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Vincent Kennedy McMahon (born August 24 1945) is an American wrestling promoter, occasional professional wrestler, on-screen personality, and former play-by-play announcer. He is the chairman of the board, co-founder and majority shareholder of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE).
Early life Vincent Kennedy McMahon Jr. was born in Pinehurst, North Carolina. He attended Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Virginia, where he became the first cadet in the school's history to be court-martialed. He was not convicted, however. He graduated from East Carolina University in 1968 with a degree in Business Administration/Marketing. He had married Linda Edwards (also an ECU graduate) in his junior year in 1966. His son Shane McMahon was born in 1970. Vince was raised as Vinnie Lupton. His mother Victoria 'Vicki' Lupton remarried after her first marriage to famed wrestling promoter Vincent James McMahon failed during World War II. Vince also has a slightly older half-brother Rodney McMahon, who is understood to work in the steel industry in Texas. He is never named on WWE programming as Vince is "highly respectful of his privacy." Vince didn't meet his biological father Vincent J. McMahon until he was twelve. Living in a trailer park in Havelock, North Carolina, he had only known a string of abusive stepfathers until his mother revealed that his father was Vincent J. McMahon. McMahon's company the WWWF (World Wide Wrestling Federation) and its parent company the Capitol Wrestling Corporation had dominated pro wrestling in the northeastern United States during the mid-twentieth century when the wrestling industry was divided into strictly regional enterprises. Father and son quickly bonded. The elder McMahon was willing to give his son, then a struggling traveling salesman, a shot in Bangor, Maine. In 1971, he promoted his first wrestling card there. In 1972, in addition to promoting, McMahon provided play-by-play TV commentary for the WWWF, but promotion was his real interest. World Wide Wrestling Federation (1976-present) Throughout the 1970s, McMahon became a prominent force in his father's company, and pushing 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 was born. World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (1976-present) In 1979, the WWWF became the WWF, and Vincent K. purchased the Cape Cod Coliseum, which held both hockey and wrestling events. In 1980, he incorporated Titan Sports, Inc., which would purchase the Capitol Wrestling Corporation from his father in 1982. Against his father's expressed wishes, McMahon began a national expansion process that would fundamentally change business. By 1983, Vince had full control and ownership of the WWF and its future direction, having bought out all of his father's former partners, including the legendary Gorilla Monsoon. As part of the deal, Vince promised Monsoon lifetime employment, and Monsoon did in fact remain affiliated with the WWF until his death. Vince's father died in 1984, leaving his son behind to carry on his pro wrestling legacy. The first thing that he did as full owner of the WWF was to break away from the National Wrestling Alliance, as his vision of a new, national wrestling promotion was incompatible with their old-school promoting philosophy. After Rocky III, Hulk Hogan began to expand on his new-found celebrity and returned to Vince McMahon's all-new WWF. Hogan won the WWF Championship on January 23, 1984—just weeks after his return—and McMahon helped engineer Hogan's immersion into the mainstream entertainment media, in which Hogan was portrayed as the ultimate all-American good guy. McMahon did not stop there, however, inviting rock and pop stars such as Alice Cooper and Cyndi Lauper to participate in WWF storylines in what would come to be called the "Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection". The popularity of the WWF increased exponentially as MTV often featured wrestling in its programming to follow the exploits of music stars and other celebrities in the wrestling world. McMahon called the incorporation of pro wrestling among other types of entertainment such as music and movies Sports Entertainment. With Hulk Hogan as the performer and McMahon as the promoter, the two worked to take the pro wrestling business to places that no one ever deemed imaginable. Around the same time, McMahon publicly admitted the secret behind kayfabe in pro wrestling: that its outcomes were predetermined, moves planned and rehearsed, and that wrestlers played character roles much like Hollywood actors do. While general knowledge to most wrestling fans, this admission broke the final taboo of the old ways of wrestling and earned McMahon much ire among old-school fans, wrestlers, and promoters, who were already incensed at McMahon for his invasion into long-held NWA territories. Then-NWA Champion Harley Race was very vocal of his frustrations toward McMahon and the WWF; when promoting a show in his hometown of Kansas City, Race supposedly attempted to burn down a WWF ring. Interestingly, Race jumped ship to the WWF just two years later and became "King" Harley Race. The culmination of the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection was the first-ever WrestleMania event at Madison Square Garden in New York City. McMahon promoted the event across the country on closed-circuit TV (Pay-per-view technology was not yet sufficiently developed.), pouring all of his and his company's resources into what was widely seen in the business as a long shot. The investment paid off, and the inaugural WrestleMania was a resounding financial success. The show became an annual event, held every March or April. McMahon followed the success of the event by launching a series of other yearly pay-per-view events including Survivor Series, held roughly every Thanksgiving, SummerSlam in 1988 and the Royal Rumble in 1989. McMahon ventured outside of wrestling by founding a bodybuilding company called the World Bodybuilding Federation (WBF). At roughly the same time, some die-hard NWA territories run by Jim Crockett, Jr., badly bruised by McMahon's tactics of attempting to undermine Crockett's shows by threatening PPV carriers of withholding his WrestleMania if they showed Crockett's shows and placing his shows directly opposite of Crockett's (a tactic that Ted Turner and Eric Bischoff would later employ on McMahon), as well as WWF's garish comic book heroes, sold up to Ted Turner, thus creating World Championship Wrestling (WCW). WCW never really troubled the WWF at this juncture when it came to TV ratings or attendances. 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. By 1994, things were slowly turning in WCW's favor, especially when they signed Hulk Hogan. 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 but later admitted to taking steroids himself in the '80s. 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 would go before the media declaring that he wished that Hogan had not lied about him on the witness stand. McMahon's rationale for stating such a comment was later revealed to be his attempt at vilifying Hogan before he entered WCW. Despite not being convicted, McMahon and the WWF took a major public relations hit. The WWF's popularity sharply declined from that point, mainly in part to even more poor ideas and matches being served up in Vince's enforced absence. Mr. McMahon is the on-screen character Vince McMahon, with the gimmick of an often egotistical heel boss. The crowd responds to this persona with chants such as "A The character has several other gimmicks that have become integral parts of McMahon's on-camera persona. In Eric Bischoff's Book "Controversy Creates Cash", Bischoff swears that there would be no Mr. McMahon if it wasn't for Bischoff and the WCW. When Vince walks down to the ring, he usually performs a certain strut in which is called by WWE Commentator Jim Ross as The Power Walk. This is practically an overexaggerated strut that Vince performs while walking down the ring while swinging his arms and bobbing his head from side to side in a cocky arrogant way as he struts. (usually when he is a heel)- and this is usually aided with comments by Jim Ross such as "There's only one man I know that walks like that", or "That Power Walk is not good for somebody" or also "Vince McMahon could be wearing a mask and you'd know who it was by that walk, that strut". The Power Walk is used to get a reaction out of the crowd (especially when he's a heel) but it also provides comic relief for fans 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. Firings In numerous wrestling storylines, Mr. McMahon uses his ability to terminate whomever he feels from either a position or the company. When firing an employee in character, McMahon's mannerism is usually getting in the persons face and shouting, "you're fired!" This is a list of those whom he has fired on-screen. Controversy On February 1 2006, McMahon was accused of sexual harassment by a worker at a Boca Raton tanning bar (*). The worker said that he "groped her and harassed her". The charge was thought to have been discredited as McMahon was at the post-Royal Rumble company meeting in Miami during the alleged event. However, Dave Meltzer reported that confusion about the alleged day occurred due to a Florida newspaper reporting that the accuser had stated that the incident took place on Sunday when it in fact is reported to have taken place Saturday. Meltzer reported that "The confusion is because the alleged victim told police the story on Sunday, but apparently not that it happened on Sunday." The Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that police reports say that the reported incident took place Saturday (*). On March 27, a Television station in Florida reported that no charges would be filed against Vince McMahon as a result of the investigation into allegations that he groped a tanning salon attendant. McMahon has also come under fire for constantly placing himself into sexual angles with many WWE Divas, including Sable/Rena Mero and Trish Stratus. 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. The sexual references and the ever popular and also controversial group of D-Generation X has been the center of this as well as Stone Cold Steve Austin for his trademark drinking of beer (sometimes the beer was labeled as "Steveweiser") and gesturing his middle finger quite often. (Though the latter was initially not liked by McMahon himself, according to Austin on the A&E Biography featuring Austin.) The ''McMahon'' DVD features commentary from Stephanie where she says that she had to nix a potential incest angle. According to her, Vince was to reveal himself as the father of her baby and when she said no, he pushed for Shane to be the father. Stephanie turned that idea down also. She also said no to Vince's idea that her wedding to Triple H be aired live on PPV and that the only reason Vince ever hired Eric Bischoff was just to be able to say that his longtime nemesis once worked for him. Other media In 2001, Vince McMahon was interviewed by Playboy for the second issue of Playboy Magazine in the year. In March 2006 (at age sixty) McMahon was featured on the cover of Muscle & Fitness magazine, displaying a well-chiseled physique. 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. McMahon DVD
Personal life Vince married Linda McMahon on August 6 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: Stephanie and Shane, both of whom work for WWE. He has a $12 million penthouse in New York City, a $40 million mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut, a $20 million vacation home in Boca Raton, Florida, and owns the $30 million WWE Learjet that is sometimes seen on television. 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 form his wrestlers). Vince has two grandsons: Shane and wife Marissa's sons, Declan James McMahon & Kennedy Jesse McMahon. He also has one granddaughter Aurora Rose Levesque, daughter to Stephanie and "Triple H" Championships and accomplishments
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