bringing back WWE legends for a one-off talking segment usually doesn’t add any intrigue to the company’s current storylines.

Vince McMahon’s return to WWE television has not only boosted RAW’s ratings, but it has also boosted Roman Reigns’ popularity, as he is now heavily cheered every single week. So McMahon, unlike the other WWE legends who have returned for just one or two shows, has helped further WWE’s main-event storyline.

Before it was announced that Vince would be returning on Monday’s RAW, there were some who thought that he might not appear on WWE television again for quite a while, and if he had his way, he’d never appear on television again.

While Vince may not be interested in being a weekly character on WWE television anymore, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has reported that McMahon is willing to make frequent appearances on WWE’s flagship show as long as his appearances help boost the show’s rating.

“Vince does not want to come back as a character, but if it’s going to make a difference in the ratings, then Vince will be a character. He’s not going to be that stubborn and cost himself business. If it comes to the point where Vince doesn’t mean anything, then he’ll take himself off the shows. There was a time where he loved being the character, but he doesn’t anymore, and the evidence of that is that two years ago, they had a thing built for WrestleMania with Vince vs. Triple H, and Vince just didn’t do it. He nixed it, he did not want to come back because he thought he was too old.”

The angle that Meltzer is referring to is something that was planned prior to WrestleMania 30 in 2014, where Vince McMahon and Triple H would be in a power-struggle storyline, which would culminate at that year’s WrestleMania. The plan was for Triple H to wrestle an opponent of Vince McMahon’s choosing, which presumably would have been CM Punk, because Triple H vs. CM Punk was the planned match for that year’s WrestleMania before Punk quit. But the plan was eventually nixed by McMahon.

It was announced on Monday’s RAW that Vince McMahon will be on next week’s show, which will be the first WWE show of the new year, and that he’ll be the special guest referee in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between Sheamus and Roman Reigns.

While McMahon is willing to be a character as long as it helps WWE’s television ratings, it’s unclear if he’ll continue to be a character after the return of Triple H, which most believe is coming on next week’s RAW, as he’ll likely be the challenger for Roman Reign’s WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view next month.

[Featured image via Ethan Miller / Getty Images]