History Wrestling / VinceMcMahon

Near the end of January 2024, [[https://www.wsj.com/business/vince-mcmahon-accused-of-sex-trafficking-by-wwe-staffer-he-paid-to-keep-quiet-0b19b21c?mod=hp_lead_pos2 horrific accusations of sex trafficking and rape]] were leveled against [=McMahon=] by ex-employee Janel Grant, complete with a mountain of evidence against him. [[https://deadline.com/2024/01/vince-mcmahon-resigns-rape-lawsuit-tko-group-holding-sex-trafficking-1235805961/ Vince would resign]] ''again'' the following evening literally while the final ''Smackdown'' before the 2024 ''Royal Rumble'' was in the middle of its broadcast.

[=McMahon=] stepped down from his position as CEO of WWE in June 2022 pending an internal investigation into a sexual misconduct allegation, with his daughter [[Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon Stephanie]] taking over in what was meant to be only for the interim, before stating that he was retiring outright from the industry in July 2022. [[TenMinuteRetirement He changed his mind by January 2023]] and forced his way back into his executive chairman role in the WWE's Board of Directors ahead of upcoming media rights negotiations in 2024 and a potential sale of the company, claiming based on his position as majority shareholder that no media rights deals or company sales can be completed without his approval. However, by September 2023, when the WWE finalized its merge with Endeavor (the parent company to the [[UsefulNotes/UltimateFightingChampionship UFC]]), [[KickedUpstairs he was reduced to a minority ownership position]] (marking [[EndOfAnAge the first time the WWE/F was primarily run by someone other than a McMahon]]) and was barred from any creative control[[note]](a decision personally made by Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, who was fully aware of [=McMahon=] and his various scandals and controversies, determining him to be too much of a business risk)[[/note]], with all creative direction henceforth instead being headed by his son-in-law, Wrestling/TripleH.

[=McMahon=] stepped down from his position as CEO of WWE in June 2022 pending an internal investigation into a sexual misconduct allegation, with his daughter [[Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon Stephanie]] taking over in what was meant to be only for the interim, before stating that he was retiring outright from the industry in July 2022. [[TenMinuteRetirement He changed his mind by January 2023]] and forced his way back into his executive chairman role in the WWE's Board of Directors ahead of upcoming media rights negotiations in 2024 and a potential sale of the company, claiming based on his position as majority shareholder that no media rights deals or company sales can be completed without his approval. However, by September 2023, when the WWE finalized its merge with Endeavor (the parent company to the [[UsefulNotes/UltimateFightingChampionship UFC]]), [[KickedUpstairs he was reduced to a minority ownership position]] (marking [[EndOfAnAge the first time the WWE/F was primarily run by someone other than a McMahon]]) and was barred from any creative control[[note]](a decision personally made by Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, who was fully aware of [=McMahon=] and his various scandals and controversies, determining him of being too much of a business risk)[[/note]], with all creative direction henceforth instead being headed by his son-in-law, Wrestling/TripleH.

* AuthorAvatar:
(( Vince's on-screen persona is just an exaggerated version of himself.

(( Most of Vince's fights with his wrestlers (especially his ''[=WrestleMania=]'' matches) are this since Vince isn't a wrestler and much of his in-ring talent involves being willing to take a brutal ass-kicking.

* EasilyForgiven: Vince has had nasty real-life feuds with a lot of wrestlers and other promoters. It'd be in character for Vince to permanently run them out of the business, but he's brought many of them back into his fold if they were capable of drawing.
* EnemyMine: Wrestling/TripleH was such a gigantic {{jerkass}} in the Attitude Era that at one point ''Steve Austin'' willingly aided him in a match against Hunter and helped Vince win the then-WWF title.

** Out of character, after the famous Hell in a Cell match between [[Wrestling/MickFoley Mankind]] and Wrestling/TheUndertaker, Vince went to see Mick Foley (who had taken some of the most dangerous bumps in ''wrestling history'' during the match and carried on) backstage and said ''"Mick, you have no idea how much I appreciate what you just did, but I never want to see that again."'' He proceeded to pay for ''all'' medical expenses Foley would need to recover, and Foley did.

* EvilOverlord: Of WWE, until his son-in law Triple H took the reins.
* EvilPlan: Vince pulled quite a few of these, especially in his early days as the evil boss character. Examples include the Survivor Series 1998 screwjob(which was a Kayfabe remake of the Montreal Screwjob a year earlier, only replacing Bret Hart and Wrestling/ShawnMichaels with Mankind and [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]], and the whole Ministry of Darkness / Corporate Ministry / Higher Power plot.

* EvilSoundsDeep: Vince’s deep, gravelly voice is instantly recognisable and the subject of countless impressions and parodies.

* {{Flanderization}}: Vince's character has degenerated more and more into self-parody in recent years, becoming more cartoonishly evil as time went on, as he seemingly grows increasingly desperate to feud with ''someone'' but can't seem to decide on who. By the time his feud with DX happened in 2006, Vince came across less like a serious threat and more like a [[Film/AnimalHouse Dean Wormer]][=/=][[Franchise/{{GIJOE}} Cobra Commander]] hybrid. Of course, this may be one of the few examples of a writer [=flanderizing=] ''his own character.''

* FreudianExcuse:
** Averted. The aforementioned abusive childhood of Vince is never brought up in storylines when he's a heel. Also inverted as he's this to his family and numerous others. More than a few spots hint to Vince's in-universe life being thoroughly unpleasant however.
** A few of his more subtle Heel feuds are in fact started because his employees, even supposed Faces, are genuinely complacent, disrespectful or downright volatile towards him, sometimes at ''very'' inopportune times. Just his replies of extreme DisproportionateRetribution can easily make them the lesser of two evils. These are of course also overshadowed by cases Vince ''thinks'' he's a mistreated employer but is just insanely petty.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: During the submission match between "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Bret Hart at ''[=WrestleMania=] 13'', Wrestling/JerryLawler mentioned the possibility of [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Bret submitting to his own move, the Sharpshooter]], in which Vince replied "Hey, it can happen!!" [[Wrestling/MontrealScrewjob Guess what move was used against Bret at ]]''[[Wrestling/MontrealScrewjob Survivor Series]]''[[Wrestling/MontrealScrewjob [= =]later that year when Vince called for the bell.]] In fact, the whole storyline leading up to ''[=WM13=]'' can be considered this, from Bret accusing Vince of screwing him to even shoving him down after losing a match, and that Bret's paranoid complaining about getting "screwed" simply fell under TemptingFate.

* GodIsEvil: A non-God example. Since Vince is the owner of the company WWE he's pretty much responsible for WWE and everything involved in it (especially in RealLife in which he has the final say in everything that happens, including what happens InUniverse), and since he's the onscreen EvilOverlord, he's the closest to this trope that anyone is going to get in pro wrestling. Vince has [[AGodAmI lampshaded this]] frequently.
* GoneHorriblyRight: A RealLife example at the end of ''Survivor Series 2015''. He had Sheamus cash in his Money In The Bank out of fear of Reigns getting too much heat for being the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. As far as Reigns was concerned, it worked: the fans finally began getting behind him out of sympathy. But as far as both Sheamus and Vince himself were concerned, the fans suddenly found new targets for their displeasure, quickly culminating in some of the absolute worst ratings in the company's history.
* GutturalGrowler: And it's only gotten harsher and raspier over the years (probably from all [[LargeHam the yelling]].)
* HellHasNewManagement: At one point Ross claimed that when Vince goes to Hell, he would quickly take it over, implying that Vince was even WORSE than Satan.
* {{Heel}}: Vince [=McMahon=] is probably the quintessential heel manager.
* HighSchoolSweethearts: With Linda; they met in their teens, married as soon as Linda graduated from high school, and have been together ever since.
* HijackedByGanon: He turned out to be the 'Higher Power' that the Ministry of Darkness answered to, revealing that the entire Ministry of Darkness gimmick was all a scheme against Steve Austin at the expense of [=McMahon=]'s own family. It later became the Corporate Ministry.

** {{Averted|Trope}} with the [=nwo=] storyline in 2002, by Vince himself, who revealed he was the mastermind behind bringing in the nWo to help him kill WWE in the same segment everyone learned they would be returning.
** Then the fans cheered for Hogan against the Rock at ''[=WrestleMania=] X-8'', and the whole NWO as poison idea pretty much fell apart.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard[=/=]EpicFail:

** Because of his status as the world's most famous and recognizable wrestling promoter (despite his loathing of the term, see InsistentTerminology below), the media sometimes tries to link any wrestler deaths back to him.

* ILied: "Hey Wrestling/ZackRyder, RAW's in Long Island tonight, and you've got a big night ahead! You're gonna be the star of the show out there tonight--[[DudeNotFunny PSYCHE! It's actually your Superstars script, buddy.]]"
* IdiotSavant: As colorful as the Mr. [=McMahon=] character is, his eccentricity pales in comparison to the reality. Quoth Mike Steele:
-->'''Steele:''' With several complexities and pet peeves that just aren't normal, he's a very strange man indeed. This is one of the reasons why I do believe he is a creative genius to some extent. Most geniuses are plagued with compulsions and tendencies that drive them mad.

* InsistentTerminology:
** "Sports Entertainment", not "ProfessionalWrestling", and he apparently gets very upset if you mention the "W" word in his presence.

** On Steve Austin's podcast he referred to 'rasslin' as something his father was involved in and declared that it's been dead for decades.
** '''THEY'RE NOT WOMEN'S CHAMPS DAMMIT, THEY'RE''' '''''DIVAS!''''' '''THEY LOOK SEXY AND HAVE 5 MINUTE PEE BREAK MATCHES!'''
** There's also "Superstars" instead of "wrestlers", which nearly caused Wrestling/JoeyStyles to burst a capillary with rage.
** And instead of fans, it's the "WWE Universe".
** When Ted Turner called Vince announcing his purchase of what became WCW, Turner said "Hey Vince, I'm in the rasslin' business!" In response, Vince said, "That's great Ted; I'm in the ''entertainment'' business."

* IronicEcho: "Nobody's bigger than [[Wrestling/{{WWE}} this business]]." First said by Vince to John Cena, then said by Triple H to Vince as the latter was removed from a position of power in the company.
* ItRunsInTheFamily[=/=]WrestlingFamily: The whole [=McMahon=] family, including the in-laws. Vince is a third-generation promoter. His kids are fourth-generation promoters, and have shown themselves to be as reckless and borderline crazy as he is.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Again, noted in Mick Foley's autobiography. At one point during the Attitude Era, 80s-era wrestler Tony Atlas was brought onto the roster for a short time at a point when he was having financial difficulties. Mick recalls that he had wondered aloud why he wanted to bring in Atlas, since he had never been a true main eventer even at his peak and that most casual fans didn't recall him. Someone later told him, "Sometimes, Vince does things just to be nice." One of his old wrestlers was having problems, so he gave him a helping hand.
** A better (dare we say defining?) example would come in the wake of Wrestling/EddieGuerrero's death from complications involving a prior drug addiction. As noted, Eddie had completely recovered from drugs at the time and had openly thanked the company for sending him to treatment and for saving his life, so his sudden death due to complications years after the fact hit everyone especially hard. Since Eddie was his family's sole provider, leaving behind a wife and children, Vince gave his widow Vickie a job as a backstage performer, guaranteed pretty much for life for as long as she needed it. Years later, she is one of the best heel manager types in the business and has stated that her late husband would have loved the fact that she was now involved in the business that he gave so much for.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4NFIBaHnl4 Following 9/11]], he gave out a speech on how he was upset with what happened, and he gave his own [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech You Suck]] speech to the terrorists who attacked New York, basically seeing that America WILL NOT BACK DOWN.
* JokerImmunity: Vince falling prey to ''Raw''[='s=] notoriously explosive set.
** ''[[http://www.wrestlecrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/munnay26b.jpg "Mr McMahon Presumed Dead at the Scene After Being Blown Up Inside His Limo, news at 11:00"]]''
** '''[[http://www.wrestlecrap.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/burlap03.gif I CAN'T FEEL MY LEGS, PAUL]]'''
** Justified as Vince is the owner of WWE in both RealLife and Kayfabe, and has said he would run the company until the day he dies. Given the nature of the business and how even the biggest names can be released or quit the company, Vince is pretty much the only person in WWE who officially has this.
* KavorkaMan: The Vince character is basically this, thanks to the aphrodisiac powers of having a WriterOnBoard. An illegitimate son angle had Vince confessing to losing his virginity at such a young age that everyone else in the room was creeped out.
* {{Kayfabe}}: His blood would test positive for it if such a thing was possible.
* KnightOfCerebus:
** When he shows up, it's usually for something important. Especially if he's at his most evil as a heel.
** Most people have accepted that Stone Cold was the greatest character in wrestling. In hindsight, Vince is the 2nd greatest character in wrestling. (Hard for a product to not drop when you lose the #1 ''and'' #2 greatest characters of all time.) Vince coming out with a mic was something to look forward to during Attitude. The crazy thing is that Vince is so great at manipulating a crowd directly, but [[TheCobblersChildrenHaveNoShoes has no idea how to do it]] through anyone else.

* MadArtist: If ProfessionalWrestling can be considered a form of art.
** Well, Wrestling/MikeQuackenbush considers it one, and Wrestling/ColtCabana's {{Podcast}} is titled ''The Art of Wrestling.''
* TheManBehindTheMan: Vince was the "Higher Power" masterminding the Ministry of Darkness / Corporate Ministry.
* MathematiciansAnswer: One of his favorite ways to justify any of his actions is to say, "Because I'm Vince [=McMahon=], damn it!"
* MeanBoss: Many fans of WCW and Wrestling/{{ECW}} see him as this due to their treatment of the [=InVasion=] angle (dedicating [[BestServedCold a year and half]] and [[MoneyToThrowAway millions of dollars]] to humiliating his "major acquisitions", all for his personal jollies), his disfavoring of smaller wrestlers, rampant {{nepotism}}, and various other reasons.
** A sentiment by no means limited to fans of those two departed promotions.
* MedalOfDishonor: On the April 17, 2006 ''Series/CountdownWithKeithOlbermann'', Keith named Vince Second-Runner-Up for Worst Person In The World for announcing the Vince/Shane-Shawn Michaels/"God" match for ''Wrestling/{{Backlash}} 2006.''[[note]]Due to the BanOnPolitics, the "winner" for WPITW that night will not be discussed here.[[/note]]
-->"The bronze: Vince [=McMahon=] of World Wrestling Entertainment. The man who somehow actually worsened the reputation of pro wrestling has done it again, claiming that a week from Sunday his organization will televise a tag team match with [=McMahon=] and his son Shane against Shawn Michaels and...God. Yes, the Almighty. How to save time by blaspheming in all the religions at once."
* MilkingTheGiantCow: We can all agree that VKM nWo is best nWo. "'''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5SgALuf4FI#t=450s A LETHAL DOSE OF POISON!]]'''
* MrAltDisney: [=McMahon=] has always wanted to be seen as the "Creator/WaltDisney" of wrestling and after returning from a brief, involuntary, retirement sports a thin moustache and slicked back, dyed black hair very much in the mould of Uncle Walt.

* NeatFreak: Jim Ross confirmed that Vince has the eating habits of a Vulcan; for instance, he will not eat with his hands, resorting to a fork and knife even for a sandwich.

** A couple notable Aversions; his match with Ric Flair over control of the WWE in the early 2000s had him dominate the Nature Boy. He also got the better of CM Punk in their 2012 brawl.

* OmnicidalManiac: Vince at one point attempted to "kill" WWE in 2002 with help from the [=New World Order=]. In the end Vince wound up killing the nWo instead.

* ParodyReligion: "[=McMahonism=]".

* PopCulturalOsmosisFailure:
** Likely because of his [[{{Workaholic}} full-time job as chairman]], [=McMahon=] is known to be woefully out of touch with popular culture. Music/{{Metallica}} wanted to perform ''St. Anger'', the theme for the 2003 ''Wrestling/{{SummerSlam}}'' event, live at the PPV but Vince shot down the idea, not knowing how big the band was. He also sacked the gimmick of Pirate Paul Burchill, as he didn't get the [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Jack Sparrow homage]] (the gimmick was dropped less than a month before the first sequel came out, and the gimmick was supposed to ride its coattails). And he thought [[Wrestling/ScottHall Razor Ramon (Scott Hall)]]'s catchphrases such as "[[Film/{{Scarface 1983}} Make way for the bad guy!]]" was of Hall's own accord. Wrestling/StevieRichards and Wrestling/TheBlueMeanie's Wrestling/{{Sable}} parody ''The Blonde Bytch Project'' was cancelled partially out of concern for her lawsuit and reportedly because Vince didn't know about the movie ''Film/TheBlairWitchProject'' and didn't trust that people might get the joke.
** The famous "Burrito Story" told by a former member of WWE Creative. Someone pitched an idea for Wrestling/BigShow to eat a spiked burrito and fall asleep, tranquilized; in response, [=McMahon=] boomed, "Burrito?! Who the hell knows what a burrito is?" Actually, Vince was quite familiar with what a burrito looks like given that he was unknowingly dining on them in the writer's room.
--->'''Dan Madigan:''' Every day, he was eating a burrito and not knowing what it was... when you're in a bubble and in a business where you're ostracized from society, it's you and them, that's it. Everyone else is an outsider, so things like that do make sense in the confines of the wrestling world.

* PunctuatedForEmphasis: VINCENT! KENNEDY! [=MCMAHON=]!
* RageQuit: As mentioned under ComplexityAddiction, Vince generally favours warring and toying with wrestlers that cross him to MakeAnExampleOutOfThem. If the feud proves particularly fruitless or enduring however, he may resort to just cutting the formalities and firing them anyway should it remain his only means of "winning". Vince attempted a CruelMercy punishment for Hulk Hogan at first in their 2003 feud for example, paying his salary but banishing him from wrestling ever again. When Hogan loopholed around this with his "Mr America" alias, Vince was incensed and worn down enough to just [[NoNonsenseNemesis fire Hogan and be done with it the moment his identity was exposed]].
* RealityIsUnrealistic: The storyline where Triple H replaced him due to the Board voting no-confidence against him seems extremely jarring at first glance, given that he's the majority-owner (which gives him the final vote in almost everything). However, in RealLife, if the Board and/or the other owners find sufficient cause (such as mismanagement that endangers the entire company), then they can file for a judge to legally block Vince's actual voting power.

* ReligionOfEvil: "[=McMahonism=]". Vince was also the "Greater Power" of the Ministry.
* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: An unusual variant in that Vince loves making stars of wrestlers who aren't necessarily hated by the crowd, but that are other promoters' {{Creators Pest}}s. Whether it was Ole Anderson thinking that Wrestling/HulkHogan, Wrestling/TheUndertaker and Wrestling/MickFoley [[ItWillNeverCatchOn wouldn't draw]], [[PointyHairedBoss Jim Herd]] believing Wrestling/RicFlair was too old to wrestle anymore or Wrestling/KevinNash considering the likes of Wrestling/ChrisBenoit, Wrestling/EddieGuerrero and Wrestling/ChrisJericho "vanilla midgets", Vince gave all these men his title belts and drew massive amounts of money in the process.
* TheReveal: IT'S ME AUSTIN!!!
-->''"[[Wrestling/JimRoss Aw, sonuva bitch!]]"''
* RingOldies:
** "It's not very often that you see a sixty-year-old man with a [[LargeHam HERCULEAN]] physique like mine!"
** Terry Funk called him "the most hardcore man in the business" because he's a multi-millionaire who doesn't need to be hit over the head with chairs week in and week out, but does so anyway to promote a story. TERRY F'N FUNK, the father of all {{Garbage Wrestler}}s.

* TheRival: The Wrestling/MondayNightWars were started and fuelled primarily by his personal rivalry with Ted Turner.

** After losing the ECW Championship at ''One Night Stand 2007'', Mr. [=McMahon=] started to behave more erratically in the following weeks that would lead to his "death" in a limousine explosion. (However, [[RealLifeWritesThePlot this would soon be dropped abruptly due to the real life death of]] Wrestling/ChrisBenoit. Once WWE was ready to pick up the storyline again, Vince explained that it was a ruse to see what people actually thought of him, including his own family.)

* ScatterbrainedSenior: Since Vince's retirement, there are reports that [[https://wrestletalk.com/news/vince-mcmahon-suffering-from-memory-loss/ he's been having memory issues for years, which severely impacted the quality of recent shows.]]
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Basically owns this trope.
* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: 'Cause he's Vince [=McMahon=], dammit!
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: As the story goes, when writer Dan Madigan proposed the idea of Baron Von Bava (an ''unfrozen Nazi soldier'') and suggested having Wrestling/PaulHeyman (whose mother ''survived The Holocaust'') manage him, [[TranquilFury Vince stood up, left the room and didn't return for the rest of the day]]. [[EveryoneHasStandards Madigan was gone very soon after.]]

* ShootTheDog: How he views the Montreal Screwjob, he had to do what he had to do.
* SlobsVsSnobs: Vince has played ''both'' sides of this trope:
** In kayfabe, Vince was the arrogant, sneering Snob to Austin's vulgar, short-tempered Slob during the Austin vs [=McMahon=] feud.
** In real life, Vince was the Slob to some Connecticut OldMoney BlueBlood Snobs. They looked down their noses at him for growing up dirt poor and making his money in wrestling. Needless to say, Vince did not appreciate their attitudes.

* TakeOverTheWorld: Vince's goal was to make WWE the biggest wrestling promotion and to put rival promotions out of business. He succeeded. There are still other wrestling promotions, but none are really a serious threat to WWE.
** Which is especially ironic, considering the InsistentTerminology entry above. In recent press releases, Vince has placed an embargo on the words "wrestling," "wrestler," "fight," and even "athlete." He tried to take over pro wrestling, and is now trying his absolute hardest to convince the world he's anything but a wrestling promoter.
* TemptingFate: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIHSHJZU7Xg On the 9/5/98 edition of Raw,]] Vince called {{Wrestling/Kane}} retarded, and called both Kane and Wrestling/TheUndertaker "a couple of putrid pussies".

* TrademarkFavoriteFood: According to an interview with Daniel Bryan, Vince [=McMahon=] drinks a bottle of ketchup a day. Hopefully, that's hyperbole.
** In WWE Unscripted, Jim Ross claims that [=McMahon=] tops his steak with ketchup and it's a pet peeve of his to have this combination questioned. Apparently, this...[[BizarreTasteInFood unconventional]] culinary(?) choice of his is something Vince shares with [[UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump a certain former business partner of his.]]

* VillainousBreakdown:
** Vince loves this trope. see SanitySlippage.

** His feud with DX had him Trolled relentlessly enough to have an onscreen nervous breakdown.

* TheWonka: Vince's bizarre eccentricities are half of his charm. To summarize from other page entries, he utterly despises sneezing and smoking, carries an electric razor around which he uses multiple times a day to avoid even a hint of stubble, works around the clock while never taking vacations and getting very little sleep, has a fascination with everything from ToiletHumor to VillainousIncest, performs random acts of charity to help employees out, and is a NonIdleRich who takes vicious beatings with everything from wrestling moves to kendo sticks while bleeding all over the place. Much like ByronicHero, if the TropeNamer had never come along this trope could have been ''named'' after Vince.
* {{Workaholic}}: Triple H has described Vince as literally having no life outside of pro wrestling. He only gets two or three hours of sleep every night, never takes vacations, and part of the reason he's put his family on the payroll is because he would never get a chance to see them otherwise.

* AdamWesting: Any interview with him these days. [=McMahon=] has never done anything wrong, and he is a beacon of integrity, the sort of man who always treats people fairly and considerately despite his immense wealth and power. It's quite remarkable that he has never been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
* AlasPoorVillain: Upon being relieved of duty he gets a 'THANK YOU VINCE!' chant from the crowd as the show closed, especially notable as not five minutes earlier the crowd was cheering at the news of him being replaced. Likely because the promo started off like any other in such a situation - someone (HHH in this case) coming out to interrupt a promo. But once the crowd figured out that this was basically Vince's retirement speech from active involvement and the symbolic handing of the reins to HHH, they started changing the chant. You can tell that Vince himself was a little taken aback by the emotion.

** Wrestling/CMPunk earned his candidacy by making Vince '''''apologize''''' to him ''on live television''. Plus, his running off with the title facilitated Vince's eventual removal from his position as COO of the WWE and being replaced by his son-in-law Triple H.
** Ted Turner and Wrestling/{{WCW}}, of course. Vince's current version of events is that Ted Turner was personally handling the day-to-day affairs of WCW, rather than a massive media conglomerate of which WCW was just a small part; it's the linchpin of the whole legend. The Monday Night War was orchestrated entirely by Ted Turner as part of a personal vendetta against [=Vince McMahon=]. WWE can't lower themselves to admit that the only person out to get them was little old Eric Bischoff.
** Before them, Verne Gagne and the Wrestling/AmericanWrestlingAssociation. Vince killed all the territories, but he eviscerated the AWA.

** Another factor, arguably as huge, is Vince's sexism. So long as he calls the shots, it's gonna be size zeroes and bikini models with little regard for the Divas' actual in-ring prowess. For every Wrestling/TrishStratus, there are a hundred Wrestling/{{Kelly Kelly}}s. Also, [[EveryoneLovesBlondes blondes only please]]; he famously had to be shown Asian porn by Jim Ross to understand that anyone could find Wrestling/GailKim attractive and a surefire sign that he's taking control of a women's division is if all the champions are suddenly well-tanned blondes like Wrestling/CharlotteFlair.
** According to CM Punk, Vince was ''appalled'' when he heard women were going to start competing in UsefulNotes/{{UFC}}. Punk warned him it was going to be the next big thing. Sure enough, Creator/RondaRousey found her way on ''[=WrestleMania=]'' a year later -- and into the company, where it's agreed that her debut match stole the show at ''34''.
** With some exceptions, he insists on wrestlers being of a certain height. When WCW folded, it took his entire creative staff pushing him for him to sign Mysterio to a very low minimum guarantee. He wound up become the company's #2 draw, behind John Cena. Even wrestlers he likes and ''wants'' to try to do a solid can be mired in Vince's height-based myopia; an ill-concieved attempt to push [[Wrestling/AmericanAlpha Chad Gable]] coincided with having Gable adopt the gimmick and moniker of "Shorty G" after weeks of being teased and abused by a heel for being short.
** Vince [=McMahon=] would rather sell a [[ToiletHumor fart joke]] than a body slam. WWE seems to float a feces-related angle (sometimes even involving the [=McMahons=]) once a year. It’s WWE’s 'duty.' Tee hee.
* AuthorAvatar: Vince's on-screen persona is just an exaggerated version of himself.
** Wrestling/TedDiBiase, when presented with his Million Dollar Man gimmick, was told that it was the gimmick Vince himself would use if he were to become a wrestler.
* AuthorTract: Ironic for someone named "Kennedy", [=McMahon=] is a Republican and never missed an opportunity to spoof the Democratic Party's sacred cows.
* TheBadGuyWins: For someone who believes he should never be on the winning end of a feud, Vince came out on top of all of his feuds in 2003: Firing Wrestling/HulkHogan as "Mr. America,"[[note]] Though this was out of necessity. Hogan left due to a contract dispute, so they cut the angle off.[[/note]] bullying one-legged Zack Gowan and winning their match at ''The Great American Bash'', masterminding Wrestling/BrockLesnar's FaceHeelTurn and eventual WWE Championship victory over Wrestling/KurtAngle (not to mention removing the aforementioned Gowan from WWE in the process by having Lesnar throw him down a flight of stairs), arranging for Wrestling/EricBischoff to invade [=McMahon=]'s house so Bischoff could force himself on ''[[Characters/WWEMcMahonFamily Vince's wife]]'' while letting him get off scot-free for it, defeating ''[[Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon his own daughter]]'' in an I Quit Match in order to get her removed as Smackdown GM, and burying Wrestling/TheUndertaker alive with the help of Wrestling/{{Kane}}. True to a standard Vince arc, he was left a bloodied wreck despised by everyone around him by the end of it, but maintained all the power plays and victories he had gained unnegated, heavily downplaying the PyrrhicVictory aspect, especially due to portraying Vince at his most sociopathically petty and control obsessed anyway.
* BadassInANiceSuit: As part of his {{Workaholic}} lifestyle (see below), he will hold booking meetings in his home and get all dressed up for them.

* BecomingTheMask: It's very hard to tell where Vince [=McMahon=] the man begins and [[{{Kayfabe}} Mr. [=McMahon=]]] the character ends.

* BigBad: As a Heel. On the occasions that he is a Face, he's the BigGood. Since he's the boss of the entire company both on-screen and in real life, he's one of the few people who can be BOTH the BigGood AND the BigBad in any form of fiction. Though he plays the BigBad a lot more often, and sometimes his face turn is just part of his EvilPlan and he's EvilAllAlong (such as him being the Higher Power to the Ministry of Darkness).
** He also played this role in USWA in 1993 while feuding with Jerry "The King" Lawler.
** [[GreaterScopeVillain Bigger Bad]]: Since he's the owner of the company, he's arguably responsible (directly or indirectly) for everything that has happened in WWE since he took over the company in 1982. It's even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in quite a few "worked shoots".
*** Even WCW originally implied Vince was this to the [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo]] before scrapping the idea when WWE threatened to sue them... only for Vince to imply it even more when he brought in the [=nWo=] to be his [[TheDragon Dragons]] in his goal to kill his own company after he had purchased WCW, even going as far as being the one to kill the group altogether once [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness he had no need for them anymore]]. He also appeared directly on WCW television during the final episode of Nitro, playing the BigBad of both WWE AND WCW.
** He's currently this in the latest storyline, as he's only made one appearance since the L.A. screwjob, the night the recent PowerStable was formed, but since has remained behind-the-scenes while his [[Wrestling/TripleH son-in-law]] and [[Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon daughter]] are tormenting employees on television. He's also the reason they turned heel, as they screwed Bryan to appease Vince.

** Works both ways as well. Many employees found out the hard way to not "cross the boss" .

* ByronicHero: Obsessed, driven, capable of being incredibly vicious and incredibly benign at different times, willing to personally take incredible physical risks despite his wealth and advanced age, micromanaging, completely uncaring of what anyone thinks of him, and building himself up from almost nothing. If Lord Byron hadn't come first, this trope could have been ''named'' after Vince.
* CardCarryingVillain: Vince really enjoys being evil at times, and has acknowledged that he will probably go to Hell when he dies.
** Wrestling/EricBischoff once stated that the only being closer to being the Devil than him was Vince, who was standing right in front of him. Vince's reaction? A ''smile''.

** In real life:
*** "Hey pal"
*** he has a tendency to pepper conversations with "dammit" especially if he's angry.
*** "Quite frankly"
*** "Too many pronouns pal", according to Wrestling/JimCornette.
** As an announcer: (You can tell he was the biggest mark for his own product)
*** AHHNN BAAAAH LEEBABBLE

*** BIIIIIIIG back body drop
*** WHOAAAAA MYYYYYY HAHAHAHHA
*** "''Anything'' can happen in the WWF'

** DoubleSubverted at one point during his feud with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin in the Wrestling/AttitudeEra, in which Vince finally fired him after Austin refused to make either The Undertaker or Wrestling/{{Kane}} the new champion. However, Austin wasn't too happy with this, and took Vince hostage the following night on RAW. Shortly after it was revealed Austin had been rehired by Vince's own son Shane, however at Survivor Series 1998 it was revealed that this was all just another master plan of Vince's as Austin was screwed out of the championship once again.
*** FridgeBrilliance would be that Vince realized how much money he could make from Austin so he kept him on the show, but tried his hardest to torment him. No idea if this was lampshaded in universe.
*** When he fired [[Wrestling/MickFoley Dude Love]] after [[YouHaveFailedMe he lost to Austin at Over The Edge,]] he said that he won't fire Austin because he "just makes me richer" while Mick Foley just 'made him sick'.

** During the notorious WWE steroid trial, Vince had just undergone neck surgery and resurfaced in court with (you guessed it) a ''neck brace!'' Some observers speculated that he had timed the procedure just for the sake of that prop. In any case, the image of a smiling Vince emerging, John Gotti-like, victorious and leaving in his limo is an oft-produced photo by fans and detractors alike.
** Vince out-of-character has also pulled some genuinely sleazy business moves to keep his company at the top (such as forcing the hand of several PPV providers for the inaugural Survivor Series by claiming if they aired Jim Crockett's Starrcade event instead of Survivor Series, they forfeit any broadcast license to air [=WrestleMania=] the next year).
* CueTheFlyingPigs:
** CM Punk getting Vince to apologize - on LIVE TELEVISION - probably caused more "OH SHIT"s from the IWC than any match, spot, promo, or otherwise in the history of the wrestling industry.
** On the other hand, he ''did'' apologize by yelling '''"I APOLOGIZE, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"''' in utter venom, Punk was satisfied, and justifiably so considering it was ''[[CardCarryingVillain Vincent Kennedy [=McMahon=]]]'', but if it were an older brother apologizing to his sister, one doubts that person's parents would be impressed.

* CurbStompBattle: Most of Vince's fights with his wrestlers (especially his ''[=WrestleMania=]'' matches) are this since Vince isn't a wrestler and much of his in-ring talent involves being willing to take a brutal ass-kicking.
** CurbstompCushion: Though not much on par with his employees, he can pull some nasty kicks and right hooks when given the opportunity (not to mention one mean slap), not to mention being the boss, can often apply stipulations and outside interferences in his favor, usually allowing for at least some amount of tension in his matches. His beatdown at the hands of Bret was one of the few instances he got ZERO offense whatsoever, perhaps another reason it's considered so uneventful (see below).

** His [=WrestleMania=] “match” with Pat [=McAfee=] after Austin Theory’s match has him absolutely wipe the floor with him, delivering kicks and punches without [=McAfee=] getting any offense in. Of course, it’s all fun and games until Stone Cold arrives and stuns everybody (Vince included, [[ArchEnemy obviously]]).

* DelusionsOfEloquence: Even the most ardent [=McMahon=] marks raise an eyebrow or two at his "command of the English language". That man is the [[Film/ThePrincessBride Vizzini]] of pro wrestling. You're extemporaneous, but you're not trepidacious.

* TheDogWasTheMastermind: Throughout the 1970s, 1980s and more than half of the 1990s he was well known to the [=WWF=] audience... as [[http://caq.fr/actualite/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/roddy-piper-vince-mcmahon.jpg one of the ringside commentators.]] Not many fans knew that he was actually the Boss.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:

* TheBadGuyWins: For someone who believes he should never be on the winning end of a feud, Vince came out on top of all of his feuds in 2003: Firing Wrestling/HulkHogan as "Mr. America," bullying one-legged Zack Gowan and winning their match at ''The Great American Bash'', masterminding Wrestling/BrockLesnar's FaceHeelTurn and eventual WWE Championship victory over Wrestling/KurtAngle (not to mention removing the aforementioned Gowan from WWE in the process by having Lesnar throw him down a flight of stairs), arranging for Wrestling/EricBischoff to invade [=McMahon=]'s house so Bischoff could force himself on ''[[Characters/WWEMcMahonFamily Vince's wife]]'' while letting him get off scot-free for it, defeating ''[[Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon his own daughter]]'' in an I Quit Match in order to get her removed as Smackdown GM, and burying Wrestling/TheUndertaker alive with the help of Wrestling/{{Kane}}. True to a standard Vince arc, he was left a bloodied wreck despised by everyone around him by the end of it, but maintained all the power plays and victories he had gained unnegated, heavily downplaying the PyrrhicVictory aspect, especially due to portraying Vince at his most sociopathically petty and control obsessed anyway.

[=McMahon=] stepped down from his position as CEO of WWE in June 2022 pending an internal investigation into a sexual misconduct allegation, with his daughter [[Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon Stephanie]] taking over in what was meant to be only for the interim, before stating that he was retiring outright from the industry in July 2022. However, in January 2023, it was announced that he would be returning to the WWE's Board of Directors ahead of upcoming media rights negotiations in 2024 and a potential sale of the company, claiming based on his position as majority shareholder that no media rights deals or company sales can be completed without his approval.

->'''''"IT'S ME, TROPERS! ([[Wrestling/JimRoss "Aw, sonovabitch..."]] [[Wrestling/JerryLawler "WHAT?!"]]) IT'S ME, TROPERS! IT WAS ME ALL ALONG, TROPERS! ("Damn, I can-NOT believe it...") YOU ALL BOUGHT IT! YOU ALL BOUGHT IT! HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER! EVEN MY FAMILY- EVEN MY IMMEDIATE FAMILY BOUGHT IT!! EVERY DAMN ONE OF YOU WERE MADE FOOLS OF! ("You're a fool, JR!") But you know... I really didn't want to do it; the Tropers made me. Those damn Tropers made me fool you, because Tropers, I had to teach you a lesson that you would never, EVER, forget... And now, Tropers... Tropers, now you know: there is no price I will not pay, there is no depth that I will not stoop, [[JUSTFORFUN/TVTropeswillruinyourlife TO MAKE YOUR LIFE ON EARTH, TROPERS, A TOTAL COMPLETE LIVING HELLLLLL!]]"'''''

!!"Vince didn't screw TV Tropes. TV Tropes screwed TV Tropes.":

** It's historically proven that Vince [[PrejudicedForPecs loves big, muscular men]], and he will push them, regardless of talent. High-flyers tend to get the short end of the stick. It was even more apparent in the 80's, when they either had talent but were forced to hide it ([[Wrestling/HulkHogan Hogan]]) or had zero skill in the ring ([[Wrestling/UltimateWarrior Warrior]]). As time went on, smaller--yet more talented--wrestlers were given chances.
** Another factor, arguably as huge, is Vince's sexism. So long as he calls the shots, it's gonna be size zeroes and bikini models with little regard for the Divas' actual in-ring prowess. For every Wrestling/TrishStratus, there are 100 Wrestling/{{Kelly Kelly}}s. Also, [[EveryoneLovesBlondes blondes only please]]; he famously had to be shown Asian porn by Jim Ross to understand that anyone could find Wrestling/GailKim attractive and a surefire sign that he's taking control of a women's division is if all the champions are suddenly well-tanned blondes like Wrestling/CharlotteFlair.
*** According to CM Punk, Vince was ''appalled'' when he heard women were going to start competing in UsefulNotes/{{UFC}}. Punk warned him it was going to be the next big thing. Sure enough, Creator/RondaRousey found her way on ''[=WrestleMania=]'' a year later -- and into the company, where it's agreed that her debut match stole the show of ''34''.
** With some exceptions, he insists on wrestlers being of a certain height. When WCW folded, it took his entire creative staff pushing him for him to sign Mysterio to a very low minimum guarantee. He wound up become the company's #2 draw, behind John Cena.

* BlatantLies: If he starts a sentence with [[CatchPhrase "In the interest of fairness..."]], it guarantees that whatever follows will be absolutely ''unfair'' to somebody involved.

* CatchPhrase:

* CaughtWithYourPantsDown: A literal example (and on a live edition of RAW, no less!) occurred when Torrie Wilson pretended to seduce Vince and his wife Linda caught him in his underwear. This was implied to be a scheme by Linda to get back at Vince for his philandering.

* MrAltDisney: [=McMahon=] has always wanted to be seen as the "Creator/WaltDisney" of wrestling and after returning from a brief, enforced, retirement sports a thin moustache and slicked back, dyed black hair very much in the mould of Uncle Walt.

* MrAltDisney: After returning from a brief, unwilling, retirement; Vince sports a thin moustache and slicked back, dyed black hair very much in the mould of [[Creator/WaltDisney Uncle Walt]].

** Out of character, after the famous Hell in a Cell match between [[Wrestling/MickFoley Mankind]] and Wrestling/TheUndertaker, Vince went to see Mick Foley (who had taken some of the most dangerous bumps in ''wrestling history'' during the match and carried on) backstage and said ''"Mick, you have no idea how much I appreciate what you just did, but I never want to see that again."''

* PowerWalk: Fans sitting in ringside seats will often bow down and "worship" him as he walks by them on his way to the ring. Has grown into more of a SillyWalk with the passage of time.
** According to Wrestling/JimCornette, this is actually how he walks in real life. He exaggerates and plays it up on camera, of course, but he does apparently have that strut in his personal life, and supposedly part of why he incorporates it into his character & exaggerates it so much is because he gets playfully mocked for it among his own inner circle.

** Another factor, arguably as huge, is Vince's sexism. So long as he calls the shots, it's gonna be size zeroes and bikini models with little regard for the Divas' actual in-ring prowess. For every Wrestling/TrishStratus, there are 100 Wrestling/{{Kelly Kelly}}s.

*** "Too many acronyms pal", according to Wrestling/JimCornette.

* SecretKeeper: In [=WrestleMania=] XXX, he was the one who made the final decision that Wrestling/BrockLesnar would end Wrestling/TheUndertaker's Streak, which he kept private. Apart from revealing the decision to Taker and Lesnar and to his own [[Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon daughter]] and [[Wrestling/TripleH son-in-law]] (who joined him in being secret-keepers themselves), he told no one else about it until months after the show--not Wrestling/MichaelCole, not referee Chad Patton, not even Wrestling/PaulHeyman--in order to up the shock value. Apart from Taker's head concussion, which was not what he nor Vince had planned in mind, it seemed that only Vince and his two family members were preparing for the end of the Streak like mourning family members preparing for a loved one's death--it was just a matter of when. When it was finally time, Lesnar and Taker knew about it and gave off hints of FiveSecondForeshadowing to the audience.

* SatanicArchetype: He gets played up as this a lot, especially evident in his theme song and when he's paired against Shawn Michaels' MessianicArchetype. He's compared to the Devil a lot by commentators, especially Jim Ross, who even claimed that when Vince goes to Hell, [[LikeABadassOutOfHell he would quickly take it over, implying that Vince was even WORSE than Satan]]. Vince was also the "Higher Power" of the Ministry, a Satanic cult, and branded himself a counterpart at war with God in "[[ParodyReligion McMahonism]]". During the [=McMahonism=] storyline, Vince imitated Triple H's water-spitting entrance using holy water, then turned to Shane and said, "That kind of burns a little!", giving a hint of actual demonic influence. Over a decade later, the "Boss" puppet of Wrestling/BrayWyatt's Firefly Fun House is in Vince's likeness and comes in through a door or window with a background styled to resemble hellfire, hinting that the Fun House creatures and even The Fiend himself regard Vince as the devil they serve.

** We're talking about a promoter who allowed himself to get his head shaved by Donald Trump, take several wrestlers' finishers, get hit with steel chairs, have his face shoved into Wrestling/TheBigShow and Wrestling/{{Rikishi}}'s backsides, getting literally whipped with a belt, and [[DiscontinuityNod allowed wrestlers to make fun of]] his "Stand Back" music video...

* SecretKeeper: In [=WrestleMania=] XXX, he was the one who made the final decision that Wrestling/BrockLesnar would end Wrestling/TheUndertaker's Streak, which he kept private. Apart from revealing the decision to Taker and Lesnar and to his own [[Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon daughter]] and [[Wrestling/TripleH son-in-law]] (who joined him in being secret-keepers themselves), he told no one else about it until months after the show--not Wrestling/MichaelCole, not referee Chad Patton, not even Wrestling/PaulHeyman--in order to up the shock value. Apart from Taker's head concussion, which was not what he nor Vince had planned in mind, it seemed that only Vince and his two family members were preparing for the end of the Streak like mourning family members preparing for a loved one's death--it was just a matter of when. When it was finally time, only Lesnar and Taker knew about it and gave off hints of FiveSecondForeshadowing to the audience.

* SecretKeeper: In [=WrestleMania=] XXX, he was the one who made the final decision that Wrestling/BrockLesnar would end Wrestling/TheUndertaker's Streak, which he kept private. Apart from revealing the decision to Taker and Lesnar and to his own [[Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon daughter]] and [[Wrestling/TripleH son-in-law]] (who joined him in being secret-keepers themselves), he told no one else about it until months after the show--not Wrestling/MichaelCole, not referee Chad Patton, not even Wrestling/PaulHeyman--in order to up the shock value. Apart from Taker's head concussion, which was not what he nor Vince had planned in mind, it seemed that only Vince and his two family members were preparing for the end of the Streak like mourning family members preparing for a loved one's death--it was just a matter of when. When it was finally time, only Lesnar and Taker know about it and give off hints of FiveSecondForeshadowing to the audience.

* SecretKeeper: In [=WrestleMania=] XXX, he was the one who made the final decision that Wrestling/BrockLesnar would end Wrestling/TheUndertaker's Streak, which he kept private. Apart from revealing the decision to Taker and Lesnar and to his own [[Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon daughter]] and [[Wrestling/TripleH son-in-law]] (who joined him in being secret-keepers themselves), he told no one else about it until months after the show--not Wrestling/MichaelCole, not referee Chad Patton, not even Wresling/PaulHeyman--in order to up the shock value. Apart from Taker's head concussion, which was not what he nor Vince had planned in mind, it seemed that only Vince and his two family members were preparing for the end of the Streak like mourning family members preparing for a loved one's death--it was just a matter of when. When it was finally time, only Lesnar and Taker know about it and give off hints of FiveSecondForeshadowing to the audience.