'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Running a sports-entertainment company that functions on inter-weaving scripted violence into dramatic storylines, Vince McMahon doesn't mind a little bit of conspiracy. And when it has to do with the overlord of the company himself, the one absolute entity behind the promotion, it sells even more.
For his part, Vince McMahon has rarely maintained a clean slate, be it with his highly politicized decision-making behind the scenes or his ballsy approach in dealing with strife and hardships in real life.
From scandalous storylines to scenarios that leave you scrapping your jaws off the ground in incredulity, he has played an active role in many instances of controversy in WWE history.
These scenarios involve secrets that Vince McMahon holds close to his bosom; secrets that we can only suspect and speculate about, but likely never confirm. Here, then, are six secrets that Vince McMahon would probably take to his grave, rather than divulge to anyone.
#6 The hush money controversy
Vince McMahon recently stepped back from the position of WWE Chairman and CEO, with his daughter Stephanie McMahon taking over. The decision came as a result of WWE's Board of Directors investigating both McMahon and John Laurinaitis. The Board of Directors came to know about the matter when they received emails from someone claiming to be the paralegal's friend.
The emails stated that a female employee was promoted and had a pay raise while WWE was firing talent in the name of budget cuts. While the investigation is yet to be completed and may turn in Vince McMahon's favor, the truth behind the issue will only be known to the former female employee and Vince McMahon himself.
#5 The Stephanie McMahon – Randy Savage affair
When Randy Savage was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015, a sense of relief swept through the pro-wrestling universe. For the longest time, everyone feared that his contributions to the industry would never be officially recognized or felicitated as they deserved.
Despite being one of the faces of the Golden Era in the WWE, Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage’s name was apparently considered taboo by Vince McMahon. Leaked reports from those in the inside circle of the boss even describe how he used to completely fly off the handle when someone so much as even mentioned him.
What, though, could have caused such bad blood?
Some say that him betraying WWE and jumping ship to WCW was a particularly bitter pill to swallow for McMahon, but most theories around the subject point to the wound cutting much deeper than that.
Apparently, if one of the longest-standing rumors in pro-wrestling circles is to be believed, Savage had an affair with an underaged Stephanie McMahon when he was in the WWE.
One can comprehend, then, why Vince McMahon was never inclined to induct him into the WHall of Fame as his fabled in-ring career merited. Although time seems to have healed those wounds, it is still poignant to note that Randy Savage was never afforded that recognition when he was alive.
For a man that has been ever so pliable to work with again those that have crossed him in the past, should it be best for the business, such a rigid disposition is quite intriguing. Why then was Vince McMahon so adamant and unforgiving in his stance? The reason, I’m positive, would be one that Vince McMahon would take to his grave.
#4 Nancy Argento’s death
Jimmy Snuka may have been found guilty for Nancy Argento’s murder earlier this year, but whatever measure of justice that her estranged family received was denied to them for 33 long years by Vince McMahon.
When Nancy Argento was declared dead in May of 1983, after she was rushed to the hospital with fluids oozing out of her nose and mouth, the autopsy conducted revealed that she had been fatally struck on the head with a blunt object.
Coupled with the fact that Snuka was already stigmatized with a history of domestic abuse, it wasn’t too hard to connect the dots.
It was then that Vince McMahon interfered in proceedings and practically ran the negotiations and discussions with the authorities on behalf of Jimmy Snuka. Snuka, on the other hand, was allegedly told to posture himself in line with his character in WWE programming, a non-conversive outsider that wasn’t too fluent in English.
No one knows what transpired as the exact details have always been fuzzy, but Jimmy Snuka did walk away nearly unscathed from the whole incident, and Argento’s death was left pitifully unanswered for.
Did Vince McMahon pull the strings in high places to ensure that the incident fizzled out? You would only have to ask him.
#3 Vince McMahon’s relationship with Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels version 1.0's backstage politicking and self-serving power-mongering is the stuff of lore, especially when juxtaposed with his second, more altruistic stint in the company.
As such, it also comes as no surprise that he was thick as thieves with the boss, who let him get away with things that would have cost lesser superstars their jobs. Not only was he afforded an inordinately long rope, but one of the most notorious events in history, the Montreal Screwjob, was reportedly planned by McMahon in collusion with him.
In fact, Michaels was so deep into McMahon’s private fold that rumors that the relationship they shared was more than platonic made hushed rounds in the pro-wrestling fraternity.
Needless to say, these rumors have remained unfounded for the longest time. Should you, however, want clarification, Vince McMahon would be the man to ask.
#2 Steroid Trial
An episode in 1993 that threatened to topple McMahon’s pro wrestling empire, the steroid trial saga is perhaps one of the darkest periods in WWE’s vaunted history.
Dr.George Zahorian, a physician with a liberal outlook for handing out prescription drugs, was often employed by WWE Superstars who needed to supplement their training.
However, all hell broke loose when Zahorian was snapped up by the authorities through a sting operation and proceeded to indict the names of a whole host of employees, including that of Vince McMahon.
Vince was also accused by one superstar, of forcing his employees to partake in steroids and even facilitating their procurement; a claim that was later argued to be inconclusive and fuelled by a misplaced sense of revenge.
It took sobering testimony from Hulk Hogan to finally acquit Vince McMahon of all the charges, but the whole incident was too close for comfort for the WWE supremo. Did he force his employees to juice up? And was he in on the practice himself? I’m pretty sure that we will never hear it from the horse’s mouth.
#1 The incest angle
Stephanie McMahon was pregnant with her first child, fathered by Triple H of course when this travesty occurred.
Vince, whose reputation as an on-screen sexual deviant is well documented, thought it was a good idea to write his daughter’s pregnancy into a storyline. Only, instead of incorporating Triple H into the picture, he suggested that either he or Shane would be the father to the baby.
A naturally repulsed Stephanie McMahon outright vetoed the idea, and it was also speculated that Triple H lost his marbles (with good reason) when he heard of the proposal.
While one can understand the shock value (and hence viewership numbers) that such a storyline would have generated, whatever made Vince assume that even flirting with such a reprehensible and stomach-turning idea was acceptable would likely never be revealed.
Suggested: Secret stories about Vince McMahon that he doesn't want you to know
