Vince McMahon - Biography & Images

Vincent Kennedy McMahon – born August 24, 1945 – was a professional wrestling executive.

He was the executive chairman of WWE, the world’s largest professional wrestling company, having previously served as its chairman, CEO and controlling shareholder for 40 years.

He was also the founder and owner of Alpha Entertainment, which he established in 2017 to oversee the 2020 revival of the XFL American 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 (then called the World Wide Wrestling Federation or WWWF) 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 one of the world’s most successful professional wrestling events.

WWE then faced industry competition from World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the 1990s before purchasing and absorbing WCW in 2001. WWE also purchased the assets of the defunct Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in 2003.

McMahon has completed a number of WWE-related ventures. In 2014, he launched the WWE Network, a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. He also owns other WWE multimedia subsidiaries and a professional wrestling training facility.

Outside of wrestling, he joint-owned and operated the XFL American football league twice; both the 2001 and 2020 iterations folded after a single season. He also headed the short-lived World Bodybuilding Federation (WBF) and co-owns the clothing brand Tapout.

McMahon has appeared on-screen for WWE since 1969, 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 Mr. McMahon gimmick, which is considered by some to be WWE’s greatest villainous character, 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 alleged 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, he announced his retirement from WWE, but his return to WWE as executive chairman was confirmed in January 2023.

That April, a merger was announced between WWE and Endeavor Group Holdings, owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) mixed martial arts promotion; McMahon served as the executive chairman of the new merged company until early 2024.

Images of Vince McMahon