Vincent Kennedy McMahon (born August 24, 1945), popularly known by his ring name Mr. McMahon, is an American professional wrestling promoter, professional wrestler, and film producer. He is the Chairman of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Board of Directors and majority shareholder of WWE. After acquiring World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in 2001, McMahon's WWE became the sole remaining major American professional wrestling promotion. He mainly appears on the RAW brand. Usually depending on which wrestler he's having a huge feud with or if he's holding a championship from a certain brand, he is mainly on that brand. McMahon plays a character based on himself in the world of the WWE, and is known for participating the occasional in-ring competition. He has won two World Championships as an in-ring performer: both the WWE and ECW World Championships. He was also the winner of the 1999 Royal Rumble.

Vincent Kennedy McMahon, Jr. was born August 24, 1945 in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Vince spent the majority of his childhood living with his mother and a string of stepfathers. In an interview with Playboy, 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. He said, "It is unfortunate that he died before I could kill him. I would have enjoyed that."

His father, (Vincent J. McMahon), was the promoter for the Capitol Wrestling Co., but he had left the family while Vince Jr. was still a baby. He did not meet his father until age 12, and at that point became interested in following his father's footsteps in the wrestling business, as he often accompanied him on trips to Madison Square Garden.

In 1968, he 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 (although Vince Sr. was not thrilled with the idea of his son entering the business). Nevertheless, he was assigned to a small territory in Maine, where he promoted his first card in 1971. Early in his wrestling career, Vince served as the in-ring announcer. 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 would eventually assist his father in tripling TV syndication. He pushed for the renaming of the company to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). The young McMahon was also behind the famous Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki match of 1976, the year that his daughter Stephanie McMahon was born. Then 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 WWWF after his father’s retirement. By 1980, Titan Sports was incorporated; and in 1982, a 37-year old Vince McMahon Jr. led Titan’s acquisition of the Capitol Wrestling Co. from his ailing father (who died in May 1984), as he and his wife Linda McMahon took control of the World Wrestling Federation.

At the time of his purchase of the World Wrestling Federation, professional wrestling was a business run by regional offices; and the various promoters shared an understanding that they would not invade each other’s territories, as this practice had gone on undeterred for decades. Vince McMahon Jr. had a different vision of what the industry could become, and one of his first actions as WWF owner was to secede from the National Wrestling Alliance, which was the governing body for all the regional territories. McMahon also preferred a shift in the business from one of perceived violence to exaggerated storylines that attracted mainstream audiences; and he coined the term “sports entertainment” as a way to separate his product from his more traditional counterparts.

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) for instance. 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) was fearless in the face of opposition; and he 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. McMahon was planting the seeds for an industry explosion; 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. Though WrestleMania was not the sport’s first supercard, McMahon looked to break the industry mold when he stacked the internationally-promoted event with celebrities, including Mr. T, Cyndi Lauper, Muhammad Ali, Billy Martin, Liberace, and The Rockettes in an attempt to gain unprecedented publicity for the WWF. McMahon poured most of his funds into marketing the event, thus risking everything in an attempt for unbridled dominance; and in spite of several sabotage efforts by rivals, 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.

This led to what has been considered a "Golden Age of Wrestling" with WWF seeing increased mainstream exposure, TV ratings, and house show gates all throughout the rest of the decade. 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. However, it was McMahon’s introduction of closed-circuit technology and pay-per-view television that would establish his reputation as a marketing visionary. 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. Before long, WWF's Saturday Night's Main Event even occasionally supplanted Saturday Night Live in several highly-rated NBC broadcasts; and in 1987, McMahon drew nearly 100,000 fans to the Pontiac Silverdome for WrestleMania III, which featured the blockbuster main event of Hulk Hogan vs. André the Giant.

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 title away from Bret Hart at Survivor Series 1997 in what is now infamously known as the "Montreal Screwjob.” From then on, McMahon immersed himself into WWF storylines as the evil “Mr. McMahon;” and an instant star was born when Stone Cold Steve Austin challenged the boss’ authority in one of the great feuds in history. McMahon vs. Austin captivated audiences, and the WWF suddenly found itself back in the midst of national pop-culture, drawing millions of viewers for its weekly RAW broadcasts, which ranked among the highest-rated shows on cable television.

In 2002, after being forced to rename the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2002, McMahon again ventured outside the wrestling ring and launched WWE Films.

Mr. McMahon is the on-screen character of Vince McMahon, with the gimmick of an often egotistical heel boss. The character spawned from the real-life hatred many wrestling fans had for McMahon following the Montreal Screwjob, the 1997 Survivor Series incident with Bret Hart.

Although Mr. McMahon was loathed for his actions as the evil owner of the WWF, the character proved to be one of the most memorable heels in professional wrestling history. Despite Mr. McMahon's evil intentions, many fans continue to respect the character for the history it's had, particularly with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, who was Mr. McMahon's nemesis at the character's apex. Much to Mr. McMahon's horror, "Stone Cold" was announced to return and was the special guest referee at the "Battle of the Billionaires" match at WrestleMania 23.

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 towards the ring, swinging his arms and bobbing his head from side to side in a cocky manner. This is usually accompanied by a comment from Jim Ross, such as "There's only one man I know that walks like that." The power walk is used to get a reaction out of the audience (especially when he's a heel), but it also provides comic relief as well. WWE Superstar John Cena had joked on the RAW Exposed special that aired before WWE Homecoming, that Vince "somehow walks like he's got a broomstick shoved up in his ass". According to Jim Cornette, the power walk was inspired by one of Vince McMahon's favorite wrestlers as a child, Dr. Jerry Graham. However, The Fabulous Moolah claims in her autobiography that the original "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers was the inspiration.

Despite their on going feud, Steve Austin helped Vince defeat Triple H for the WWF Championship on the September 14 1999 episode of WWE Smackdown! This was later named the 5th most memorable moment in SmackDown! history. On September 20 1999, Vince vacated the title and put it on the line in a Six-Pack Challenge match at Unforgiven 1999, where Triple H regained it.

Due to Bobby Lashley's role in the feud between Vince and Donald Trump at WrestleMania 23, Vince forced Lashley to defend the ECW Championship at Backlash 2007 in a 3-on-1 Handicap Match against Vince, Shane McMahon, and Umaga. Vince scored the winning pinfall against Lashley after Shane and Umaga softened him up. At Judgment Day 2007, Lashley defeated Shane after a Dominator, but Vince later announced that he was still ECW World Champion because he was not pinned by Lashley. He lost the championship one month later at One Night Stand to Lashley after a Spear.

Following the collapse of the WCW/ECW Alliance at Survivor Series 2001, Mr. McMahon created the Vince McMahon Kiss My Ass Club, which consisted of various WWE superstars and an announcer being ordered to kiss his buttocks in the middle of the ring. The club was originally proclaimed closed by The Rock after McMahon was forced to kiss Rikishi's posterior on an episode of SmackDown!; however, the club segment has resurfaced several times over the years. Many people have been forced to go through with the indignity or have been in-line to do so since the club's inception, including:

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 but was canceled due to a lawsuit by Cartoon Network.

In numerous angles, Mr. McMahon uses his ability to terminate whomever he feels from either a position or the company. The termination is usually preceded by the aforementioned throaty exclamation of "You're fired!" This is believed by many people to be a McMahon originated catchphrase, as opposed to his WrestleMania 23 opponent Donald Trump. McMahon once stated this on TV by saying that the catchphrase originated on Monday Night RAW and not Trump's NBC show The Apprentice--a legitimate fact considering that McMahon started using the catchphrase in 1998, while The Apprentice didn't even premiere until 2004.

Vince McMahon began a feud with Eric Bischoff in late 2005, when he decided that Bischoff wasn't 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; Vince "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 Vince McMahon's executive assistant Jonathan Coachman so that he could announce the completion of his book Controversy Creates Ca$h. Bischoff began blasting remarks at McMahon, saying that he was fired "unceremoniously" as the RAW General Manager, that there would be no Mr. McMahon if it wasn't for Bischoff's over-the-top rebellious ideas, and that D-Generation X was nothing but a rip off of the nWo. Bischoff returned again in March 2007 to tell Vince his thoughts on Vince's WrestleMania 23 match: he couldn't wait to see him get his head shaved bald.

In January 2007, McMahon started a feud with Donald J. 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, Donald 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. At WrestleMania 23, McMahon's representative (Umaga) lost the match. 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.

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." Although this was the fate of the fictional "Mr. McMahon" character, no harm came to the actual person (the "presumed death" of Mr. McMahon was part of a storyline). WWE later acknowledged to CNBC that he was not truly dead.

The June 25, 2007 edition of RAW was scheduled to be a three-hour memorial to "Mr. McMahon". However, due to the actual sudden death of Chris Benoit, the show opened with Vince McMahon appearing in an empty arena, acknowledging that his reported death was only of his character as part of a storyline. This was followed by a tribute to Benoit that filled the three-hour timeslot. 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, he stated he faked his death to see what people really thought of him, with Stephanie accused for faking sympathy and checking her father's last will and testament.

The "Mr. McMahon" character officially returned on the August 6 episode of Monday Night Raw. He talked about many subjects, including the investigation by the United States Congress and owing money to the IRS. Mr. McMahon also named a new Raw General Manager in a Battle Royal, which was won by William Regal. At the end of Raw, Jonathan Coachman informed him of a (storyline) paternity suit regarding an illegitimate long-lost child, who was revealed in the following weeks as being a male member of WWE roster. On the September 3 episode of Raw, Mr. 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 is not McMahon's son and that the real son would be revealed the following week on Raw. The lawyer gave the cryptic message "things are looking up." His illegitimate son was finally revealed on September 10 on Raw to be Hornswoggle.

During Monday Night Raw's 15th Anniversary Show on December 10th, 2007, Mr. McMahon was embarrassed mentally and physically. During the opening segment he tried to get a family portrait with Stephanie and Shane, and his illegitimate son Hornswoggle. However, Triple H came out and made a reference that he too should be considered Vince's family, alluding to his marriage to Stephanie (something normally not acknowledged onscreen). He then proceeded to embarrass McMahon by bringing out a number of Divas who Vince had onscreen sexual antics with, including Melina, former WWE Diva Sunny and Mae Young, causing Shane to leave in disgust. He also brought out a group of men who he claimed Vince had mistaken for women, such as Pat Patterson and Bastion Booger. Stephanie then embarrassed him by kissing Triple H, who brought out the Godfather and several Ho's for Hornswoggle's benefit.

At the end of the night, Vince proclaimed himself the greatest Raw superstar ever. Mick Foley, dressed as Mankind, came down and gave Vince the Mandible Claw with Mr. Socko. After the lights went out, The Undertaker appeared and gave Vince a chokeslam. After Undertaker disappeared, Stone Cold Steve Austin came to the ring wanting to share a drink with the unconcious Vince; after helping Vince to his feet he gave him a beer followed by a Stunner. Austin then celebrated with the entire locker room in and around the ring, and kicked Vince out, pouring beer on an angry McMahon.

Rita Chatterton (ring name: "Rita Marie") was a former referee who is noted for her stint in World Wrestling Entertainment in the 1980s. She is known for being the first ever female referee in WWE, maybe in pro wrestling history. However, her times there were shrouded in controversy, due to sexual harassment charges against WWE owner Vince 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. McMahon was not charged with any offense relating to the alleged incident, the criminal statute of limitations having passed.

On February 1 2006, McMahon was accused of sexual harassment by a worker at a Boca Raton, Florida tanning bar. The worker said that he "groped her and harassed her." At first, the charge appeared to be discredited because McMahon was in Miami for the 2006 Royal Rumble at the time. However, 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. On March 27, a Florida television station reported that no charges would be filed against McMahon as a result of the investigation.

McMahon has also come under fire for constantly placing himself into sexual angles with many WWE Divas, including Sable, Trish Stratus, Stacy Keibler, Dawn Marie, Candice Michelle, Torrie Wilson, Melina Perez and Jackie Gayda.

McMahon's World Wrestling Entertainment as a whole has been the center of controversy in the past, especially in the "Attitude Era" of what was the World Wrestling Federation - including D-Generation X for their sexual references, and Stone Cold Steve Austin for his trademark drinking of beer and flipping the middle finger.

On the McMahon DVD, Stephanie comments that she had to nix a potential incest angle. According to her, Vince was to reveal himself as the father of her baby; when she said no, he pushed for Shane to be the father, but she turned that idea down as well. She also nixed Vince's idea that her wedding to Triple H be aired live on PPV and said that the only reason Vince ever hired Eric Bischoff was to be able to say that his longtime nemesis once worked for him.

In October 1999, McMahon achieved the ultimate in personal success when he led the WWF in an Initial public offering of company stock. Nevertheless, McMahon continued his quest for total dominance over the sports entertainment industry; and on March 23, 2001, he purchased the fading WCW for a mere $5 million. Three days later, his “victory speech” was simulcast on both WWF RAW and WCW Nitro. After a crusade lasting two decades, Vince McMahon Jr. had finally emerged as the undisputed emperor of professional wrestling in the United States after having vanquished his lone remaining rival.

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, fared worse than the WBF and quickly folded. Also in 2001, McMahon acquired Extreme Championship Wrestling in bankruptcy court, leaving McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation as the only major wrestling promotion left in North America.

In 2001, Vince McMahon was interviewed by Playboy and performed an interview with his son Shane McMahon 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. In the months after its publication, it could be seen in McMahon's office during backstage segments. A large version of the cover was used as a weapon during McMahon's match with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania 22 and was defaced by D-Generation X upon their reunification during an episode of RAW.

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.

Vince wanted to be a wrestler when he was young but his father wouldn't let him (he was told that promoters do not appear on the show and should stay apart from his wrestlers).

Vince 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. They were introduced by Vince's mother, Vicky Askew. They have two children, Shane and Stephanie, who both work for WWE. Vince McMahon admitted in an interview with Playboy that he had cheated on his wife.

He has a $12 million penthouse in New York City; a $40 million mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut; and a $20 million vacation home in Boca Raton, Florida. However, in 2007 it was reported that WWE cannot back up its claim that McMahon is a billionaire.

Vince has three grandchildren: Declan James and Kenyon Jesse McMahon, sons of Shane and his wife Marissa; and Aurora Rose Levesque, daughter to Stephanie and her husband Paul "Triple H" Levesque.

In 1989, McMahon tested the movie producing waters by co-producing the Hulk Hogan vehicle No Holds Barred. In 1990, McMahon again ventured outside of wrestling by founding a bodybuilding company called the World Bodybuilding Federation (WBF). However, around 1992, things began to change. The WBF went out of business as alleged steroid abuse among both McMahon's wrestlers and bodybuilders came under scrutiny. In 1993, he was indicted after a steroid controversy engulfed the promotion. McMahon was put on trial in 1994, accused of distributing steroids to his wrestlers. As a legal move, his wife Linda was made 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, and his testimony in the trial severely damaged the two's friendship, even though Hogan's testimony defended McMahon. After Hogan's testimony, McMahon went before the media declaring that he wished that Hogan had not lied about him on the witness stand.

Although he personally escaped jail time, the WWF’s public image took a hit as pro wrestling began a slow descent from its pop-culture perch. Things were slowly turning in favor of McMahon's chief competition, Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling, especially after the rival outlet signed Hulk Hogan following his split with the WWF after the steroid trial.

*Finishing and signature moves While McMahon usually relies on outside interference to win matches, he has borrowed a number of finishers: **Sitdown three-quarter facelock jawbreaker - copied from Stone Cold Steve Austin **Feint leg drop into a high impact elbow drop - copied from The Rock **Running leg drop - copied from Hulk Hogan **Double underhook facebuster - copied from Triple H

*Theme music **No Chance in Hell (Found on WWF The Music, Vol. 4 and WWE Anthology)

*Pro Wrestling Illustrated **PWI Feud of the Year award in 1996 - vs. Eric Bischoff **PWI Feud of the Year award in 1998 - vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin **PWI Feud of the Year award in 1999 - vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin **PWI Feud of the Year award in 2001 - vs. Shane McMahon **PWI Feud of the Year award in 2002 - vs. Ric Flair **PWI Feud of the Year award in 2003 - vs. Hulk Hogan **PWI Match of the Year award in 2006 – vs. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 22, April 2 2006)

* World Wrestling Entertainment **ECW World Championship (1 time) **WWF Championship (1 time) **Royal Rumble (1999)

*Wrestling Observer Newsletter **Best Booker award in 1987 **Best Promoter award in 1988 **Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996) **Best Booker award in 1998 **Best Promoter award in 1998 **Feud of the Year award in 1998 - vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin **Best Booker award in 1999 **1999 Best Non-Wrestler **Best Promoter award in 1999 **Feud of the Year award in 1999 - vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin **Best Non-Wrestler award in 2000 **Best Promoter award in 2000

*Other accomplishments and honors **Madison Square Garden Walk of Fame **Sport's Illustrated 'Sportsman of the Year' 2006 Nominee **Created WrestleMania **The cover of "Muscle & Fitness" (2006) **On May 13, 2007, Vince McMahon served as the commencement speaker at Sacred Heart University, receiving the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. **Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2008 for Achievements in Television

*McMahon DVD

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*WWE.com (Official WWE Website) *WWE Corporate Bio *WWE Profile