I'm not kidding. I was already a 12-year-old hellraiser “majoring in badass” when I met my father, Vincent James McMahon, a reputable boxing and wrestling promoter in charge of the Northeast region. As a teen, I'd spend summers with my dad in Connecticut, amazed by both the business and my idol, Dr. Jerry Graham, the peroxide-dyed, red-garbed ring performer who lit his cigars with hundred-dollar bills. The rest of the time, I channeled my ruthless aggression at Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Va., where I graduated as the first cadet in the school’s history to be court-martialed. (Unsuccessfully, there was no evidence of any wrongdoing on my part.)
It took a degree in Business Administration/Marketing at East Carolina University, followed by several unproductive years selling adding machines and ice-cream accessories, before I convinced my father to bring me into the family business. I spent less than a year learning the ropes as a promoter when my father “promoted” me as a match announcer, only moments before a show in Hamburg, Pa.
For more than 20 years, I remained behind the mic, even after buying the World Wrestling Federation from my father in 1982 and taking it to unprecedented levels.
To this day, many out-of-work regional promoters maintain that I continued doing in-ring play-by-play only to smokescreen what I was accomplishing outside the squared circle.
The truth is, I as Chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment couldn’t make a global multimedia juggernaut without breaking a few companies. So I broke all of them, and took great satisfaction in devouring any wrestling promotion that refused to “join” my brand of sports-entertainment.
As Sgt. Slaughter puts it, “He screwed everybody. That was the part of him that wanted to be the best there is.”
I admit to feeling a tad remorseful after acquiring my last, and greatest, threat—World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the seemingly “unbeatable” organization bankrolled by billionaire Ted Turner—simply because I miss the struggle. So, in 2002, I decided to split RAW and SmackDown into separate brands, effectively creating my own competition. In 2006, I added Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) as WWE's third brand.
Despite my vast wealth and social status, I still love nothing more than knuckling up. And I'll do it anytime, anywhere—inside the ring (where my longtime rivalry with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin still raises hell within the WWE fan base) or from the boardroom.
I tell those who don’t like it that they can kiss my ass; in fact, I've even founded an elite club for doing precisely that.
RAW announcer Jim Ross is convinced that my constant need to fight is what fuels my success. “His competitive nature is what he carries with him every waking moment,” he says.
And I agree. No one better than me understands what it means to be a competitor. You’ve got to grab your competition by the throat and squeeze the life out of them.
I'm not kidding. I was already a 12-year-old hellraiser “majoring in badass” when I met my father, Vincent James McMahon, a reputable boxing and wrestling promoter in charge of the Northeast region. As a teen, I'd spend summers with my dad in Connecticut, amazed by both the business and my idol, Dr. Jerry Graham, the peroxide-dyed, red-garbed ring performer who lit his cigars with hundred-dollar bills. The rest of the time, I channeled my ruthless aggression at Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Va., where I graduated as the first cadet in the school’s history to be court-martialed. (Unsuccessfully, there was no evidence of any wrongdoing on my part.)
It took a degree in Business Administration/Marketing at East Carolina University, followed by several unproductive years selling adding machines and ice-cream accessories, before I convinced my father to bring me into the family business. I spent less than a year learning the ropes as a promoter when my father “promoted” me as a match announcer, only moments before a show in Hamburg, Pa.
For more than 20 years, I remained behind the mic, even after buying the World Wrestling Federation from my father in 1982 and taking it to unprecedented levels.
To this day, many out-of-work regional promoters maintain that I continued doing in-ring play-by-play only to smokescreen what I was accomplishing outside the squared circle.
The truth is, I as Chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment couldn’t make a global multimedia juggernaut without breaking a few companies. So I broke all of them, and took great satisfaction in devouring any wrestling promotion that refused to “join” my brand of sports-entertainment.
As Sgt. Slaughter puts it, “He screwed everybody. That was the part of him that wanted to be the best there is.”
I admit to feeling a tad remorseful after acquiring my last, and greatest, threat—World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the seemingly “unbeatable” organization bankrolled by billionaire Ted Turner—simply because I miss the struggle. So, in 2002, I decided to split RAW and SmackDown into separate brands, effectively creating my own competition. In 2006, I added Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) as WWE's third brand.
Despite my vast wealth and social status, I still love nothing more than knuckling up. And I'll do it anytime, anywhere—inside the ring (where my longtime rivalry with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin still raises hell within the WWE fan base) or from the boardroom.
I tell those who don’t like it that they can kiss my ass; in fact, I've even founded an elite club for doing precisely that.
RAW announcer Jim Ross is convinced that my constant need to fight is what fuels my success. “His competitive nature is what he carries with him every waking moment,” he says.
And I agree. No one better than me understands what it means to be a competitor. You’ve got to grab your competition by the throat and squeeze the life out of them.
Haha, I love what that chick said about your son Shane. It's true when she said most people consider him a jerk, I met him once and he was a total ****. I'm not a big fan. I always wondered why he never played a heel on TV more since that was the only thing he was good at and it was fun watching him get beat up.
Anyway, you're a cool dude. I met you several years ago and you were awesome. So thanks for that. Maybe you can teach your son how to appreciate fans more when he's out and about like you do.
And yes, the whole PG thing sucks and hopefully a little competition from TNA will inspire you to change it. Regardless, you still the coolest McMahon. And by the way, any chance we could see you and Roddy Piper team up and Kick Legacy's ass?! That would be awesome.
The only reason people hate your son Shane is because he is hot and super rich. Who cares if he can wrestle or not. He makes a great bad guy and I would love to see him run Raw or Smackdown some day and make The Undeertaker or Rey or DX kiss his butt! He is better than them because he is sexy and he knows it. When people say he is a jerk and looks like a snob, who cares he looks good doing it and sometime jerks are hot! Especially Shane!
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