This article is about Vincent Kennedy McMahon, WWE Chairman and CEO. For his father, see
Vince McMahon, Sr..
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon (born August 24, 1945)[5] is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE. Upon acquiring World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), McMahon's WWE became the sole remaining major American professional wrestling promotion (until the national expansion of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and Ring of Honor).
As an on-camera character, he can appear on all WWE brands (though the majority of the time, he appears on Raw). McMahon plays a character known by the ring name Mr. McMahon, based on his real life persona. In the world of WWE, he is a two-time world champion, having won the WWF Championship and ECW World Championship. He was also the winner of the 1999 Royal Rumble.
Vince is the husband of Linda McMahon, with whom he ran WWE from its establishment in 1980 until she resigned as the CEO in September 2009.[6]
McMahon was born on August 24, 1945 in Pinehurst, North Carolina. McMahon's father, Vincent James McMahon, had left the family while McMahon was still a baby. McMahon did not meet his father until age 12. Vince spent the majority of his childhood living with his mother and a string of stepfathers.[7] According to an interview with Playboy, he attended and graduated, in 1964, from Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Virginia. McMahon claimed that one of his stepfathers, Leo Lupton, used to beat his mother and would attack him as well when he tried to protect her.[8] He said, "It is unfortunate that he died before I could kill him. I would have enjoyed that."[8] In his early life, McMahon also overcame dyslexia.[9][10]
McMahon first met the promoter for Capitol Wrestling Corporation, his father Vincent J. McMahon's company, at the age of 12. At that point, McMahon became interested in following his father's professional wrestling footsteps and often accompanied him on trips to Madison Square Garden. McMahon also wanted to be a wrestler but his father would not let him, explaining that promoters did not appear on the show and should stay apart from their wrestlers.[citation needed]
In 1968, McMahon graduated from East Carolina University[11] 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 (although the elder McMahon was not thrilled with the idea of his son entering the business).[citation needed] In 1969, McMahon made his debut as an in-ring announcer for the WWWF's All-Star Wrestling.[12] In 1971, he was assigned to a small territory in Maine, where he promoted his first card. He later became the play-by-play announcer for television matches after he replaced Ray Morgan in 1971, a role he would regularly maintain until November 1997.
Throughout the 1970s, McMahon became the prominent force in his father's company, and over the next decade, Vince assisted his father in tripling TV syndication.[citation needed] He pushed for the renaming of the company to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). The young McMahon was also behind the Muhammad Ali versus Antonio Inoki match of 1976.[citation needed] In 1979, Vince purchased the Cape Cod Coliseum, where he promoted hockey games and concerts in addition to pro wrestling, as he began to prove that he was capable of running the WWF after his father’s retirement.[citation needed] By 1980, McMahon had become chairman of the company,[13] and Titan Sports was incorporated; in 1982, a 37-year old McMahon led Titan’s acquisition of the Capitol Wrestling Co. from his ailing father (who died in May 1984), as he and his wife Linda took control of the World Wrestling Federation.
At the time of his purchase of the WWF, professional wrestling was a business run by regional offices. The various promoters shared an understanding that they would not invade each other’s territories, as this practice had gone on undeterred for decades.[citation needed] McMahon had a different vision of what the industry could become. In 1963, the WWF split from the National Wrestling Alliance, which was the governing body for all the regional territories across the country and as far away as Japan.
He began expanding the company nationally by promoting in areas outside of the company's Northeast U.S. stomping grounds and by signing talent from other companies, such as the American Wrestling Association (AWA). In 1984, he recruited Hulk Hogan to be the WWF’s charismatic new megastar, and the two quickly drew the ire of industry peers as the promotion began traveling and broadcasting into rival territories. Nevertheless, McMahon (who still also fronted as the WWF’s squeaky clean babyface announcer) created The Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection by incorporating pop music stars into wrestling storylines. As a result, the WWF was able to expand its fanbase into a national mainstream audience as the promotion was featured heavily on MTV programming. On March 31, 1985, he promoted the first WrestleMania to be held at Madison Square Garden while airing on closed circuit TV throughout the U.S. WrestleMania was an undisputed success. As a result, the WWF thus stood head and shoulders above all its competition, and Hulk Hogan soon became a full-fledged pop-culture icon and child role model.[citation needed]
During the late 1980s, McMahon shaped the WWF into a unique sports entertainment brand that reached out to family audiences while attracting fans who had never before paid attention to pro wrestling. By directing his storylines towards highly-publicized supercards, McMahon initiated a brand-new revenue stream by promoting these events live on PPV television, a concept that would completely revolutionize event programming for all sports while catapulting the WWF into a multi-million dollar empire.[citation needed] In 1987, McMahon reportedly drew 93,173 fans to the Pontiac Silverdome (which was called the "biggest crowd in Sports entertainment history") for WrestleMania III, which featured the main event of Hulk Hogan versus André the Giant.[14]
After several years struggling behind Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling (WCW), McMahon cemented his place as the industry’s preeminent promoter in the late 1990s, when he initiated an entirely new brand strategy that would eventually return the WWF to prominence. Sensing a public shift towards a more hardened and cynical fan base, McMahon redirected storylines towards a more adult-oriented model. The concept became known as "WWF Attitude", and McMahon personally commenced the new era when he manipulated the WWF Championship away from Bret Hart at Survivor Series in what is now known as the "Montreal Screwjob."[15] From then on, McMahon, who for years had downplayed his ownership of the WWF and was thus better known as merely an affable announcer and foil to heel color commentators, immersed himself into WWF storylines as the evil “Mr. McMahon,” who later began a feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin, who challenged the boss’s authority. As a result, the WWF suddenly found itself back in the midst of national pop-culture, drawing millions of viewers for its weekly Monday Night Raw broadcasts, which ranked among the highest-rated shows on cable television.[14]
In the early 1980s, McMahon briefly promoted ice hockey in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts. His Cape Cod Buccaneers played at the Cape Cod Coliseum and were founding members of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League, an AA circuit. Historically, the ACHL is considered a forgotten link between the rough and tumble loops of the 1970s like the NAHL, lampooned in the classic movie Slap Shot, and today's more credible East Coast Hockey League.[citation needed] In October 1999, McMahon led the WWF in an initial public offering of company stock. On March 23, 2001, he purchased the fading WCW for $5 million. Three days later, his “victory speech” was simulcast on both WWF Raw and WCW Nitro.
In 2000, McMahon again ventured outside the world of professional wrestling by launching the XFL. The league eventually began in February 2001 with McMahon making an appearance at the first game. The league, however, quickly folded after lack of publicity.[16] In the summer of 2003, McMahon acquired Extreme Championship Wrestling in bankruptcy court, leaving McMahon and the WWF as the only major wrestling promotion left in North America.
In 2010, McMahon announced plans to launch a brand new cable network by summer 2011.[17][18][19]
Mr. McMahon is the on-screen character of Vince McMahon, with the gimmick of being an often egotistical and conniving boss. The character was spawned from the real-life hatred many wrestling fans had for McMahon following the Montreal Screwjob, at the 1997 Survivor Series.[15]
Several other gimmicks have become integral parts of McMahon's on-camera persona, such as his throaty exclamation of "You're fired!", and his "power walk"—an over-exaggerated strut toward the ring, swinging his arms and bobbing his head from side to side in a cocky manner. According to Jim Cornette, the power walk was inspired by one of McMahon's favorite wrestlers as a child, Dr. Jerry Graham. The Fabulous Moolah, however, claims in her autobiography that "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers was the inspiration for the walk.[20] McMahon has occasionally dropped his character performance upon real-life events affecting WWE, such as the death of Owen Hart at Over the Edge in 1999, the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the death of Chris Benoit.
While the Mr. McMahon character marked the first time that McMahon had been portrayed as a villain in WWF, in 1993, McMahon was engaged in a feud with Jerry Lawler as part of a cross-promotion between the WWF and the United States Wrestling Association (USWA). As part of the angle, McMahon sent various WWF wrestlers to Memphis in order to dethrone Lawler as the "king of professional wrestling." This angle also proved to be the first time that McMahon would physically interject himself into matches, as he would occasionally trip Lawler or throw punches at him while seated at ringside. During the angle, McMahon was never directly acknowledged as the owner of the WWF (back in 1993, McMahon was only portrayed as the head announcer on television) and the feud between Lawler and McMahon was not acknowledged on WWF television, as the two continued to provide commentary together (along with Savage) for the television show Superstars. The feud between Lawler and McMahon would also help build towards Lawler's match against Hart at SummerSlam in 1993.[21] The peak of the angle came with Tatanka defeating Lawler to win the Unified World Championship with McMahon gloating at Lawler while wearing the championship belt.[22] This storyline came to an abrupt end when Lawler was accused of raping a young girl in Memphis, and he was dropped from the WWF. He returned shortly afterward, however, as the girl later stated that the rape accusations were lies.[23]
At Survivor Series in 1997, Bret Hart defended his WWF Championship against long-time rival Shawn Michaels in the main event. McMahon had previously opted to be a play-by-play announcer instead of acting as the owner on-screen. In the weeks heading into Survivor Series, McMahon had entered into a rivalry with Hart. During the match, Michaels applied Hart's own signature submission maneuver The Sharpshooter on Hart. Hart refused to submit. McMahon, however, got up and ordered the referee to ring the bell thus screwing Hart out of the title and making Michaels the champion. This incident was subsequently dubbed the "Montreal Screwjob".[15]
In December 1997 on Raw is War, the night after D-Generation X: In Your House, McMahon talked about the behavior and attitude of Stone Cold Steve Austin, such as Austin having assaulted WWF Official Commissioner Slaughter, and how he has attacked WWF announcers such as Jim Ross and McMahon himself. Mr. McMahon demanded that Austin defend his Intercontinental championship against The Rock in a rematch. As in the previous match, Stone Cold used his pickup truck as a weapon against The Rock and the Nation of Domination gang. Austin decided to forfeit the title to The Rock but, instead, Austin gave The Rock a Stone Cold Stunner and knocked McMahon off the ring ropes.
On the March 30 episode of Raw is War, the night after Austin won the WWF Title at WrestleMania XIV, McMahon presented him with a new title belt and warned Austin that he did not approve of his rebellious nature. In April 1998, it appeared Austin and McMahon were going to battle out their differences in an actual match, but the match was declared a no contest when Dude Love made an appearance. This led to a match between Love and Austin at Unforgiven, where Mr. McMahon would sit at ringside during the title match. Dude Love won the match by disqualification when Austin hit McMahon with a chair. In a rematch at In Your House: Over The Edge for the WWF Championship, Austin managed to retain the title despite McMahon acting as the referee and his "Corporate Stooges" (Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson) as timekeeper and ring announcer, respectively.
McMahon ordered the WWF Championship to be defended in a 14-man tournament named Deadly Games at Survivor Series in 1998. McMahon made sure that Mankind reached the finals because Mankind had visited McMahon in hospital after McMahon was sent to the hospital by the Undertaker and Kane.[24] He also awarded Mankind the WWF Hardcore Championship due to his status as a hardcore wrestling legend. Originally, McMahon was acting as he if he was helping out Mankind during the match. At one point, The Rock turned his attention to McMahon. McMahon turned on Mankind after a screwjob, however, as The Rock had caught Mankind in the Sharpshooter. Mankind had not submitted but McMahon ordered the referee to ring the bell, thus giving The Rock the WWF Championship. This was an homage to the "Montreal Screwjob" that occurred one year earlier.[24] McMahon referred to The Rock as the "Corporate Champion" thus forming the Corporation with his son Shane and The Rock.[25] At Rock Bottom: In Your House, Mankind defeated The Rock to win the WWF Championship after The Rock passed out to the Mandible Claw. McMahon, however, screwed Mankind once again by reversing the decision and returning the belt to his chosen champion, The Rock.[26] McMahon went on to participate in a "Corporate Rumble" on the January 11, 1999 episode of Raw as an unscheduled participant, but he was eliminated by Chyna.
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. Austin defeated the Undertaker with help from Kane. McMahon had put up $100,000 to anyone who could eliminate Austin from the Royal Rumble match.[27] At Royal Rumble, with help from the Rock, McMahon won the match and earned a title match at WrestleMania XV against the WWF Champion The Rock. He turned down his spot, however, and WWF Commissioner Shawn Michaels awarded it to Austin.[28] Austin decided to put his title shot on the line against McMahon so he could get a chance to fight Vince at In Your House: St. Valentine's Day Massacre in a steel cage match. During the match, Big Show—a future member of the Corporation—interrupted, making his WWF debut. He threw Austin through the side of the cage thus giving him the victory.[25][29]
The Corporation started a feud with The Undertaker's new faction the "Ministry of Darkness," which led to a storyline introducing McMahon's daughter Stephanie. Stephanie played an "innocent sweet girl" who was kidnapped by The Ministry twice. The first time she was kidnapped, she was found by Ken Shamrock on behalf of McMahon in a basement of the stadium. The second time she was kidnapped, The Undertaker attempted to marry her whilst she was forcefully tied to the Ministry's crucifix, but she was saved by Stone Cold Steve Austin. This angle saw a brief friendship develop between McMahon and Austin, cooling their long running feud. A previously unknown character was developed as a result called the "Higher Power", invented by Shane McMahon and The Undertaker. McMahon, however, was later revealed as the "Higher Power" on the June 7 episode of Raw, reigniting his feud with WWF Champion Austin. McMahon's son Shane merged the Corporation with Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness to form the Corporate Ministry. McMahon would become a member of the stable The Union which existed for a brief time, during May 1999. As a result of McMahon being the "Higher Power", Austin was given 50% shares of the WWF by Linda and Stephanie McMahon out of their kayfabe disgust at him.
At King of the Ring, Vince and Shane defeated Austin in a handicap ladder match to regain control of the WWF.[30] While CEO, Austin had scheduled a WWF Title match, to be shown on Raw after King Of The Ring. During the match, Austin defeated the Undertaker once again to become the WWF Champion. At Fully Loaded, Austin was again scheduled for a match against The Undertaker. If Austin lost, he would be banned from wrestling for the WWF Championship again; if he won, Vince McMahon would be banned from appearing on WWF TV. Austin defeated The Undertaker, and McMahon was banned from WWF TV.[31]
McMahon returned as a face in the fall of 1999 and won the WWF Championship in a match against Triple H, thanks to outside interference from Austin on the September 16 episode of SmackDown!. However He decided had to vacated the title during the following Monday's Raw is War because he is not allowed on WWF TV because of the stipulations of the Fully loaded 1999 contract he signed. However Steve Austin reinstated him in return for a WWF title shot. Over the next few months McMahon and Triple H feuded, with the linchpin of the feud being Triple H's storyline marriage to Stephanie McMahon. The feud culminated at Armageddon in 1999; McMahon faced Triple H in a No Holds Barred match which McMahon lost. Afterward, Stephanie turned on him.[32]
McMahon returned to WWF television on the March 13, 2000 episode of Raw is War helping The Rock win his WWF title shot back from the Big Show, He also attacked Shane McMahon and Triple H.[33] 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.[33] At WrestleMania 2000, Triple H defended the WWF Championship in a Fatal Four-Way Elimination match in which each competitor had a McMahon in his corner. Triple H had his wife Stephanie McMahon who was also the WWF Women's Champion in his corner, The Rock had Vince McMahon in his corner, Mick Foley had Linda McMahon in his corner, and Big Show had Shane in his corner. After Big Show and Foley were eliminated, Triple H and The Rock were left. Although Vince was in The Rock's corner, he turned on The Rock after hitting him with a chair turning heel for the first time since his feud with Steve Austin, which helped Triple H win the match and retain his title.[34] This would officially begin the McMahon-Helmsley Era.
At King of the Ring, McMahon, Shane, and WWF Champion Triple H took on the Brothers of Destruction (Undertaker and Kane) and The Rock in a six-man tag team match for the WWF Championship. The stipulation of this match was that whoever made the scoring pinfall would become the WWF Champion. McMahon was pinned by The Rock which gave Rock the WWF Championship and his team, the victory.[35] On the December 18 episode of Raw, McMahon faced Kurt Angle in a non-title match which was fought to no contest when Mick Foley interfered and attacked both men. After the match, both men beat Foley and McMahon fired him.[33] McMahon and Stephanie then aligned together against Shane. At WrestleMania X-Seven, McMahon lost to Shane after Linda—who had been emotionally abused to the point of a nervous breakdown; the breakdown left her helpless as Vince began a public extramarital affair with Trish Stratus; finally, she was heavily sedated, in the storyline—hit Vince with a low blow.[36][37] On the same night, McMahon formed an alliance with Stone Cold Steve Austin, helping him defeat The Rock to gain another WWF Championship. It also marked the second time he would screw the Rock over at WrestleMania. The two, along with Triple H, formed an alliance which saw Austin and Triple H and they put the Rock out of action after a kayfabe brutal assault and kayfabe suspension(this was done so the Rock could go and film The Scorpion King), Austin and Triple H held all three major WWF titles (Austin's WWF Championship, the Intercontinental Championship which Triple H won, and the Tag Team Championship) at the same time. The alliance was short lived, due to an injury to Triple H and a business venture by McMahon.
Main article:
The InvasionMcMahon purchased long-time rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in March 2001 from AOL Time Warner and signed many wrestlers from the organization. This marked the beginning of the Invasion storyline, in which the former WCW wrestlers regularly fought matches against the WWF wrestlers. On the July 9, 2001 episode of Raw, some extremists as well as several former ECW wrestlers on the WWF roster, joined with the WCW wrestlers to form The Alliance. Stone Cold Steve Austin joined the Alliance, along with Shane and Stephanie McMahon. Vince McMahon led Team WWF. At Survivor Series, Team WWF defeated Team Alliance in a Survivor Series elimination match to pick up the victory for WWF and end the Invasion storyline.[38] Following the collapse of The Alliance, McMahon created the "Vince McMahon Kiss My Ass Club", also known as the "Mr. McMahon Kiss My Ass Club", which consisted of various WWE individuals being ordered to kiss his ass in the middle of the ring, usually with the threat of suspension or firing if they refused. The club was originally proclaimed closed by The Rock after McMahon was forced to kiss Rikishi's ass on an episode of SmackDown!;[39] however, the club segment has resurfaced several times over the years. The gimmick has also spawned its own Internet based cartoon entitled "Mr. McMahon's Kiss My Ass Club – The WWE's Most Valuable Asset." The cartoon series, produced by Animax Entertainment, debuted on WWE.com on November 22, 2006. The cartoon was later canceled as part of a settlement between WWE and Cartoon Network due to the show's similarities with Cartoon Network's show Assy McGee.[40] To date there have been 6 members and 5 who have escaped membership and they are: Stone Cold Steve Austin(saved himself), Trish Stratus(saved by The Rock), Zach Gowen(saved himself), Triple H(saved himself), & Marty Jannetty(saved by Shawn Michaels).
- Kiss My Ass Club Members
| # |
Members |
Date Joined |
Location |
Event |
Notes |
| 001 !1 |
William Regal !William Regal |
02001-11-19November 19, 2001 |
Charlotte !Charlotte, North Carolina |
Raw !WWE Raw |
Made Regal join to be rehired after he had previously joined The Alliance.[41] |
| 002 !2 |
Jim Ross !Jim Ross |
02001-11-26November 26, 2001 |
Oklahoma Ciy !Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
Raw !WWE Raw |
Was forced to join the club by The Undertaker after laughing at McMahon who Stone Cold Steve Austin just beat up after saving himself from membership.[42] |
| 003 !3 |
Shawn Michaels !Shawn Michaels |
02006-02-27February 27, 2006 |
Charoltte !Charlotte, North Carolina |
Raw !WWE Raw |
Was forced to join the club by Shane McMahon after Shane knocked him unconscious with a chair after Michaels saved Marty Jannetty from membership.[42] |
| 004 !4 |
Shane McMahon !Shane McMahon |
02006-04-02April 2, 2006 |
Chicago !Chicago, Illinois |
Wrestlemania 22 !Wrestlemania 22 |
Was forced to join the club by Shawn Michaels after he over powered Shane who was trying to make Michaels rejoin the club.[41] |
| 005 !5 |
Mick Foley !Mick Foley |
02006-08-21August 21, 2006 |
Bridgeport !Bridgeport, Connecticut |
WWE Raw !WWE Raw |
Joined the club to save Melina's job, but she was actually tricking Foley and he was later fired by McMahon.[41] |
| 006 !6 |
Hornswoggle !Hornswoggle |
02008-02-04February 4, 2008 |
Austin !Austin, Texas |
WWE Raw !WWE Raw |
Was being forced to join to show loyalty to the McMahon family. The induction to the club was interrupted by Finlay and Hornswoggle bit McMahon's ass, but McMahon stated since Hornswoggle's lips came in contact he was a member.[41] |
In November 2001, Ric Flair returned to WWF after an eight year hiatus declaring himself the co-owner of the WWF, which infuriated McMahon. The two faced each other at the January 2002 Royal Rumble in a Street Fight which Flair won.[43] Due to their status as co-owners, McMahon became the owner of SmackDown! while Flair became the owner of Raw. However, on the June 10, 2002 episode of Raw, McMahon defeated Flair to end the rivalry and become the sole owner of WWE.[44]
On the February 13, 2003 episode of SmackDown!, McMahon tried to derail the return of Hulk Hogan after a five-month hiatus but was knocked out by Hogan and received an Atomic Legdrop.[45] At No Way Out, McMahon interfered in Hogan's match with The Rock. Hogan had originally won the match as he hit The Rock with an Atomic Legdrop but the lights went out. When the lights came back on, McMahon came to the ringside to distract Hogan. Sylvain Grenier, the referee, gave The Rock a chair, which he then hit Hogan with. He ended the match with a Rock Bottom to defeat Hogan.[46] This led to McMahon facing Hogan in a match at WrestleMania XIX, which McMahon lost in a Street Fight.[47] McMahon then banned Hogan from the ring but Hogan returned under the gimmick of "Mr. America". 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 McMahon claimed that he had discovered Mr. America was Hulk Hogan and "fired" him.[48]
McMahon asked his daughter Stephanie to resign as SmackDown! General Manager on the October 2, 2003 episode of SmackDown!. Stephanie, however, refused to resign and this set up an "I Quit" match between the two.[49] At No Mercy, McMahon defeated Stephanie in an "I Quit" match when Linda threw in the towel.[50] Later that night, he helped Brock Lesnar retain the WWE Championship against The Undertaker in a Biker Chain match.[51] This started a rivalry between McMahon and Undertaker. At Survivor Series, McMahon defeated Undertaker in a Buried Alive match with help from Kane.[52]
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. He started "The Trial of Eric Bischoff" where McMahon served as the judge. Bischoff ended up losing the trial; McMahon "fired" him, and put him in a garbage truck before it drove away. Bischoff stayed gone for months. Almost a year later on Raw in late 2006, Bischoff was brought out by McMahon's executive assistant Jonathan Coachman so that he could announce the completion of his book Controversy Creates Cash. Bischoff began blasting remarks at McMahon, saying that he was fired "unceremoniously" as the Raw General Manager, that there would be no 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.
On the December 26, 2005 episode of Raw, Vince personally reviewed Bret Hart's DVD. Shawn Michaels came out and he also started talking about Hart. McMahon replied, "I screwed Bret Hart. Shawn, don't make me screw you".[15][53] At the 2006 Royal Rumble, when Michaels was among the final six remaining participants after eliminating Shelton Benjamin, McMahon's entrance theme music distracted Michaels, allowing Shane McMahon to eliminate him.[54] On the February 27, 2006 episode of Raw, Michaels was knocked unconscious by Shane. When Michaels' former Rockers tag team partner Marty Jannetty came to the rescue of Michaels, he was forced to join McMahon's "Kiss My Ass Club".[55] On the March 18 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, Michaels faced Shane in a Street Fight. McMahon screwed Michaels while Shane had Michaels in the Sharpshooter. Michaels had not submitted, but McMahon ordered the referee to ring the bell, giving Shane the victory (another Montreal Screwjob reference).[15][56] At WrestleMania 22, Vince McMahon faced Michaels in a No Holds Barred match. Despite interference from the Spirit Squad and Shane, McMahon was unable to beat Michaels.[57] At Backlash, Vince McMahon and his son Shane defeated Michaels and "God" (characterized by a spotlight) in a No Holds Barred match.[58]
On the May 15, 2006 episode of Raw, Triple H hit Shane with a sledgehammer meant for Michaels.[59] The next week on Raw, Triple H had another chance to hit Michaels with the object but he instead whacked the Spirit Squad.[60] For a few weeks, McMahon ignored Michaels and began a rivalry with Triple H by forcing him to join "Kiss My Ass Club" (Triple H hit McMahon with a Pedigree instead of joining the club) and pitting him in a gauntlet handicap match against the Spirit Squad.[61][62] Michaels, however, saved Triple H and the two reformed D-Generation X (DX). This led to a feud between the McMahons and DX, throughout the following summer.[63] At SummerSlam in 2006, the McMahons lost to DX in a tag team match despite interference by Umaga, Big Show, Finlay, Mr. Kennedy, and William Regal.[64] The McMahons also allied themselves with the ECW World Champion Big Show.[63] At Unforgiven, the McMahons teamed up with The Big Show in a Hell in a Cell match to take on DX. Despite their 3-on-2 advantage, the McMahons lost again to DX thus ending the rivalry.[65]
In January 2007, McMahon started a feud with Donald Trump, which was featured on major media outlets. Originally Trump wanted to fight McMahon himself but they came to a deal: both men would pick a representative who would fight at WrestleMania 23 in a Hair vs. Hair match. The man whose representative lost the match would have his head shaved bald. After the contract signing on Raw, Trump pushed McMahon over the table in the ring onto his head after McMahon provoked Trump with several finger pokes to the shoulders. Later at a press conference, McMahon, during a photo opportunity, offered a shake of hands with Trump but retracted his hand as Trump put out his. McMahon went on to fiddle with Trump's tie and flick Trump's nose. This angered Trump as he then slapped McMahon across the face. McMahon was then restrained from retaliating by Trump's bodyguards and Bobby Lashley, Trump's representative.[66] At WrestleMania 23, McMahon's representative (Umaga) lost the match.[67] As a result, McMahon's hair was shaved bald by Trump and Lashley with the help of Stone Cold Steve Austin, who was the special guest referee of the "Battle of the Billionaires" match.[67]
McMahon then began a rivalry with Lashley over his ECW Championship. At Backlash, McMahon pinned Lashley in a 3-on-1 handicap match teaming up with his son Shane and Umaga to win the ECW Championship.[68][69] At Judgment Day, McMahon defended his ECW Championship against Lashley again in a 3-on-1 handicap match. Lashley won the match as he pinned Shane after a Dominator but McMahon said that he was still the champion because Lashley could only be champion if he could beat him.[70] McMahon finally lost the ECW Championship to Lashley at One Night Stand in a Street Fight despite interference by Shane and Umaga.[71]
On June 11, 2007, WWE aired a segment at the end of Raw that featured McMahon entering a limousine moments before it exploded. The show went off-air shortly after, and WWE.com reported the angle within minutes as though it were a legitimate occurrence, proclaiming that McMahon was "presumed dead".[72] Although this was the fate of the fictional "Mr. McMahon" character, no harm came to the actual person, the "presumed death" of McMahon was part of a storyline.[73] WWE later acknowledged to CNBC that he was not truly dead.[74]
The June 25, 2007 episode of Raw was scheduled to be a three-hour memorial to "Mr. McMahon". However, due to the actual death of Chris Benoit, the show opened with McMahon standing in an empty arena, acknowledging that his reported death was only of his character as part of a storyline.[75] This was followed by a tribute to Benoit that filled the three-hour timeslot.[76] His last appearance on WWE television until August 6, 2007 was 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. On the August 6 show, McMahon said that he faked his death to see what people really thought of him, with Stephanie accused of faking mourning while checking her father's last will and testament to see how it would benefit her.
Vince McMahon commands
Hornswoggle to join his "Kiss My Ass Club" in 2008
The "Mr. McMahon" character officially returned on the August 6 episode of Monday Night Raw. He talked about many subjects, including an investigation by the United States Congress and owing money to the IRS. McMahon also declared a battle royal to determine a new Raw General Manager, which was won by William Regal. At the end of Raw, Jonathan Coachman informed McMahon of a (storyline) paternity suit regarding an illegitimate long-lost child,[77] who was revealed in the following weeks as being a male member of the WWE roster. On the September 3 episode of Raw, McMahon appeared and was confronted by his family. They were interrupted by Mr. Kennedy who claimed to be McMahon's "illegitimate son", but he was also interrupted by a lawyer claiming Kennedy was not McMahon's son and that the real son would be revealed the following week on Raw.[78] His illegitimate son was finally revealed on September 10 on Raw to be Hornswoggle.[79] In February 2008, after months of "tough love" antics towards Hornswoggle, John "Bradshaw" Layfield revealed that Hornswoggle was not McMahon's son and that he was actually Finlay's son. It turned out that the scam was thought up by Shane, Stephanie and Linda McMahon, along with Finlay.
On the June 2 episode of Raw, McMahon announced that starting the following week, he would give away US$1,000,000 live on Raw. Fans were able to register online, and each week, randomly selected fans would receive a part of the $1,000,000. McMahon's Million Dollar Mania lasted just three weeks and was suspended after the 3-hour Draft episode of Raw on June 23. After giving away $500,000, explosions tore apart the Raw stage, which fell and collapsed on top of McMahon. On June 30, Shane addressed the WWE audience before Raw, informing the fans that his family had chosen to keep his father’s condition private. In addition, he also urged the WWE to stand together during what he described as a "turbulent time". The McMahons made several requests to the wrestlers for solidarity, before finally appointing Mike Adamle as the new general manager of Raw in order to restore order to the brand.
On the January 5, 2009, episode of Raw, Chris Jericho would tell Stephanie McMahon that McMahon would be returning to Raw soon.[80] The following week, Jericho was (kayfabe) fired from WWE by Stephanie. On January 19, 2009, episode of Raw, McMahon returned, as a face, and supported his daughter's decision on Jericho, but Stephanie would rehire him. Randy Orton would then come out and assault McMahon after harassing Stephanie. McMahon would return on the March 30 Raw with his son, Shane, and son-in-law Triple H to confront Orton. The night following WrestleMania XXV, McMahon appeared on Raw to announce that Orton would not be receive another championship opportunity at Backlash but would compete in a 6-man tag team match with his Legacy stablemates to face the team of Triple H, Shane McMahon and himself. Raw General Manager Vickie Guerrero would make the match for the WWE Championship. Orton then challenge McMahon to a match that night, which saw Legacy assault him, with Orton also hitting the RKO. After being assisted by Triple H, Shane and a returning Batista, McMahon announced that Batista would replace him in match at Backlash.
On the June 15 episode of Raw, McMahon announced that he had sold the Raw brand to businessman Donald Trump, though the following week, during the Trump is Raw show, McMahon would buy the brand back from Trump. On the June 29 episode of Raw, McMahon would announce that every week, a celebrity guest host would control Raw for the night. McMahon would then make appearances on the SmackDown brand, putting Theodore Long in probation for his actions.
On August 24, episode of Raw, McMahon had a birthday bash which was later interrupted by The Legacy, and competed in a 6-man tag team match with his long-time rival team DX, in which they won after the interference of John Cena. He continued to appear on SmackDown, making occasional matches and reminding Long that he is still on probation. On the November 16 episode of Raw McMahon was called out by guest host Roddy Piper, who wanted a match with McMahon that night in Madison Square Garden. McMahon would decline the challenge announce his "retirement" from in ring competition.[81]
On the January 4, 2010 episode of Raw, McMahon confronted special guest host Bret "The Hitman" Hart for the (televised) first time since the Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series 1997, with the intention of burying the hatchet from the above mentioned Montreal Screwjob. The two appeared to finally bury the hatchet, but after shaking hands, Vince kicked Hart in the groin and left the arena to a loud chorus of boos and the crowd chanting "You screwed Bret! You screwed Bret!".[81] A match was then booked between the two at Wrestlemania XXVI, which saw Hart defeat McMahon in a No Holds Barred Lumberjack match. After WrestleMania it was announced that McMahon would no longer appear on WWE television as his character Mr. McMahon, making official his retirement from in-ring competition.[82] On the May 31 episode of Raw, McMahon returned to congratulate Hart on becoming the new Raw General Manager. On the June 22 episode of Raw, McMahon fired Hart for not dealing with NXT season one rookies, known as The Nexus. That same night he announced the new General Manager would be anonymous and make decisions via email, which would be read out by Michael Cole. The General Manager's first decision was McMahon to be the guest referee for a WWE Championship match that night between John Cena and Sheamus. The match was interrupted by The Nexus who then attacked McMahon.
McMahon made an appearance on the November 1 episode of Raw, where it was revealed that he had fallen into a coma because of the attack by The Nexus. During the segment, McMahon woke up from his coma and his doctor (played by Freddie Prinze, Jr.) told him what had happened since he had been in a coma. The segment ended with Stephanie McMahon waking up, dreaming the whole thing.
McMahon would return to the WWE on the February 7, 2011, episode of Raw, were he announced that the guest host for WrestleMania XXVII would be revealed the following week, with the person being The Rock. On the May 2 episode of Raw, McMahon appeared on a birthday celebration themed Raw to wish The Rock a happy birthday. On the June 6 episode of WWE Tough Enough, McMahon would announce the winner of the show with Stone Cold Steve Austin. McMahon would also make an appearance on the June 6 episode of Raw, being interrupted by R-Truth, The Miz, Alex Riley and John Cena. McMahon would make the main event of the night to be Cena and Riley going against Truth and Miz in a tag team match with Steve Austin as the guest referee.
McMahon returned on the July 4 episode of Raw as a heel, addressing the suspension of CM Punk following comments made by Punk the week before. Cena would convince McMahon to reinstate Punk and make the WWE Championship match at Money in the Bank official again. However, McMahon would tell Cena that if he were to lose the title at the pay-per-view, he would personally go to the ring and fire Cena. The following week on Raw, McMahon would try and get Punk to sign a new contract with the WWE, but Punk would tear the contract up, saying he is still leaving after his match at the pay-per-view.
At the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, McMahon told John Laurinaitis to end the match while Cena had Punk in the STF, trying to duplicate the Montreal Screwjob (otherwise known as the Chicago Screwjob), but Cena knocked out Laurinaitis before he could get to the bell. After Punk had defeated Cena, McMahon then ordered Alberto Del Rio, Raw's Money in the Bank ladder match winner to cash in and challenge Punk for the title. Del Rio got attacked by Punk before he could cash in. Punk then fled through the crowd with the WWE Championship.
At the end of the July 18, 2011 broadcast of Raw, Triple H returned on behalf of WWE's board of directors to relieve Mr. McMahon of his duties as WWE Chairman. This was followed by the announcement that he had been assigned to take over as Chief Operating Officer of WWE.[83]
McMahon returned on the October 10 broadcast of Raw, relieving Triple H of his duties of running Raw, due to the Board of Directors labeling Triple H as a financial catastrophe, and as a result of the no confidence vote by a majority of the WWE employees the previous week. He then declared that no member of his family could run Raw due to conflict of interest. He subsequently named John Laurinaitis as interim general manager.[84]
In 2001, McMahon was interviewed by Playboy and performed an interview with his son Shane for the second issue of the magazine that year. In March 2006, (at age 60) McMahon was featured on the cover of Muscle & Fitness magazine. On August 22, 2006, a two-disc DVD set showcasing McMahon's career was released. The DVD is simply titled McMahon. The box art symbolizes the blurred reality between Vince McMahon the person and Mr. McMahon the character. McMahon features a profiling of the Mr. McMahon character, such as the rivalries with wrestlers, on-screen firings, and antics. In addition, the DVD features the profiling of Vince's business life, such as acquiring WCW and ECW and the demise of the XFL. McMahon's top nine matches of his professional wrestling career are also included in McMahon.
McMahon married Linda McMahon on August 26, 1966 in New Bern, North Carolina. The two met in church when Linda was 13 and Vince was 16. At that time McMahon was known as Vince Lupton, using his stepfather's surname. They were introduced by Vince's mother, Vicky H. Lupton (now Vicky Askew). They have two children, Shane and Stephanie, both of whom have spent time in the WWF/E both onscreen and behind the scenes. Shane left the company as of January 1, 2010; while Stephanie continues to be active in a backstage role.
McMahon has six grandchildren: Declan James and Kenyon Jesse McMahon and a grandson born in 2010, sons of Shane and his wife Marissa; and Aurora Rose, Murphy Claire & Vaughn Evelyn Levesque, daughters of Stephanie and her husband Paul "Triple H" Levesque.[85]
McMahon has a $12 million penthouse in Manhattan, a $40 million mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut, a $20 million vacation home,[86] and a 47-foot sports yacht named Sexy Bitch.[86][87] Forbes has noted McMahon's wealth at 1.1 billion dollars, backing up the WWE's claim he is a billionaire for the year of 2001,[88][89] though he is reported to have since dropped off the list.[90]
Rita Chatterton (ring name: "Rita Marie") was a former referee who is noted for her stint in the WWF in the 1980s. She is known for being the first ever female referee in the WWF, possibly in pro wrestling history.[91] Her times there, however, were shrouded in controversy, due to sexual harassment charges against owner McMahon. On April 3, 1992, Chatterton made an appearance on Geraldo Rivera's television show Now It Can Be Told alleging that on July 16, 1986 McMahon tried to force her to perform oral sex on him in his limousine and, after her rebuttal, subjected her to rape.[92]
On February 1, 2006, McMahon was accused of sexual harassment by a worker at a Boca Raton, Florida tanning bar.[93] At first, the charge appeared to be discredited because McMahon was in Miami for the 2006 Royal Rumble at the time. It was soon clarified that the alleged incident was reported to police on the day of the Rumble, but actually took place the day before.[94] On March 27, a Florida television station reported that no charges would be filed against McMahon as a result of the investigation.[citation needed]
In 1993, he was indicted after a steroid controversy engulfed the promotion.[95] McMahon was put on trial in 1994, accused of distributing steroids to his wrestlers.[96] One former wrestler, Nailz, was called by the prosecution to testify against McMahon, stating that Vince encouraged him to start using steroids.[97] His wife Linda became CEO of the WWF during the trial. He was acquitted of all charges though he admitted to taking steroids himself in the 1980s. The prosecution made Hulk Hogan its star witness, however, when called to testify, Hogan stated that at no time did Vince McMahon ever sell steroids.
- Nicknames
- "The Boss"
- "The Chairman"
- "The Genetic Jackhammer"
- "The Higher Power"
- "Vinnie Mac"
Vince McMahon's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- Other accomplishments and honors
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- ^ Nailz the Wrestler Testifies He Was Told to Use Steroids
- ^ "Lawler, McMahon, Road Warriors among PWHF Class of 2011". Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum. November 26, 2010. http://pwhf.blogspot.com/2010/11/lawler-mcmahon-road-warriors-among-pwhf.html. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
- ^ "ECW Championship official title history". WWE.com. http://www.wwe.com/shows/ecw/history/ecwchampionship/. Retrieved July 18, 2007.
- ^ "WWE Championship official title history". WWE.com. http://www.wwe.com/inside/titlehistory/wwechampionship/. Retrieved July 18, 2007.
- ^ "Royal Rumble 1999 Results". PWWEW.net. http://www.pwwew.net/ppv/wwf/january/1999.htm. Retrieved August 22, 2007.
- ^ a b c "Wrestling Information Archive – Pro Wrestling Illustrated Award Winners – Feud of the Year". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwifoty.htm. Retrieved July 18, 2007.
- ^ "Wrestling Information Archive – Pro Wrestling Illustrated Award Winners – Match of the Year". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwimoty.htm. Retrieved July 26, 2007.
- ^ Jamie DeLoma (May 14, 2007). "WWE chief pumps up graduates". http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-mcmahon7may14,0,7480442.story?coll=stam-news-local-headlines. Retrieved May 14, 2007. [dead link]
- ^ Anrdrew Rote (May 13, 2007). "Mr. McMahon becomes Dr. McMahon". http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/archive/drmcmahon. Retrieved May 14, 2007.
- Shaun Assael & Mike Mooneyham (2002). Sex, Lies and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation. Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-609-60690-5.
| Business positions |
Preceded by
Vince McMahon, Sr. |
Chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment
1980–present |
Succeeded by
Incumbent |
Preceded by
Linda McMahon |
Chief Executive Officer of World Wrestling Entertainment
2009–present |
Succeeded by
Incumbent |
| New creation |
President and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment
1980–1993 |
Succeeded by
Linda McMahon |
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| Persondata |
| Name |
McMahon, Vincent Kennedy |
| Alternative names |
McMahon, Vince Jr.; McMahon, Vincent K. |
| Short description |
Professional wrestling promoter |
| Date of birth |
August 24, 1945 |
| Place of birth |
Pinehurst, North Carolina |
| Date of death |
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