WI: Vince McMahon goes to prison in 1994

[CCK]

What if Vince McMahon had been found guilty of giving steroids to his wrestlers in 1994 and went to prison for a few years (probably getting paroled sometime in 1996 on good behavior)?

What happens to the WWF (now WWE)?
Would Ted Turner try to buy it and merge it with WCW?
Who would have ran the WWF and Titan Sports? His wife Linda, Jerry Jerrett, or Jim Ross?
Do some of the wrestlers use this as an opportunity to start a wrestler's union?
If the wrestlers do start a union, how does it effect the business (like Owen Hart's tragedy)?
Does this butterfly away the steroid related deaths of some of the wrestlers?
What other things change as a result of Vince being to prison in the mid-90s (a difficult time for the company financially)?

 

[HesitatedEye]

What if Vince McMahon had been found guilty of giving steroids to his wrestlers in 1994 and went to prison for a few years (probably getting paroled sometime in 1996 on good behavior)?

What happens to the WWF (now WWE)?
Would Ted Turner try to buy it and merge it with WCW?
Who would have ran the WWF and Titan Sports? His wife Linda, Jerry Jerrett, or Jim Ross?
Do some of the wrestlers use this as an opportunity to start a wrestler's union?
If the wrestlers do start a union, how does it effect the business (like Owen Hart's tragedy)?
Does this butterfly away the steroid related deaths of some of the wrestlers?
What other things change as a result of Vince being to prison in the mid-90s (a difficult time for the company financially)?

I don't think he'd be found guilty as the main witness was Hogan who stated Vince never gave him Steroids and the other witness stated clearly he hated Vince so he was seen as unreliable. If I remember rightly Linda became CEO during that time and JR was fired just before the trial and brought back to be a commentator once it started but I doubt he'd be given any company control that quick. The idea of a union is a non starter as until WCW signed Hall and Nash they weren't getting paid much unless you were a top top star and Vince going to jail may change certain things WCW was losing money on a yearly basis until I think Bischoff was given control but I can't remember exactly while Billionaire Ted might look to buy it he would probably be told to stick it by Linda.

 

[Thomas Jefferson]

Linda McMahon probably wouldn't have run for Senate being married to a convicted felon. A high profile conviction for steroid use might have made athletes in other sports a little more wary.

 

[TeaDaemon]

Ok, so a plausible POD would possibly be that the prosecution came up with a witness that could give believable testimony that Vince sold or gave them steroids. That witness may be Hulk hogan, but for the purposes of this thread (and because I don't fancy getting sued by anyone) let's leave them unnamed.

Effects:

1) Vince is found guilty, gets a couple of years and a big fine, and spends his time doing a Martha Stewart in a nice, comfy low-security prison somewhere. I seriously doubt he'll get high enough up the prison hierarchy to start a 'Kiss My Ass Club', but neither will he be low enough to join somebody else's.

2) While Vince is inside (and possibly afterwards, maybe for a few more years), Linda carries on as CEO of Titan Sports.

3) When he's released, Vince comes back to the WWF (which may become WWE earlier as part of a rebranding), but stays strictly behind the scenes (no idea what his job title would be, but I'd expect him to be sitting in the Gorilla position for pretty much every TV show and PPV).

4) Vince may lose his liking for big guys. Or at least he may decide that they should look more like The Undertaker and Vader than say Goldberg or Chris Masters. More naturally big physiques, fewer popping veins and ridiculously defined muscles.

5) I'd expect the Attitude Era to carry on much as before, possibly longer. I'd also expect that the lack of huge monsters is covered up by an increase in hardcore wrestling, both in intensity and duration.

6) Long term, it may be harder for the WWE to go PG, even though that's where the money is. This may be more of a problem for the political career of Linda than being married to a convicted felon would be.

7) Expect an earlier Wellness Program, with an emphasis on steroids and illegal drugs, and less emphasis on painkillers and concussions (which IMHO are two of the biggest dangers for wrestlers).

 

[Rogue triple Agent]

ECW becomes more of the norm without the Adonises running around.

 

[drcynic]

What happens to the WWF (now WWE)?
Probably suffers just as much from the downturn in business as it did historically, maybe moreso due to the bad publicity of Vince going to prison.

Would Ted Turner try to buy it and merge it with WCW?
No. The WWF had enough financial resources at the time to outlast any attempt by Turner to buy.

Who would have ran the WWF and Titan Sports? His wife Linda, Jerry Jerrett, or Jim Ross?
This was something that Vince had already planned for. Jarrett was brought in to be a caretaker while Vince ran the outfit from prison. The only other person Vince would've trusted with the operation would've been Gorilla Monsoon.

Do some of the wrestlers use this as an opportunity to start a wrestler's union?
I don't think it would ever happen. I think perhaps it should, but it won't.

If the wrestlers do start a union, how does it effect the business (like Owen Hart's tragedy)?
That's impossible to say. Would it be simply a WWF union or would all professional wrestlers be members?

Does this butterfly away the steroid related deaths of some of the wrestlers?
Steroids weren't really en vogue by this time. Pills were. By the 90s, Vince had grown paranoid and if you listen to any wrestler's shoot interview from that period, WWF tested for everything and were very strict about narcotics. Problem was, several of the pills the guys took would not show up on the urine test, so they could get away with it.

What other things change as a result of Vince being to prison in the mid-90s (a difficult time for the company financially)?
The mid-90s were a difficult time for the wrestling business in general. Perhaps ECW becomes somewhat bigger and is able to survive longer, but overall, I don't see WCW retaining its dominant position unless the philosophy were to change and it wasn't going to.

 

[CCK]

I guess it is safe to say if Vince had went to prison that means the Ultimate Warrior doesn't return in 1996. But I wonder if somebody like Diesel (Kevin Nash) would have been WWF Champion for most of 1995? Or does the WWF keep the belt on Bret Hart and other smaller guys like Shawn Michaels, Owen Hart, and fat guys like Yokozuna and Bam Bam Bigelow? With Vince in prison in 1995 does Steve Austin sign with the WWF that year? Triple H also signed with the WWF that year.

I think WCW would try even harder to poach guys like Bret, Shawn, and the Undertaker during Vince's time in prison.