Who is Vince McMahon? All about the WWE co-founder and subject of a new Netflix documentary

AS THE boss of the mighty WWE, Vince McMahon had the world of wrestling at his toes.

Now retired, the previous CEO and his controversial profession is the topic of the Netflix documentary, Mr McMahon.

Born on August 24, 1945, Vincent Kennedy McMahon is a businessman and former skilled wrestling govt Pinehurst, North Carolina.

McMahon is a third-generation WWE wrestling promoter; his father Vince Sr. and his grandfather Jess McMahon ran the enterprise earlier than him.

Vince Sr. was principally based mostly within the Northeast, organizing common reveals at Madison Sq. Backyard in New York.

Throughout McMahon’s childhood, he was raised by his mom Victoria Hanner.

The wrestling determine remembers not assembly his father till he was 12-years-old.

“It’s humorous the way you don’t know what you’re lacking in case you by no means had it,” he recalled to Playboy.

“Once I was 12 or a bit of older, residing with my grandmother on my mother’s facet, my father and his mom came over. I should have behaved myself as a result of I acquired invited as much as be with him.

“Then, after I met my dad, I fell in love with him. We acquired very, very shut however we each knew we might by no means return.

“There’s a bent to attempt to play catch-up however you’ll be able to’t. You missed these years.”

McMahon added: “There would at all times be one thing lacking between us however there was no cause to debate it.

“All this time, I’d been pestering my dad to let me work with him. ‘Come on, Pop. You already know I like these items.’ I cherished wrestling from the day I noticed it. The characters! However my dad was pragmatic.”

In 1982, McMahon purchased WWE from Vince Sr. and remodeled it into the worldwide wrestling and leisure juggernaut that it’s at present.

Household enterprise

WWE has at all times been a household enterprise, with each Vince’s kids Stephanie and Shane, all performing and holding govt positions within the firm.

His eldest, Shane went onto change into a wrestling star himself.

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Stephanie additionally selected a profession as a wrestler earlier than turning her consideration to the enterprise facet of issues.

Nevertheless in January 2023, she stepped away from the corporate.

McMahon’s spouse Linda – who he married in 1966 – served as CEO of the WWE  from 1997 till 2009 however stepped right down to pursue a profession in public workplace.

Saying retirement

On July 22, 2022, McMahon introduced his choice to retire from WWE.

On Twitter, he revealed, “At 77, time for me to retire. Thanks, WWE Universe. Then. Now. Endlessly. Collectively. #WWE #grateful.”

He additional defined in an official assertion, “As I strategy 77 years previous, I really feel it’s time for me to retire as Chairman and CEO of WWE.”

“All through the years, it’s been a privilege to assist WWE deliver you pleasure, encourage you, thrill you, shock you, and at all times entertain you.”

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“I wish to thank my household for mightily contributing to our success. I’d additionally wish to thank all of our previous and current Superstars and workers for his or her dedication and keenness for our model.”

“Most significantly, I wish to thank our followers for permitting us into your houses each week and being your alternative of leisure.”

“I maintain the deepest appreciation and admiration for our generations of followers everywhere in the world who’ve appreciated, at the moment like, and generally even love our type of Sports activities Leisure.”

Within the wake of his retirement, his daughter Stephanie served because the group’s interim CEO till she stepped down on January 10, 2023 – the identical day her father returned as the corporate’s govt chair.

Nevertheless, on November 9, 2023, TKO Group, the corporate that holds UFC and WWE introduced that McMahon was promoting 8.4 million shares of his TKO inventory.

The shares account for round 30 % of his holdings and had been price round $700M.

His remaining shares had been valued at round $2 billion.

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Accusations towards McMahon 

On January 25, 2024, Vince McMahon was accused of sexual assault, trafficking, and bodily abuse in a lawsuit.

Within the lawsuit, ex-WWE worker Janel Grant claims she was “the sufferer of bodily and emotional abuse, sexual assault, and trafficking” throughout her time with the wrestling group.

A spokesperson for McMahon stated that “this lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up situations that by no means occurred and a vindictive distortion of the reality.”

“[McMahon] will vigorously defend himself,” the spokesman stated.

TKO Group additionally responded with an announcement, saying it was taking the state of affairs significantly.

A spokesperson for the group stated: “Mr. McMahon doesn’t management TKO nor does he oversee the day-to-day operations of WWE.”

“Whereas this matter pre-dates our TKO govt workforce’s tenure on the firm, we take Ms. Grant’s horrific allegations very significantly and are addressing this matter internally,” the TKO spokesperson stated.

Hitting again at Netflix documentary Mr McMahon

Made by filmmaker Chris Smith, the six-episode docu-series Mr McMahon presents a deep dive into McMahon’s life and his billion-dollar franchise.

WWE stars like Dwayne Johnson, Triple H, and John Cena, who all labored for him, function within the restricted sequence the place they focus on their former boss.

Even McMahon himself is interviewed about his life and profession.

Nevertheless, he isn’t proud of how the documentary has turned out and has claimed this system has coated his life “unfairly”.

McMahon stated in an announcement that Netflix had made the error of “conflating the Mr McMahon character with my true self.”

He additionally accused the streaming large of utilizing “typical modifying methods” to “help a misleading narrative”.