Strong scaling relations between host galaxy properties (such as stellar mass, bulge mass, luminosity, effective radius etc) and their nuclear supermassive black holes mass point towards a close co-evolution. In this work, we first review previous efforts supporting the fundamental importance of the relation between supermassive black hole mass and stellar velocity dispersion ($M_{rm BH}$-$sigma_{rm e}$). We then present further original work supporting this claim via analysis of residuals and principal component analysis applied to some among the latest compilations of local galaxy samples with dynamically measured supermassive black hole masses. We conclude with a review of the main physical scenarios in favour of the existence of a $M_{rm BH}$-$sigma_{rm e}$ relation, with a focus on momentum-driven outflows.