I read with interest Linda Robin's column earlier today, and it got me thinking. What if Hornswoggle really isn't Vince McMahon's bastard son?

Consider the reaction of Triple H on Monday. After all the clues were given out by the lawyer, "Mr. Johnson", leading everyone to believe that Trip was in fact the "son" (when he's in reality a son-in-law), ol' cucumber nose was just as ticked as Vince was, but when it turned out to be Hornswoggle, Hunter was laughing like there was no tomorrow, and even high-fived the cruiserweight champion. Ah, but could that be a sign that there's more to this scenario than it seems? Linda thinks so, and after reviewing it in my head, so do I.

Recall that Vince returned last month and admitted he had faked his death on national television two months prior on draft night, just to see if anyone cared. He was really just looking for an excuse to get back on TV to turn the ratings around after a summer swoon. Anyone that thinks that Hulk Hogan is the biggest mark for the spotlight in this business needs to think again, and consider how much camera time the chairman gives himself on an annual basis.

Recall, too, that Vince had told GM William Regal that he wanted to bring the family back together. Well, the "bastard son" angle did just that, just not in the way he wanted. 2 years ago, the McMahons were, for once, a cohesive unit, all heels. However, on which side of the fence do they all fall on this time?

Vince, clearly, is still a heel. He was fishing for sympathy points as the crowd rained down the usual taunts and abuse, and deflected said abuse to whomever was nearby, like interim GM Jonathan Coachman, for example. Linda proposed that 'Swoggle is part of a DX plot that also would include Stephanie, working hand-in-hand with her real-life hubby for the first time in several years, but I wouldn't stop there. I'd have Linda & Shane in on it, too, with the idea being that Vince's grandstand play in June turned them against him, and that it's "bad for business". Shane & Stephanie even went so far as to imply on 9/3 that Vince had to change his ways.

We all know that Shane & Steph are over as both heels & faces. It's been speculated that Hunter would be forced to acknowledge his nearly 4-year real-life marriage to Steph on WWE-TV, probably when Ken Kennedy returns from suspension. Hornswoggle, then, is just a temporary solution. Kennedy returns, and blows the whistle on Hunter, Steph, & Shane, along with a returning Shawn Michaels, who might be calling the signals from afar (not yet 100% ready to return to action, but able to travel). Shane, who'd feuded with DX last year, would be on their side this time.

This is what would happen. Let's say Randy Orton finally beats John Cena for the WWE title, though maybe not at Unforgiven on Sunday (that's for next time). Let's say that Hunter gets a shot at the title at Survivor Series. Kennedy screws him out of the title. It would be more appropriate for Kennedy to get back into the mix during a ratings sweeps period, anyway, IMPO. It sets up HHH-Kennedy for the winter, leading to Wrestlemania 24 in March, with one of them likely as the champion by that point. You'd have a series of tag matches up to then, with DX vs. Kennedy/Orton, and add Cena to DX for 6-man tags, with Carlito joining Orton & Kennedy as the Young Guns managed by Vince. Hornswoggle? He'd remain over on Smackdown, but the face pop he got Monday from his homies (he's from Wisconsin) suggests he's not long for being Finlay's sidekick. A 'Swoggle/Rey Mysterio team would boggle the mind. Kids would love 'Swoggle, who'd stop hiding under the ring.

All the way around, WWE-TV would get freshened up, and it might be the beginning of the end, for sure this time, for the most boring heel on the roster, one Vincent Kennedy McMahon.