Vincent Kennedy McMahon is an American businessman, media proprietor and professional wrestling executive.
155 Facts About Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon is the executive chairman of WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling company, having previously served as its chairman, CEO and controlling shareholder for 40 years.
Vince McMahon is the founder and owner of Alpha Entertainment, which he established in 2017 to oversee the 2020 revival of the XFL American football league.
Vince McMahon owns other WWE multimedia subsidiaries and a professional wrestling training facility.
Vince McMahon headed the short-lived World Bodybuilding Federation and co-owns the clothing brand Tapout.
Vincent Kennedy McMahon was born in Pinehurst, North Carolina, on August 24,1945, the son of Victoria and Vincent James McMahon, who left the family when McMahon was still a baby and took McMahon's older brother Roderick James McMahon III with him.
Vince McMahon did not meet his father until the age of 12.
Vince McMahon was raised under the name Vinnie Lupton and spent the majority of his childhood living with his mother and various stepfathers.
At that point, Vince McMahon became interested in following his father's professional wrestling footsteps and often accompanied him on trips to Madison Square Garden.
Vince McMahon wanted to be a wrestler, but his father did not allow him, explaining that promoters did not appear on the show and should stay apart from their wrestlers.
In 1968, Vince McMahon graduated from East Carolina University with a business degree and after a nondescript career as a traveling salesman, he was eager to assume a managerial role in his father's World Wide Wrestling Federation promotion.
In 1969, Vince McMahon made his debut as a ring announcer for the WWWF's All-Star Wrestling.
Vince McMahon later became the play-by-play commentator for television matches after replacing Ray Morgan in 1971, a role he regularly maintained until November 1997.
The younger Vince McMahon was behind the Muhammad Ali versus Antonio Inoki match of 1976.
Vince McMahon pushed for the renaming of the company to the World Wrestling Federation in 1979.
On February 21,1980, Vince McMahon officially founded Titan Sports and the company's headquarters were established in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts, using the now-defunct Cape Cod Coliseum as a home base for the company.
Vince McMahon then became chairman of the company and his wife, Linda, became the "co-chief executive".
Various promoters understood that they would not invade each other's territories, as this practice had gone on undeterred for decades; Vince McMahon had a different vision of what the industry could become.
Vince McMahon began expanding the company nationally by promoting in areas outside of the company's Northeast US stomping grounds and by signing talent from other companies, such as the American Wrestling Association.
The concept became known as "WWF Attitude" and Vince McMahon commenced the new era when manipulating the WWF Championship away from Bret Hart at Survivor Series.
In October 1999, Vince McMahon led the WWF in an initial public offering of company stock.
On June 24,1999, Vince McMahon appeared on the Late Night with Conan O'Brien show and said he viewed Ted Turner as his rival, stating "All I'll say about Ted is he's a son-of-a-bitch, other than that, he's probably not a bad guy, but I don't like him at all".
Vince McMahon later came out victorious against Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling in the television ratings in the Monday Night Wars after an initial 84 week television ratings loss to WCW and afterward acquired the fading WCW from Turner Broadcasting System on March 23,2001, with an end to the Monday Night Wars.
Vince McMahon later acquired the assets of ECW on January 28,2003.
Vince McMahon was trying to embarrass Ted, trying to create some anxiety with the shareholders of Turner Broadcasting.
Vince McMahon was trying to create some unrest and anxiety by being very, very critical about WCW" and "whenever you'd see blood in WCW, Vince McMahon would write these letters from the king's court to Ted criticizing him, and WCW, and the health and welfare of the talent by saying it's gross, it's crap, and all this.
None of us took any of those letters very seriously, and it was pretty obvious what Vince McMahon was trying to do.
Shortly thereafter, the company transitioned into its Ruthless Aggression Era; Vince McMahon officially referred to the new era as "Ruthless Aggression" on June 24,2002.
Vince McMahon stated that the Attitude Era of the late 1990s and early 2000s was the result of competition from WCW and forced the company to "go for the jugular".
Vince McMahon stated that the move to PG cut the "excess" of the Attitude Era and "ushered in a new era of refined and compelling storytelling".
Vince McMahon had the most say in the WWE company's creative direction.
In 2019, Tony Khan's All Elite Wrestling emerged as the second largest professional wrestling promotion in the market after WWE, and during a conference call on July 25,2019, Vince McMahon announced a new direction for WWE where he stated that it would "be a bit edgier, but still remain in the PG environment".
Vince McMahon voluntarily stepped down as chairman and CEO of WWE on June 17,2022, pending an internal investigation, with his daughter Stephanie Vince McMahon being named the interim CEO and interim Chairwoman of the WWE.
Vince McMahon will serve as the executive chairman of TKO and oversee the new company's WWE and UFC divisions.
In 1990, Vince McMahon founded the World Bodybuilding Federation organization, which folded in 1992.
In 2000, Vince McMahon again ventured outside the world of professional wrestling by launching the XFL, a professional American football league.
The league began in February 2001, with Vince McMahon making an appearance at the first game, but folded after one season due to low television ratings.
In February 2014, Vince McMahon helped launch an over-the-top streaming service called the WWE Network.
In 2017, Vince McMahon established Alpha Entertainment, a separate entity from WWE.
In 1969, Vince McMahon began appearing on untelevised WWWF events as a ring announcer.
The elder Vince McMahon let Morgan walk instead of giving in to his demands and needed a replacement on the spot, offering it to his son.
Vince McMahon wanted to be a wrestler but his father did not let him, explaining that promoters did not appear on the show and should stay apart from their wrestlers.
Vince McMahon eventually became the regular play-by-play commentator and maintained that role until November 1997, portraying himself originally as mild-mannered and diplomatic until 1984.
Vince McMahon sold the time slot to Jim Crockett Promotions after the move backfired on him.
Vince McMahon eventually acquired JCP's successor company, World Championship Wrestling, from AOL Time Warner in 2001.
At the 1987 Slammy Awards, Vince McMahon performed in a musical number and sang the song "Stand Back".
Andre had become irritated at Vince McMahon's questions regarding his feud with Big John Studd and their match at the first WrestleMania.
Vince McMahon can be seen screaming at medics and WWF personnel during the May 26,1990, episode of WWF Superstars of Wrestling, after Hulk Hogan was attacked by Earthquake during a segment of The Brother Love Show, when Hogan was not moved out of the arena quickly enough.
Vince McMahon, himself, returned to the commentary position and nearly cursed out Hart before being calmed down by Ross and Lawler.
Vince McMahon largely remained a commentator after the Bret Hart incident on Raw.
When it appeared Austin would fight the officers, Vince McMahon ran into the ring to lecture him that he could not physically compete; at the time, Austin was recovering from a broken neck after Owen Hart botched a piledriver in his match against Austin at SummerSlam.
In December 1997 on Raw Is War, the night after D-Generation X: In Your House, Vince McMahon talked about the behavior and attitude of Stone Cold Steve Austin, such as Austin having assaulted WWF Commissioner Sgt.
Mr Vince McMahon demanded that Austin defend his Intercontinental Championship against The Rock in a rematch.
Vince McMahon held a presentation ceremony and introduced The Undertaker and Kane.
Vince McMahon ordered the WWF Championship to be defended in a 14-man tournament named Deadly Games at Survivor Series in 1998.
Vince McMahon awarded Mankind the WWF Hardcore Championship due to his status as a hardcore wrestling legend.
Originally, Vince McMahon was acting as he if he was helping out Mankind during the match.
Vince McMahon turned on Mankind after a screwjob, as The Rock had caught Mankind in the Sharpshooter.
Mankind had not submitted but Vince McMahon ordered the referee to ring the bell, thus giving The Rock the WWF Championship.
Vince McMahon referred to The Rock as the "Corporate Champion" thus forming the corporation with his son Shane and The Rock.
Vince McMahon, screwed Mankind by reversing the decision and returning the belt to his chosen champion, The Rock.
Vince McMahon participated in a "Corporate Rumble" on the January 11,1999 Raw as an unscheduled participant, but was eliminated by Chyna.
Vince McMahon restarted a long-running feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin when, in December 1998, he made Austin face the Undertaker in a Buried Alive match with the Royal Rumble qualification on the line.
Vince McMahon had put up $100,000 to anyone who could eliminate Austin from the Royal Rumble match.
The Rock distracted Austin, and Vince McMahon lifted Austin over the top rope from behind, winning the match and earning a title shot at WrestleMania XV against the WWF Champion The Rock.
Vince McMahon turned down his spot, and WWF Commissioner Shawn Michaels awarded it to Austin, which infuriated McMahon.
Vince McMahon threw Austin through the side of the cage thus giving him the victory.
Vince McMahon became a member of the short-lived stable The Union, during May 1999.
Austin defeated The Undertaker, and Vince McMahon was banned from WWF television.
Vince McMahon vacated the title on the following Monday's Raw Is War because he was not allowed on WWF television because of the stipulations of the Fully Loaded contract he signed.
The feud culminated at Armageddon in 1999; Vince McMahon faced Triple H in a No Holds Barred match which Vince McMahon lost.
Vince McMahon returned to WWF television on the March 13,2000 Raw Is War helping The Rock win his WWF title shot back from the Big Show.
Vince McMahon attacked Shane McMahon and Triple H Two weeks later, McMahon and The Rock defeated Shane McMahon and The Big Show in a tag team match with help from special guest referee Mankind.
Vince McMahon was then absent from WWF television until late 2000.
Vince McMahon then began a public extramarital affair with Trish Stratus, much to the disgust of his daughter, Stephanie.
Vince McMahon purchased long-time rival promotion World Championship Wrestling in March 2001 from AOL Time Warner and signed many wrestlers from the organization.
At No Way Out, Vince McMahon interfered in Hogan's match with The Rock.
Vince McMahon ended the match with a Rock Bottom to defeat Hogan.
Vince McMahon then banned Hogan from the ring but Hogan returned under the gimmick of "Mr America".
Vince McMahon tried to prove that Mr America was Hogan under a mask but failed at these attempts.
Hogan later quit WWE and at which point Vince McMahon claimed that he had discovered Mr America was Hulk Hogan and "fired" him.
At No Mercy, Vince McMahon defeated Stephanie in an "I Quit" match when Linda threw in the towel.
At Survivor Series, Vince McMahon defeated Undertaker in a Buried Alive match with help from Kane.
Vince McMahon began a feud with Eric Bischoff in late 2005, when he decided that Bischoff was not doing a good job as General Manager of Raw turning face again.
Vince McMahon started "The Trial of Eric Bischoff" where McMahon served as the judge.
Bischoff ended up losing the trial; Vince McMahon "fired" him, and put him in a garbage truck before it drove away.
Bischoff began blasting remarks at Vince McMahon, saying that he was fired "unceremoniously" as the Raw General Manager, that there would be no Vince McMahon if not for Bischoff's over-the-top rebellious ideas, and that D-Generation X was nothing but a rip off of the New World Order.
Vince McMahon screwed Michaels while Shane had Michaels in the Sharpshooter.
Michaels had not submitted, but Vince McMahon ordered the referee to ring the bell, giving Shane the victory.
At WrestleMania 22, Vince McMahon faced Michaels in a No Holds Barred match.
In January 2007, Vince McMahon started a pretend feud with Donald Trump, which was featured on major media outlets.
Vince McMahon went on to fiddle with Trump's tie and flick Trump's nose.
Vince McMahon was then restrained from retaliating by Trump's bodyguards and Bobby Lashley, Trump's representative.
Vince McMahon then began a rivalry with Lashley over his ECW World Championship.
At Backlash, Vince McMahon pinned Lashley in a 3-on-1 handicap match teaming up with his son Shane and Umaga to win the ECW World Championship.
At Judgment Day, Vince McMahon defended his ECW World Championship against Lashley again in a 3-on-1 handicap match.
Lashley won the match as he pinned Shane after a Dominator but Vince McMahon said that he was still the champion because Lashley could only be champion if he could beat him.
Vince McMahon finally lost the ECW World Championship to Lashley at One Night Stand in a Street Fight despite interference by Shane and Umaga.
On June 11,2007, WWE aired a segment at the end of Raw that featured Vince McMahon entering a limousine moments before it exploded.
Vince McMahon appeared the next night on ECW on Sci Fi in which after acknowledging that a tribute to Benoit had aired the previous night, he announced that there would be no further mention of Benoit due to the circumstances becoming apparent and that the ECW show would be dedicated to those that had been affected by the Benoit murders.
Vince McMahon urged the WWE roster to stand together during what he described as a "turbulent time".
Randy Orton then came out and assaulted Vince McMahon after harassing Stephanie.
The night after WrestleMania 25, Vince McMahon appeared on Raw to announce Orton would not receive another championship opportunity at Backlash, but compete in a six-man tag team match with his Legacy stablemates against Triple H, Shane Vince McMahon and himself.
The next week, during the Trump is Raw show, Vince McMahon bought the brand back from Trump.
Vince McMahon soon appeared on SmackDown, putting Theodore Long on probation for his actions.
Vince McMahon has appeared on SmackDown, making occasional matches and reminding Long that he was still on probation.
The General Manager's first decision was Vince McMahon to be the guest referee for a WWE Championship match that night between John Cena and Sheamus.
The scene transitioned to Stephanie Vince McMahon waking up, revealing it was all a dream.
In early 2011, Vince McMahon stepped away from WWE storylines to focus on both his corporate and backstage duties.
Vince McMahon suspended Punk but reinstated him at the behest of Punk's Money in the Bank opponent, WWE Champion John Cena.
Vince McMahon subsequently appointed Laurinaitis as the interim general manager of Raw.
On June 11,2012, Vince McMahon returned to give a job evaluation to John Laurinaitis.
The match did not officially start, but Vince McMahon held his own in a brawl with Punk until Punk attempted the GTS.
Ryback and Cena interfered and Vince McMahon ultimately booked Punk in a match with Ryback at Hell in a Cell.
Vince McMahon came out and restarted the match at The Rock's request and The Rock won the championship from Punk.
From June 2013, members of the Vince McMahon family began to dispute various elements of the control of WWE, such as the fates of Daniel Bryan, and of Raw and SmackDown general managers Brad Maddox and Vickie Guerrero.
Vince McMahon returned on the November 3,2014, episode of Raw, making a stipulation that if Team Cena had defeated Team Authority at Survivor Series, The Authority would be removed from power.
Team Cena won the match, but Vince McMahon gave John Cena the option to reinstate The Authority.
Vince McMahon returned on the December 14,2015, episode of Raw, aligning himself with The Authority, by confronting Roman Reigns over his attack on Triple H at the TLC pay-per-view.
Vince McMahon granted Reigns a rematch for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Sheamus, with the stipulation that if he failed to win the championship he would be fired.
Vince McMahon made himself special guest referee in Reigns' rematch against Sheamus on the January 4,2016, episode of Raw, where Reigns won after Vince McMahon was knocked out and another referee made the decision.
Vince McMahon was furious about the heinous words regarding his family, and how Owens was not respectful, and how he planned to prosecute everybody who wronged him.
Vince McMahon warned him that his lawsuit would result in him being fired, but Vince McMahon has the cash to deal with that empty threat.
Owens then attacked Vince McMahon, leaving him lying in the ring.
Stephanie Vince McMahon returned to help her father, as he was attended to by WWE officials.
On January 22,2018, Vince McMahon returned on Raw 25 Years to address the WWE Universe, only to later turn on them by calling them "cheap" turning heel .
Vince McMahon was later confronted, and stunnered, by Stone Cold Steve Austin.
On SmackDown 1000 Vince McMahon returned as face after dancing on TruthTV.
Vince McMahon returned to WWE television on the December 17,2018, episode of Monday Night Raw, accompanied by his son Shane, daughter Stephanie Vince McMahon, and his son-in-law Triple H, promising to shake things up as they admitted they weren't performing as well as they should have.
Vince McMahon announced that the four of them would now run both Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live collectively.
In early 2019, Vince McMahon entered in the feud between Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston, not letting that latter receive a WWE championship match at WrestleMania.
Vince McMahon returned to WWE television on the April 24,2020, episode of Friday Night SmackDown, in celebration of Triple H's 25th anniversary in WWE.
Vince McMahon appeared at Survivor Series introducing The Undertaker to the ring during his retirement celebrations, and in night 1 of WrestleMania 37 on April 10,2021, to welcome the fans back in person at the Raymond James Stadium after a year of halting live events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vince McMahon rewarded Theory a WWE Championship match against Big E in the main event for "showing intestinal fortitude", and over the next several months, Vince McMahon gave career advice to Theory.
In June 2022, Vince McMahon retired from WWE; though he returned to the company in a corporate role in 2023, he has yet to return to WWE television.
The peak of the angle came with Tatanka defeating Lawler to win the USWA Championship with Vince McMahon gloating at Lawler while wearing the championship belt.
Vince McMahon is often described as the most influential person in professional wrestling history and for having had a large impact on television and American culture.
Vince McMahon helped give birth to reality television by making himself a central character, and he launched The Rock into a movie career.
Jon Moxley, who wrestled for WWE as Dean Ambrose, left WWE in favor of then-upstart AEW because of WWE's creative process in 2019 and singled out Vince McMahon for being the problem.
Chris Jericho has praised Vince McMahon stating "he's set in his ways of doing things and they're very successful", while Seth Rollins praised his ideas and longevity and Roman Reigns described him as a "provider and a protector" and said that he and his coworkers are grateful for him.
Vince McMahon married Linda Edwards on August 26,1966, in New Bern, North Carolina.
Vince and Linda McMahon have two children together: Shane, who left WWE in 2010 and returned in 2016, and Stephanie, who continued to be active in a backstage role and onscreen from the 1990s until resigning in 2023.
Vince McMahon's wealth has been noted at $1.1 billion, backing up WWE's claim he was a billionaire for 2001, although he was reported to have since dropped off the list between 2002 and 2013.
In 2014, Vince McMahon had an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion.
On May 16,2014, Vince McMahon's worth dropped to an estimated $750 million after his WWE stock fell $350 million due to a price drop following disappointing business outcomes.
In 2015, Vince McMahon returned to the list with an estimated worth of $1.2 billion.
In November 1993, Vince McMahon was indicted in federal court after a steroid controversy engulfed the promotion and thus temporarily ceded control of the WWF to his wife Linda.
Wacholz testified that Vince McMahon had ordered him to use steroids, but his credibility was called into question during his testimony as he made it clear he "hated" Vince McMahon.
On July 6,2021, production was announced on a new scripted television series called The United States of America vs Vince McMahon centered around the case.
At first, the charge appeared to be discredited because Vince McMahon was in Miami for the 2006 Royal Rumble at the time.
The WWE board began investigating a $3 million hush-money settlement that Vince McMahon paid over an alleged affair with a former employee of the company in April 2022.
Vince McMahon stepped down as CEO and chairman of WWE, but continued to oversee content development.
Vince McMahon later announced his retirement on July 22,2022, only to return six months later.
Vince McMahon settled the lawsuit involving Chatterton that month, with his attorney stating that he maintains his innocence but settled to "avoid the cost of litigation".
People familiar with the matter reported that Vince McMahon agreed to a multimillion-dollar settlement with Chatterton.