“You crushed these people?”: Vince McMahon’s Father Didn’t Want Him To Have WWE Before Buying It In 1982
WWE has provided some of the biggest entertainers of our time the perfect platform to rise and establish themselves at the summit of pop culture.
From John Cena and Dave Bautista to Dwayne Johnson and Hulk Hogan, the largest wrestling promotion in the world has given us several household names and subsequent countless memories courtesy of their antics in the ring and even outside of it.
Some still continue to dominate the fighting ring, while some have moved to Hollywood – Johnson in particular – to make their mark in front of the cameras in different ways. However, one man has remained with the organization and led it superbly in different roles for more than 40 years.
How Vince McMahon Bought WWE From His Father in 1982
Vince McMahon is the executive chairman of WWE and has amassed a net worth in the region of $3 billion by completely transforming the wrestling entertainment scene in the last half a century.
But McMahon isn’t your typical executive in the suit, he is an ultimate entertainer. From receiving a Stone Cold Stunner from Steve Austin to crossing the Undertaker and getting his leg broken as a result, McMahon has done it all to ensure his entertainment empire continues to attract millions of eyeballs.
However, getting at the helm and bossing WWE wasn’t easy for McMahon despite the prominent position of his father in the field. Speaking with Howard Stern onThe Howard Stern Show, the 78-year-old discussed how he got the ownership of the organization.
The conversation started with Stern pointing out how he thought McMahon was an announcer, stating: “I remember even when I used to watch you in Wrestling started you know to take off again and had its resurgence because of you. I would say I never thought of you as I thought you were the announcer. I didn’t even know you were the owner of the of the WWE. I just thought you were the announcer. You were always the owner, were you?”
McMahon clarified that it was his dad who actually owned 50 percent of the World Wide Wrestling Federation (now known as WWE).
Instead, he founded Titan Sports with his wife, Linda, in 1979, and by 1982 he bought the wrestling giant from Vince Sr and other partners. He was in his early 40s at the time.
What Vince McMahon Did Different From His Father After WWE Takeover
After the 1982 takeover, McMahon started making efforts to take WWE national and change how it was perceived by mainstream entertainment viewers. In contrast, his dad was much more focused on territorial growth.
McMahon elaborated: “I mean you know back in the day. My dad’s territory was the Northeastern territory and he was very successful actually and my premise was that my dad sort of started in a more entertainment genre you know would be successful all over the globe so and no one ever competed with anyone else and you never crossed into the other guy’s territory type thing.”
“That’s why they call you marketing genius,” Stern pointed out.
Gary Dell’Abate intervened and noted: “I was looking through the notes. I guess it said that Vince has said that if his dad ever knew that he was going to take WWWF National he probably wouldn’t have given it to him.”
McMahon explained the reason behind the claim was his dad had a lot of friends “these other territory owners.” Co-host Robin Quivers quickly interrupted, adding: “So in other words you crushed these people.”
The genius wrestling promoter turned business mogul corrected her by saying he “competed” with them. And to his credit, he competed like no other WWE wrestler has ever done in the ring itself, and took his company to a whole new level of success and dominance, which isn’t just limited to fighting in the rings but has also branched out in fields like gaming and films.
Source: The Howard Stern Show
