Vince McMahon is probably a fun guy to drink with and definitely isn’t politically correct, however, when it comes to his baby, the WWE, he will be tighter than a constrictor knot. Since the WWE went “PG” years ago, they have been very careful of their storylines, image, and anything else that has to do with their product. As most old school wrestlers who worked for the WWE will tell you, backstage is more about business these days than being the rock ‘n’ roll show that it was in the 80s and 90s.
Regardless of how great the WWE’s public relations team is, the internet can be a fickle beast. At any moment, on any given day, a new scandal can pop up. For instance, if you didn’t know, several WWE stars were hacked and very private photos and videos were released online. If the internet didn’t exist that wouldn’t have happened.
Not only can new scandals arise but old ones can come back into the light. The internet makes this very possible because we can quickly find out the worst of the worst that’s happened in the WWE. Like all other businesses with a large consumer base, the WWE has to navigate through these scandals as they pop-up. Vince McMahon, rather you do not see or hear some of these embarrassing moments. Enjoy.
16 16. Photo - McMahon's Club
Everyone loves a good club and Vince McMahon’s club was very entertaining, however, in a “PG” dominated era, this club is never ever talked about. Vince McMahon not only is the boss of the WWE but he also plays one on television as well. As the boss, you are exposed to many employees fighting for your attention.
McMahon being the unscrupulous person that he is, decided that he needed to start his own club where wrestlers and talents would have to show their respect and loyalty towards him. If they didn’t, they would be exposed to a beat down and be forced to kiss the bottom of Vince anyway. William Regal would be the first member in 2001 and Hornswoggle would be the last in 2008. Don’t expect to see this club back anytime soon.
15 15. Fact - McMahon's Top Stars Have Been Arrested
Vince McMahon doesn’t want you to know about the fact that many of his former and current top talents have been arrested for some reason or another. Just type in WWE mugshot on that thing called Google and you can find enough images to agree with us. A mugshot hurts the credibility of a champion and the WWE rather the fans, especially the children - do not find out about a crime on the internet.
Every industry and business has people, and people commit crimes, however, not every business is the WWE. With an international platform, they rather keep quiet about some of the crimes their legends have committed. Whether it’s a current talent such as Brock Lesnar or Roman Reigns or a legend, such as Ric Flair, Jake Roberts, or Scott Hall, a mugshot is never good for business.
14 14. Photo - Anything Nailz Related
Kevin Wacholz or known as Nailz in the WWE had a very short career in the business. So you may be asking yourself why he’s on this list. Vince McMahon cares deeply about his reputation and ego. That’s a fact and we all know this. Any stories detailing with a weakness in Mr. McMahon, even if he is the victim, are rarely talked about or heard of in the WWE. This brings us to the psychopath Nailz. In 1992 he would debut as a crazy ex-convict and became a formidable foe against the faces of the company.
He would be involved in a feud with The Undertaker and when he found out he was making peanuts compared to the Dead Man, he blew up on McMahon. Allegedly, Nailz would drop McMahon to the floor and start choking him out when he was told he wouldn’t get a raise. After being fired, Nailz would file a lawsuit and the WWE filed a counter lawsuit, both would be dropped later, however, during the testimony, Nailz ripped on McMahon for supplying steroids to wrestlers.
13 13. Fact - WWE Had A Steroid Scandal
It’s a fact that the WWE knowingly promoted and provided steroids to their talents throughout the 80s and early 90s. The WWE has done a great job making sure this story vanished but it all came back in 2007 when Chris Benoit killed his family. In 1993, Vince McMahon would be charged by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York with obtaining and supplying anabolic steroids to the wrestlers.
Everyone knows how toxic the backstage was with drugs and steroids, there are too many witnesses and claims by former wrestlers. Even if you were blind and deaf, you could tell there was steroid abuse in the WWE. McMahon, the crafty businessman that he is, was acquitted on all charges and the rest is history.
12 12. Photo - Michael Cole Getting Abused
The Michael Cole and Heidenreich segment in 2004 is still etched into the brains of many citizens of the WWE Universe and not in a positive way. During the height of the Ruthless Era, anything was possible, including hints of ra**. On an episode of SmackDown, the big guy Heidenreich tossed Cole into a secluded backstage area like a sack of potatoes.
He then proceeded to press Cole up against a wall while he breathed heavily into his ear in a very abusive and "Not So PG" manner. It was a terrible scene and one that was ridiculously uncomfortable to watch.. Heidenreich would talk about it in 2008, stating “I’m just happy I was doing the ra**** and not getting ra***.” If the WWE could go back in time, this would have never taken place.
11 11. Fact - McMahon Failed In The Body Building Industry
A lot of fans know that Vince McMahon hates it when you bring up his defunct football league, the XFL. Just watch his interview with sports journalist Bob Costas and you’ll see the rage with your own eyes. Another failed project a lot of forget about is the World Bodybuilding Federation. McMahon founded the organization in 1990 and it would last for just two years.
McMahon wanted to compete with the powerhouse International Federation of Body Builders but failed in every way possible. We already told you about the WWE’s steroid scandal, so we doubt it’s a coincidence that McMahon would fold the company a few months before he was charged for distributing steroids. After all, body building and steroid abuse have a very strong link together.
10 10. Photo - The Piper Incident
This isn’t a knock on Roddy Piper but with racial tensions at an all-time high since the 1960s in the United States, any black face content will not be looked upon in a positive way. This story revolves around a feud between Bad News Brown, a black man, and Roddy Piper in 1990. Piper would say some hair-raising remarks in his promos, such as insulting Brown with the words “bugging eyes” and “wide nose.”
He topped it off with covering half of his body black, and for the life of us we don’t know why WWE would go along with it. Several years before his death in 2015, Roddy expressed his ignorance for the incident, explaining, “first of all, you know, I was born in Saskatoon. There are no black people that I know of that are dumb enough to go to a place that cold.”
9 9. Fact - McMahon Squashed A Union
Governor Jesse Ventura, a former WWE employee, has made many statements that you can agree with or not but one subject he’s on the money with is the lack of a union in the wrestling industry. Before slamming his opponents inside a political ring, he was one of the best color commentators in the business in the 1980s and early 90s.
Ventura would speak out decades later about how he tried to start a union. According to Ventura, he was convincing Hulk Hogan to be the main guy to push a union in the WWE, however, Hogan was just stringing him along and ultimately sided with Vince McMahon. Ventura was released and even in 2017, wrestlers don’t have a labor union. If a union hasn’t formed by now, we doubt it ever will.
8 8. Photo - A Titillating Segment
This isn’t one specific image but any image that shows how perverted the WWE has been in the past. With the Women’s Revolution in high gear, the WWE is all about empowering women for their skills and not their looks, well, they tell us that anyway. That wasn’t always the case. When the WWE had their backs against the wall and WCW was taking over, Vince McMahon went into survival mode.
What sells? Sex sells. Sunny, Sable, Terri Runnells, Debra, and Kat were just some of the first women that would be known for their hotness more than their talents in the ring. Next thing you know, puppies were running loose, bikini contests happened every week, and once in a while, someone got naked. Things all changed once the WWE went “PG.”
7 7. Fact - The First Public Screwjob Came In The 80s
Everyone knows about the Montreal Screwjob involving Vince McMahon, Bret Hart, and Shawn Michaels at the 1997 Survivor Series. Although a real incident, it was the birth of Vince McMahon as a heel character in the WWE Universe. Hart would be bitter about the ordeal, which is understandable, McMahon would patch things up with him and all is good now. Bret Hart wasn’t the first “Screwjob” by Vince however.
Her name is Wendi Richter and she could actually wrestle. She would become one of the faces of the Rock ‘n’ Wrestling relationship between the WWE and pop culture in the mid-80s. Vince McMahon would give her a championship run but allegedly she disagreeing with Vince on a new contract, thus, he sabotaged her championship match. Vince ordered the Fabulous Moolah, going by The Spider, to break the script and pin Richter, the referee, also in on it, gave a quick count and it was the last match Richter ever worked in the WWE.
6 6. Photo - Too Sweet Me!
What exactly is a cease and desist letter? It’s a document sent to an individual or business to stop purportedly illegal activity (cease) and to not restart later (desist). The letter may warn that if the recipient does not discontinue specified conduct, or take certain actions, by deadlines set in the letter, that party may be sued. The WWE isn’t the most powerful promotion in the world for nothing, they go there through many dirty tactics.
As the king of the industry, they have all the resources and time to go after anyway they deem a threat to the product. One of those threats is the Young Bucks and their use of the “Too Sweet” me sign. The WWE would send them a cease and desist letter and the Young Backs, as well as the rest of the Bullet Club, have answered in hilarious ways. WWE does not want you to see anyone putting up the sign unless it’s part of their product.
5 5. Fact - The McMahons Have Destroyed Small Businesses In The Past
It’s pretty ironic that Linda McMahon would be nominated to the Administrator of the Small Business Administration under the President decades after her families business took out small promotions. Before the Monday Night Wars and before the 90s, the wrestling industry had tons of territorial promotions around North America. Whether it was American Wrestling Association in the Mid-West, World Class Championship Wrestling in Texas or Mid-South Wrestling in the, you guessed it, Mid-South, territorial promotions acted like any other small business would.
They relied on the local consumer to buy their product. Things changed when Vince McMahon decided to rule the wrestling industry. Not only did he masterfully use closed-circuit television and Pay-Per-Views as a way to gain fans, he would literally bring his event into town and compete with the local promotion. Not only that, McMahon would try and sign these local promotion’s best talent and it usually worked.
4 4. Photo - Abuse Of Women
If you've been following the Weinstein sexual abuse scandal in Hollywood, then you know why Vince McMahon wishes this photo to go away. Trish Stratus has the beauty and muscles to be one of the greatest wrestlers of her generation. She was so great, Vince wanted her in top storylines in the WWE. One of these storylines was about a relationship between McMahon and Stratus. Storyline wise, McMahon was upset with Stratus, called her out, ordered her to strip and crawl.
Not only was the imagery very negative but the type of tone and vernacular was just as upsetting. This took place before the Women’s Revolution and we doubt a storyline like this will ever return to the WWE. Let’s also not forget, the WWE has been accused of sexual abuse before so this photo doesn’t help in the slightest way.
3 3. Fact - McMahon Didn't Meet His Father Until He Was 12
Many fans may think Vince McMahon was born with a golden spoon in his mouth and never had a rough upbringing. After reading up on his childhood, you can understand where all that anger he can express on television came from. Apparently, McMahon never met his father until he was 12 years old. For his entire childhood, he would live with his mother and step-father under the name Vincent Lupton. McMahon would share this personal story in an interview with E:60.
Living in a trailer, McMahon was allegedly abused by his father both verbally and physically. He is quoting saying, “it was unfortunate my step-father died before I had a chance to kill him.” His biological father would finally take him under his wing, Vince would change his last name, and would eventually take over his pop’s business.
2 2. Photo - Benoit Winning A Championship
Chris Benoit was the epitome of a champion in wrestling. With neither the family connections nor large size, Benoit would work his tail off to get to the pinnacle of his career. Sadly, as most of us know, Benoit went from a legend to the man we never are supposed to talk about. Everything changed in 2007 when Benoit would commit a double murder-suicide. His victims would be his own family, his wife Nancy and seven-year-old son Daniel.
The entire ordeal would rock the foundation of the wrestling industry. The media would pounce on the WWE and the company would have to defend themselves from accusations of rampant steroid and drug abuse. Vince McMahon doesn’t want anyone to know about Benoit. He has been scrubbed from everything and anything.
1 1. Fact - WWE Was Involved In An Underage Scandal
The WWE was once accused of covering up inappropriate underage activity and Vince McMahon rather you not know about it. Allegedly, Mel Phillips, a former ring announcer and backstage employee of the WWE, would have inappropriate remarks towards underage males when he supervised the ring crew during live events. Tom Cole, a man who had worked for the company as a teenager through adulthood, would be the one to come out about Phillips.
The incidents would take place in the 80s, however, Cole wouldn’t come out until 1992 about his claim. Not only did he out Phillips as someone who sexually harassed him at 13 years old, he claimed Terry Gavin, a front-office employee, and former wrestler, attempted to seduce him at nineteen. Things get crazier in 1992, as former announcer Murray Hodgson and Randy Orton’s uncle, Bob Orton, backed up Cole and citing that talents would have to give sexual favors for a better position in the company.
Gavin and Phillips would lose their job because of this, but one other person did as well, his name is Pat Patterson and McMahon would rather you not know about it.