Vince McMahon was the owner and CEO of WWE after purchasing the promotion from his father in 1982. Vince McMahon grew the promotion from its regional beginning into the biggest wrestling promotion in the world following the wrestling boom of the Golden Age of wrestling and through the explosion of wrestling during the Attitude Era and the Monday Night Wars.
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In 2022, amidst a growing hush payments scandal, Vince McMahon stepped down from his position amidst allegations made against him and several prominent members of the WWE board, including the former head of talent relations John Laurinaitis. The decision ended McMahon's 40-year tenure at the helm and marked the start of the fourth generation of the McMahon family's rule of WWE as his daughter Stephanie was named co-CEO of WWE alongside Nick Khan.
8 Steroid Scandal
In 1991, WWE doctor George Zahorian was indicted for supplying athletes with illegal substances and sentenced to three years in jail. Some of Zahorian's clients included Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, and Vince McMahon himself. Zahorian would work with prosecutors to help build a case against Vince McMahon with former WWE wrestlers Hogan and Nailz. At the time, there was a genuine fear that the case and McMahon's imprisonment would destroy WWE.
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While McMahon escaped charges, the steroid scandal undoubtedly changed professional wrestling and WWE specifically. Before the trial, McMahon had always used large men like Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, and Superstar Billy Graham. This was no longer possible as steroid usage was cracked down upon. If the steroid case is never revealed, McMahon can continue booking his territory using large, muscular men as his top stars and nothing needs to change.
7 Chris Benoit Tragedy
In 2007, former World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit did the unspeakable and murdered his wife and 7-year-old son Daniel before killing himself. Police found a variety of drugs in all three bodies, and Benoit had reportedly been heavily affected by the passing of Eddie Guerrero a year and a half prior. When WWE management was informed that Benoit was discovered dead by police, WWE ran a tribute show for Benoit on Monday Night Raw.
Unfortunately, it was only in the middle of the broadcast that police and investigators revealed the entire truth of the situation to WWE management. Benoit's name and likeness were subsequently scrubbed from all WWE material.
6 Ownership Status
Despite purchasing the WWE from his father in 1982 through Titan Sports, Vince McMahon kept his ownership status behind the scenes. Instead, WWE would have a series of on-screen authority figures including Jack Tunney and Gorilla Monsoon. McMahon's real role as WWE owner was eventually revealed in 1996, before fully emerging a heel authority figure following the Montreal Screwjob in November 1997. McMahon would go on to have a memorable feud with Steve Austin and D-Generation X before withdrawing to sit in the Gorilla position instead of being an on-screen figure.
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Despite being one of the best heels of the Attitude Era, Vince McMahon would have probably preferred it if his character was kept off-screen. Despite his knowledge of the business, McMahon seemed to be more than happy for others to play the bad guys in front of the camera while he pulled the strings behind the scenes.
5 MSG Curtain Call
In May 1996, WWE ran a house show at Madison Square Garden. The show was set to be Kevin Nash and Scott Hall's last matches in WWE before going to WCW. Nash faced off against bitter on-screen rival Shawn Michaels in a Cage Match in the main event. At the end of the match, Hall entered the ring and embraced Michaels which wasn't an issue as both were faces at the time. Triple H would then enter the ring and all four wrestlers embraced in a stunning break from kayfabe. The matter wouldn't have been too bad, had it not been for the fact that the moment was recorded by fans, as WWE didn't record house shows for television.
RELATED: 9 Things That Led To The Curtain Call In WWE
While kayfabe and the secrecy of professional wrestling were already crumbling, McMahon was pretty upset about the flagrant break of kayfabe by some of his most popular stars. The fact that fans were able to record the entire incident and spread it probably made matters worse. As Hall and Nash were leaving the company, there was nothing McMahon could do to reprimand them. With Michaels holding the WWE Championship, the punishment for the incident fell entirely on Triple H.
4 Jamal Khashoggi Assassination
In 2018, WWE began performing major shows in Saudi Arabia as a part of a 10-year deal between WWE and the Saudi General Sports Authority. The deal has been largely controversial for WWE due to Saudi Arabia's regressive politics when it comes to Women's Rights. Despite initially not allowing women to appear on the show, 2019 featured the first-ever female singles match in Saudi Arabia between Natalya and Lacey Evans. In 2021, Zelina Vega became the first ever Queen of the Ring at Crown Jewel.
RELATED: Every WWE Saudi Arabia PPV Main Event, Ranked
In 2018, WWE was facing another Saudi-based scandal after American journalist Jamal Khashoggi was assassinated by Saudis in Istanbul. After the Saudi government confirmed that Khashoggi had been killed, WWE pulled tickets from the event as pressure mounted to cancel the event and back out of their long-term agreement to continue doing shows in Saudi Arabia. WWE balked at the proposition despite wrestlers like Daniel Bryan and John Cena both stating that they would not participate in the show.
3 Ring Boy Scandal
In the early 90s, WWE figures Terry Garvin, Mel Phillips, and Pat Patterson would leave the company after being accused of sexual harassment and mistreatment by a ring boy named Tom Cole. While Pat Patterson was eventually cleared of wrongdoing and returned to WWE, Mel Phillips and Terry Garvin were completely erased from the company and its history. Despite Phillips and Garvin never returning, McMahon refused to accept blame in the Ring Boy Scandal on behalf of WWE.
RELATED: 10 Vince McMahon Moments That Hurt His Public Image
In 1992, McMahon sat through an episode of the Phil Donahue Show. The show would feature a variety of figures from professional wrestling including Barry Orton, Bruno Sammartino, John Arezzi, Dave Meltzer, Murray Hodgson, and Billy Graham. During the episode, McMahon would be forced to uncomfortably sit while other members of the panel attacked him and WWE.
2 Shawn Michaels Getting Beaten Up
Shawn Michaels went through two very distinct phases during his career. Originally alongside Marty Jannetty and later as a singles star, Michaels could charitably be described as an awful person to be around if you weren't his friend. Michaels, who was married at the time, carried on several affairs with co-workers and random women. Michaels' second phase would come after he successfully made an in-ring return and began attending church following his marriage to Rebecca.
RELATED: The Story Behind Shawn Michaels Getting Beaten Up In A Bar
During his first run, Michaels was at a bar with some other wrestlers in Syracuse before getting beaten up. While WWE originally spun the event as Michaels being jumped by a group of soldiers to make Michaels look tougher, they eventually admitted that Michaels was beaten by a single soldier after starting the fight. Michaels would go on to appear on Monday Night Raw sporting an impressive looking black eye.
1 Hush Payments
In 2022, WWE CEO Vince McMahon was eventually brought down after the Washington Post uncovered a series of hush payments made to various female employees of the company. Initially, McMahon attempted to ride out the controversy as he had done in the past but was pushed out pending an internal independent investigation into the matter. After 40 years in control, Vince McMahon agreed to relinquish control of the company to his daughter Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan.
McMahon's departure allows the fourth generation of the McMahon family to take the helm of WWE, though Vince McMahon may have tried to hold the reigns a bit longer if the story of the hush payments wasn't broken first.
