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No one embodies the spirit of professional wrestling more than Vincent Kennedy McMahon. In fact, some may even go as far as to say that Vince McMahon is professional wrestling. As the inventor of the iconic Hulkamania and WrestleMania, he is the purveyor of the term sports entertainment. The head of the WWE risked everything, including personal financial ruin, to usher in the global sports entertainment company that is the WWE.
Plagued by critics and haters alike, three and a half decades after the very first WrestleMania, McMahon stands tall. He is the primary force behind the WWE's global expansion and the unquestioned leader behind what is now a publicly traded company and bonafide world-wide success.
Still, even self-made billionaires have their odd quirks and this article exposes some of them. What is Vince McMahon really like behind closed doors when the Mr. McMahon character retires and Vince comes out to play? We take a look at four shocking things you didn't know about Vincent Kennedy McMahon.
#4. Vince McMahon is the Million Dollar Man
After he earned success in Midsouth Wrestling, the WWE showed a great deal of interest in Ted DiBiase, but, in the 1980s Vince McMahon did everything big. It was the era of the wrestling character who lived over the top gimmicks that more resembled a comic book come to life than the professional wrestlers of the golden era.
Ted DiBiase was no longer going to simply be Ted DiBiase. Instead, he would metamorphose into the Million Dollar Man, a snotty rich villain that held anyone with less money in great contempt. DiBiase would live the gimmick. Vince wouldn't have it any other way. Now the Million Dollar Man, DiBiase would wear only the finest clothes, eat at the best restaurants, stay exclusively at five star hotels, and travel in expensive limousines. One of DiBiase's most villainous attributes was his hatred for the poor. In fact, he would often attempt to purchase loyalty or have the less fortunate participate in humiliating acts just to prove that, "Everybody has a price."
While DiBiase's character was certainly over as one of the top heels in wrestling history (fans loathed him in the 1980s) the Million Dollar Man was based on none other than Vince McMahon himself. Vince gave DiBiase the character, not only because he knew it would be a resounding success; but, because he wanted to live vicariously through DiBiase.
Former WWE writer Bruce Prichard recounted an earlier time when he and Vince were traveling together via an airplane. There was a fellow passenger sitting near Vince. It was the 1980s, so the passenger was allowed to smoke, which was increasingly irritating McMahon. Rather than risk a criminally punishable offense, the temperamentally inclined McMahon turned to an obvious tactical advantage: his money. He asked the passenger how much it would take to get him to put out his cigarette, but, the passenger continued to refuse Vince's overtures.
McMahon's financial number continued to increase until the passenger finally obliged and made a small fortune in the process. McMahon's frequent use of capital as leverage and a means of control over others became the impetus for The Million Dollar Man character.
#3. Vince McMahon Recently Lost Out On A Fortune
Vince McMahon's re-emergence in the world of professional football has been well publicized. While the XFL was once an abysmal one season failure, McMahon simply could not let the league die. Now nearly two decades later the WWE CEO has revived the once failed football league.
When frivolously rolling the dice, be sure to come prepared with plenty of money and that's exactly what McMahon chose to do. McMahon cashed out more than 3 million WWE shares back in December 2017. The shares, in turn, raised more than $95 million for the XFL's rejuvenation.
While those shares were sold at $28.68 back in December 2017, they are now worth nearly triple what they once were. As of press time, WWE stock is selling at $75.03. Had McMahon simply waited several months, he would have raised more than $235 million which dwarfs the $95 million he raised in December 2017.
#2. McMahon Is Strictly Carnivorous
Like the tyrannosaurus rex of Jurassic Park fame, Vince McMahon is said to be strictly carnivorous and his meat-based diet has worked for him thus far. Not only is he one of the world's richest and most successful businessman, but, McMahon is also in superb shape, especially for being 72 years old.
Daniel Bryan is probably the most famous vegan in WWE history, but, early on McMahon did not approve of Bryan's plant-based dietary habits. McMahon detested Bryan's diet so much that he even informed those around him that he couldn't trust anyone who didn't eat meat. Although Bryan would go on to become one of the top babyfaces in wrestling history, McMahon saw Bryan as an untrustworthy vegetable loving, meat-hating heel. He cajoled the heel Daniel Bryan into talking frequently about his vegan lifestyle and pushed Bryan to thumb his nose at fan's who ate meat.
Former RAW assistant writer Jason Allen was a recent guest on the Wade Keller podcast. One of his responsibilities included feeding McMahon,
"We had to feed Vince like the bears."
Allen went on to say that McMahon's diet was nearly entirely meat based and included the daily consumption of 18-ounce sirloin steaks.
#1. Vince McMahon Is A Germophobe
When one thinks of the head of the WWE, fear is probably the last thing that comes to mind. Vince McMahon is big. He is strong. He is brave. He is someone not to be crossed, but, he isn't afraid....except for one tiny little thing. McMahon is deathly afraid of germs.
Like WWE Hall of Famer, and close friend, and President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, McMahon simply can not tolerate germs. It has been said that President Trump detests shaking hands; but, McMahon's germophobia is very much food-based.
Jason Allen spilled the germ infested jelly beans on Wade Keller's Pro Wrestling Podcast,
"Everything you hear about the germophobia and stuff, that's all legit. If there was a bowl of candy or a bowl of peanuts on the table, you do not stick your hand in the bowl and eat out of your hand. What you do is pick up the bowl and pour it into your non-bowl hand and then eat with your non-bowl hand. If you go back for seconds, you pour again."
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