Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy McMahon is an American businessman and former professional wrestling promoter. McMahon, along with his later-estranged wife Linda, is a co-founder of the modern WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Outside of professional wrestling, McMahon has occasionally ventured into promoting other sports. His projects have included the World Bodybuilding Federation and the XFL football league.
McMahon graduated from East Carolina University with a degree in business in 1968, and began his tenure in professional wrestling as a commentator for WWE for most of the 1970s. He bought the company from his father, Vincent J. McMahon, in 1982 and almost monopolized the industry, which previously operated as separate entities across the United States. This led to the development of the annual event WrestleMania, which became the world's most successful professional wrestling event. WWE then faced industry competition from World Championship Wrestling in the 1990s before purchasing and absorbing WCW in 2001. WWE also purchased the assets of the defunct Extreme Championship Wrestling in 2003.
McMahon appeared on-screen for WWE from 1969 until 2022, initially as a personable play-by-play commentator. In 1997, he adopted the character of Mr. McMahon, portrayed as an irascible, villainous, swaggering tyrant who obsessed over maintaining control of his wrestling company and often growled the catchphrase "you're fired!" when dismissing an employee. Under the villainous Mr. McMahon gimmick, he competed in wrestling matches and became a one-time WWE Champion, a one-time ECW Champion, a Royal Rumble winner, and a multi-time pay-per-view headliner.
Following claims of hush-money agreements McMahon paid over affairs with former WWE employees, McMahon stepped down as CEO and chairman of WWE in June 2022, pending the conclusion of an internal investigation. He was replaced by his daughter, Stephanie McMahon. The following month, McMahon announced his retirement from WWE, but his return to WWE as executive chairman was confirmed in January 2023. That April, Endeavor Group Holdings announced a merger between WWE and Zuffa, owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship mixed martial arts promotion; McMahon served as the executive chairman of the new merged company, TKO Group Holdings. McMahon later resigned from TKO in January 2024 after allegations of sex trafficking and sexual assault. McMahon settled charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission for over $1.7 million in January 2025 for undisclosed hush money payments while not admitting or denying the findings.
Early life
Vincent Kennedy McMahon was born on August 24, 1945, in Pinehurst, North Carolina, to Victoria and Vincent James McMahon, a wrestling promoter. Not long after his birth, his father left the family and took McMahon’s older brother, Roderick Jr., with him. McMahon did not see his father again until he was 12 years old. His paternal grandfather, Jess McMahon, had been a boxing and wrestling promoter, and both grandparents on his father’s side were of Irish descent.During his childhood, McMahon was raised under the name Vinnie Lupton, using the surname of one of his stepfathers. He experienced a difficult upbringing and has spoken publicly about abuse he endured at the hands of one stepfather, Leo Lupton. He also stated that he suffered sexual abuse which "wasn't from the male" as a youth. In a 2000 interview, McMahon reflected, “It is unfortunate that died before I could kill him. I would have enjoyed that.” McMahon and his self-described "majored in badass" years as a teen saw him faced with the choice of reform school or the Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Virginia; McMahon chose the latter and graduated from the military school in 1964. He has cited the structure of military school as a formative influence and has said he struggled with dyslexia during his youth.
Business career
Early business dealings
McMahon first met the promoter for Capitol Wrestling Corporation, his father, Vincent J. McMahon, at the age of 12. At that point, McMahon became interested in following in his father's professional wrestling footsteps and often accompanied him on trips to Madison Square Garden. 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, McMahon graduated from East Carolina University with a business degree and after an unremarkable career as a traveling salesman, he was eager to assume a managerial role in his father's World Wide Wrestling Federation promotion. In 1969, McMahon made his debut as a ring announcer for the WWWF's All-Star Wrestling. In 1971, he was assigned to a small territory in Maine, where he promoted his first card. He later became the play-by-play commentator for television matches after replacing Ray Morgan in 1971, a role he regularly maintained until November 1997.
In the 1970s, McMahon became a prominent force in his father's company and, over the next decade, assisted his father in tripling TV syndication. The younger McMahon was also behind the Muhammad Ali versus Antonio Inoki match of 1976. He pushed for the renaming of the company to the World Wrestling Federation in 1979.
On February 21, 1980, 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. McMahon then became chairman of the company and his wife, Linda, became the "co-chief executive". In 1982, Titan acquired control of the CWC from McMahon's ailing father and his partners.
Professional wrestling
Purchase of the WWF and 1980s wrestling boom
When he purchased the WWF in 1982, professional wrestling was a business run by regional promotions. Various promoters understood that they would not invade each other's territories, as this practice had gone on undeterred for decades. The National Wrestling Alliance became the governing body for all the regional territories across the country and as far away as Japan. McMahon had a different vision of what the industry could become. In 1983, the WWF split from the NWA again.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. 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. 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 ran the first WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden, available on closed-circuit television in various markets throughout the United States. McMahon's success of birthing WrestleMania in the 1980s had a significant impact on the 1980s professional wrestling boom during the Golden Age Era.
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 not paid attention to professional wrestling before. By directing his storylines toward highly publicized supercards, McMahon capitalized on a fledgling revenue stream by promoting these events live on pay-per-view television. In 1987, the WWF reportedly drew 93,173 fans to the Pontiac Silverdome for WrestleMania III, that featured the main event of Hulk Hogan vs. André the Giant.
Business decline, New Generation Era, and start of the Attitude Era
In 1993, the company entered the New Generation Era, one of McMahon's toughest times while in charge of the company as business went up and down with various projects in the company.After struggling against Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling, McMahon cemented the WWF as the preeminent wrestling promotion in the late 1990s when initiating a new brand strategy that eventually returned the WWF to prominence. Sensing a public shift toward a more hardened and cynical fan base, McMahon redirected storylines toward a more adult-oriented model. The concept became known as "WWF Attitude", and McMahon commenced the new era when manipulating the WWF Championship away from Bret Hart at 1997 Survivor Series. McMahon addressed the WWF's new direction on the December 15, 1997 episode of Raw Is War, where he stated
"This is a conscious effort on our part to 'open the creative envelope', in order to entertain in a more contemporary manner, extends far beyond the strict confines of sports presentation into the wide open environment of broad based entertainment. We borrow from such programs niches like soap-operas and others widely accepted forms of television entertainment and tired of the same old simplistic theory of 'good guys versus bad guys'. Surely the era is definitely, passe. Therefore, we've embarked on a far more innovative and contemporary creative campaign, that is far more invigorating and extemporaneous than ever before."
McMahon, who for years had downplayed his ownership of the company and was mostly known as a commentator, became involved in WWF storylines as the evil Mr. McMahon, who began a legendary feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin, who challenged his authority. As a result, the WWF suddenly found itself back in national pop-culture, drawing millions of viewers for its weekly Monday Night Raw broadcasts, which ranked among the highest-rated shows on cable television. In October 1999, McMahon led the WWF in an initial public offering of company stock. Also, during the Attitude Era, the company embraced this period by incorporating foul language, graphic violence, and controversial stipulations like Bra and Panties matches.