Stop if you've ever heard this before: The McMahon family is at the forefront of one of WWE's biggest WrestleMania storylines.
The marquee feud for WrestleMania 35 is undoubtedly Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair, which isn't official as of yet but is widely expected to be the first women's match to ever main event WrestleMania. Perhaps fans shouldn't be surprised that, though it is completely unnecessary, WWE has forced Stephanie McMahon, Vince McMahon and Triple H into this rivalry over the course of the last several weeks.
There have been a few notable segments involving the McMahon clan, including Lynch's attack on Stephanie on Raw and her slap heard 'round the world on Triple H on SmackDown, that have taken the focus off of the women's division biggest stars and misguidedly put it on three non-wrestlers who don't need to be on TV. In true WWE fashion, the McMahons have interjected themselves into the red hot rivalry between WWE's top three female stars in an ill-advised effort to make the feud seem even bigger than it already is, but at least thus far, it hasn't worked.
Last week's Raw, built around a show-long angle involving Triple H, Stephanie and Lynch's decision of whether or not to apologize to the McMahons, generated Raw's second lowest viewership of 2019 while the show's audience fell off by a whopping 400,000 viewers from hour one to three. Clearly, the intrigue that was supposed to be surrounding more McMahon family drama wasn't there, and fans are making it quite apparent that the last thing this historic women's rivalry needs is involvement from Triple H, Stephanie or any McMahon family member.
Truth be told, though, this is just par for the course.
In 2018, the rivalry that received the most focus on the road to WrestleMania 34 was, of course, Rousey and Kurt Angle vs. Triple H and Stephanie. Meanwhile, Shane competed in one of the other top matches on the card, teaming with Daniel Bryan for his first match in three years. In 2017 at WrestleMania 33, Seth Rollins vs. Triple H was also one of the most pushed matches on the card, and of course, featured heavy involvement from Stephanie. Shane, meanwhile, wrestled AJ Styles in a high-profile match on the show as well. In 2016, WrestleMania may as well have been called McMahonaMania. The top two bouts on the card featured members of the McMahon clan, with Shane taking on The Undertaker (in a storyline that also involved Vince) and Triple H, the WWE Champion, going head-to-head with Roman Reigns in the show's main event.
Here it is in 2019, and not much has changed.
The hottest feud in WWE has received a gratuitous injection of McMahon that no one asked for, perhaps a direct result of the lucrative performer's contracts that Triple H, Shane and Stephanie all signed a few years ago. In 2016, Stephanie signed an extension to her performer's contract. Triple H also signed a new three-year deal that year that will continue beyond 2019 unless WWE chooses not to renew it (come on, now). Triple H's deal guaranteed him at least $1 million annually while Shane's big deal once netted him more than $2 million in a single calendar year, making both stars rank among WWE's highest paid talents.
The mindset in WWE? McMahons equal ratings, which is typically only the case when Vince is coming back after a long TV absence. By and large, the frequent appearances of the McMahons have watered down, if not negated, the impact they had when they actually were special attractions both on their own and as a family. Nowadays, nothing about the McMahon family feels special. Instead, they feel like hindrances that hold back WWE's workhorses, stars like Lynch and Flair who are the backbone of the company all year long.
But whenever something special is happening, the McMahons seem to show up. Stephanie, who has in a lot of ways become the public face of WWE, of course, had to make the announcement of the first-ever women's Royal Rumble as well as the first women's Elimination Chamber match. She also did the same for the inaugural Evolution pay-per-view, the first all female event in WWE history. When history is being made, Stephanie has to be a part of it, even if she, well, really doesn't have to be a part of it at all.
That's why the Lynch/Rousey/Flair saga feels like de ja vu.
Here we have three of the most over acts in not just the women's division but all of WWE, and yet, the primary focus of a rivalry that is WrestleMania headliner-worthy has shifted from the women who should be getting the spotlight to the McMahon family, which doesn't need to be involved in it by any stretch of the imagination. Lynch is over at the level no star has been at since Daniel Bryan in 2014. Rousey is the biggest mainstream star the company has. Flair is well on her way to being the best and most accomplished female performer in WWE history.
That is enough in and of itself to sell this rivalry, which also happens to have been the most entertaining and intriguing angles WWE has done in months, if not years. Until the McMahons became involved, that is. While there is nothing inherently wrong with the McMahons being involved in a marquee rivalry when it makes sense, it just lacks any logic whatsoever in this situation.
Lynch is a star. So are Rousey and Flair.
Let them shine and have their moment. Don't take it away because of the unnecessary inclusion of a trio of stars who are only hurting this feud.
Blake Oestriecher is an elementary school teacher by day and a sports writer by night. He’s a contributor to @ForbesSports, where he primarily covers WWE. You can follow him on Twitter @BOestriecher.
