Vincent Kennedy McMahon was born on August 24, 1945, in Pinehurst, North Carolina, the younger son of Victoria (née Askew) and Vincent James McMahon. His father left the family when McMahon was still a baby and took his elder son Rod with him, so McMahon did not meet him until age 12. McMahon’s paternal grandfather was promoter Roderick James “Jess” McMahon, whose parents were Irish immigrants from County Galway. His paternal grandmother, Rose Davis, was also of Irish descent. McMahon was raised as Vinnie Lupton and spent the majority of his childhood living with his mother and a string of stepfathers. He claimed that one of his stepfathers, Leo Lupton, used to beat his mother and attacked McMahon when he tried to protect her. He later said, “It is unfortunate that he died before I could kill him. I would have enjoyed that.” He attended Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Virginia, graduating in 1964. In his early life, he also overcame dyslexia.

McMahon married Linda McMahon on August 26, 1966, in New Bern, North Carolina. The two met in church when Linda was 13 and Vince was 16. At that time, McMahon was known as Vince Lupton, using his stepfather’s surname. They were introduced by Vince’s mother, Vicky H. Lupton (now Vicky H. Askew). They have two children, Shane and Stephanie, both of whom have spent time in the WWF/E both onscreen and behind the scenes. Shane left the company on January 1, 2010 (later returning in 2016), while Stephanie continues to be active in a backstage role and onscreen.

In 1968, McMahon graduated from East Carolina University with a business degree and after a nondescript career as a traveling salesman, he was eager to assume a managerial role in his father’s World Wide Wrestling Federation promotion. In 1969, McMahon made his debut as an in-ring announcer for the WWWF’s All-Star Wrestling. In 1971, he was assigned to a small territory in Maine, where he promoted his first card. He later became the play-by-play commentator for television matches after he replaced Ray Morgan in 1971, a role he regularly maintained until November 1997.

McMahon made his commentary debut in 1971 when he replaced Ray Morgan after Morgan had a pay dispute with McMahon’s father, Vincent J. McMahon, shortly before a scheduled TV taping. The elder McMahon let Morgan walk instead of giving in to his demands and needed a replacement on the spot, offering it to his son. For the younger McMahon, it was also somewhat of a compromise, as it allowed him to appear on television. McMahon wanted to be a wrestler but his father did not let him, explaining that promoters did not appear on the show and should stay apart from their wrestlers.

As with most play-by-play commentators, McMahon was a babyface “voice of the fans”, in contrast to the heel color commentator, usually Jesse Ventura, Bobby Heenan or Jerry Lawler. While most of McMahon’s on-screen physicality took place during his “Mr. McMahon” character later in his career, he was involved in physical altercations on WWF television only a few times as a commentator or host; in 1977, when he and Arnold Skaaland were struck from behind by Captain Lou Albano (as part of a kayfabe “Manager Of the Year” storyline, when Albano was disgruntled over losing to Skaaland); in 1985, when Andre the Giant grabbed him by the collar during an interview on Tuesday Night Titans (Andre had become irritated at McMahon’s questions regarding his feud with Big John Studd and their match at the first WrestleMania); on the September 28, 1991 episode of WWF Superstars of Wrestling, when Roddy Piper mistakenly hit him with a folding chair aimed at Ric Flair (requiring McMahon to be taken out of the arena on a stretcher), and again on the November 8, 1993 episode of Monday Night Raw, when Randy Savage hurled him to the floor in an attempt to attack Crush after McMahon attempted to restrain him. McMahon can also be seen screaming at medics and WWF personnel during the May 26, 1990 episode of WWF Superstars of Wrestling (after Hulk Hogan was attacked by Earthquake during a segment of The Brother Love Show), when Hogan was not moved out of the arena quickly enough.

Throughout the 1970s, McMahon became the prominent force in his father’s company and, over the next decade, assisted his father in tripling TV syndication. He pushed for the renaming of the company to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). The younger McMahon was also behind the Muhammad Ali versus Antonio Inoki match of 1976. In 1979, the younger McMahon and his wife Linda founded their own company, Titan Sports, which was incorporated in the following year, and in 1982 acquired control of the CWC from his ailing father (who died in May 1984).

In 1979, Vince and Linda purchased the Cape Cod Coliseum and the Cape Cod Buccaneers of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League. In addition to pro wrestling and hockey, they began selling out rock concerts, including Van Halen and Rush, in non-summer months, traditionally considered unprofitable due to lack of tourists. This venture led the McMahons to join the International Association of Arena Managers, learning the details of the arena business and networking with other managers through IAAM conferences, which Linda later called a great benefit to WWE’s success.

On February 21, 1980, McMahon officially founded Titan Sports, and the company’s headquarters were established in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts, using the now-defunct Cape Cod Coliseum as a home base for the company. At the time of his purchase of the WWF, professional wrestling was a business run by regional promotions. The various promoters shared an understanding that they would not invade each other’s territories, as this practice had gone on undeterred for decades; McMahon had a different vision of what the industry could become. In 1983, the WWF split from the National Wrestling Alliance a second time, after initially splitting from them in 1963 before rejoining them in 1971. The NWA was the governing body for all the regional territories across the country and as far away as Japan.

He began expanding the company nationally by promoting in areas outside of the company’s Northeast U.S. stomping grounds and by signing talent from other companies, such as the American Wrestling Association (AWA). In 1984, he recruited Hulk Hogan to be the WWF’s charismatic new megastar, and the two quickly drew the ire of industry peers as the promotion began traveling and broadcasting into rival territories. Nevertheless, McMahon (who still also fronted as the WWF’s squeaky clean babyface announcer) created The Rock ‘n’ Wrestling Connection by incorporating pop music stars into wrestling storylines. As a result, the WWF was able to expand its fanbase into a national mainstream audience as the promotion was featured heavily on MTV programming. On March 31, 1985, he ran the first WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden, available on closed circuit television in various markets throughout the U.S.

During the late 1980s, McMahon shaped the WWF into a unique sports entertainment brand that reached out to family audiences while attracting fans who had never before paid attention to pro wrestling. By directing his storylines towards highly publicized supercards, McMahon capitalized on a fledgling revenue stream by promoting these events live on pay-per-view television. In 1987, the WWF reportedly drew 93,173 fans to the Pontiac Silverdome (which was called the “biggest crowd in sports-entertainment history”) for WrestleMania III, which featured the main event of Hulk Hogan versus André the Giant.

In 1990, McMahon founded the World Bodybuilding Federation. The organization folded in 1992.

On April 3, 1992, Rita Chatterton, a former referee noted for her stint as Rita Marie in the WWF in the 1980s and for being the first female referee in the WWF (possibly in professional wrestling history), made an appearance on Geraldo Rivera’s show Now It Can Be Told. She claimed that on July 16, 1986, McMahon tried to force her to perform oral sex on him in his limousine and, when she refused, raped her.

While the Mr. McMahon character marked the first time that McMahon had been portrayed as a villain in WWF, in 1993, McMahon was engaged in a feud with Jerry Lawler as part of a cross-promotion between the WWF and the United States Wrestling Association (USWA). As part of the angle, McMahon sent various WWF wrestlers to Memphis to dethrone Lawler as the “king of professional wrestling”. This angle marked the first time that McMahon physically interjected himself into a match, as he occasionally tripped and punched at Lawler while seated ringside. During the angle, McMahon was not acknowledged as the owner of the WWF, and the feud was not acknowledged on WWF television, as the two continued to provide commentary together (along with Randy Savage) for the television show Superstars. The feud also helped build toward Lawler’s match with Bret Hart at SummerSlam. The peak of the angle came with Tatanka defeating Lawler to win the USWA Championship with McMahon gloating at Lawler while wearing the championship belt. This storyline came to an abrupt end when Lawler was accused of raping a young girl in Memphis, and he was dropped from the WWF. He returned shortly afterward, however, as the girl later stated that the rape accusations were lies.

In 1993, McMahon was indicted in federal court after a steroid controversy engulfed the promotion and thus temporarily ceded control of the WWF to his wife Linda. The case went to trial in 1994, where McMahon was accused of distributing steroids to his wrestlers. One prosecution witness was Kevin Wacholz, who had wrestled for the company in 1992 as “Nailz” and who had been fired after a violent confrontation with McMahon. Wacholz testified that McMahon had ordered him to use steroids, but his credibility was called into question during his testimony as he made it clear he “hated” McMahon.

Throughout late 1996 and into 1997, McMahon slowly began to be referred to as the owner on WWF television while remaining as the company’s lead play-by-play commentator. On the September 23, 1996 Monday Night Raw, Jim Ross delivered a worked shoot promo during which he ran down McMahon, outing him as chairman and not just a commentator for the first time in WWF storylines. This was followed up on the October 23 Raw with Stone Cold Steve Austin referring to then-WWF President Gorilla Monsoon as “just a puppet” and that it was McMahon “pulling all the strings”. The March 17, 1997 WWF Raw Is War is cited by some as the beginning of the Mr. McMahon character, as after Bret Hart lost to Sycho Sid in a steel cage match for the WWF Championship, Hart engaged in an expletive-laden rant against McMahon and WWF management. This rant followed Hart shoving McMahon to the ground when he attempted to conduct a post-match interview. McMahon, himself, returned to the commentary position and nearly cursed out Hart before being calmed down by Ross and Lawler.

McMahon largely remained a commentator after the Bret Hart incident on Raw. On September 22, 1997, on the first-ever Raw to be broadcast from Madison Square Garden, Bret’s brother Owen Hart was giving a speech to the fans in attendance. During his speech, Stone Cold Steve Austin entered the ring with five NYPD officers following and assaulted Hart. When it appeared Austin would fight the officers, McMahon ran into the ring to lecture him that he could not physically compete; at the time, Austin was recovering from a broken neck after Owen Hart botched a piledriver in his match against Austin at SummerSlam. After telling McMahon that he respects the fact that he and the WWF cared, Austin attacked McMahon with a Stone Cold Stunner, leaving McMahon in shock. Austin was then arrested on charges of trespassing, assault, and assaulting a police officer. This marked the beginning of the Austin-McMahon rivalry.

At Survivor Series in 1997, Bret Hart defended his WWF Championship against long-time rival Shawn Michaels in the main event. During the match, Michaels applied Hart’s signature submission maneuver The Sharpshooter on Hart. Though Hart did not submit, McMahon ordered the referee to ring the bell, thus screwing Hart out of the title and making Michaels the champion and making McMahon turn heel for the first time on WWF television. This incident was subsequently dubbed the “Montreal Screwjob”. Following the incident, McMahon left the commentary table for good (Jim Ross replaced McMahon as lead commentator) and the Mr. McMahon character began.

In December 1997 on Raw Is War, the night after D-Generation X: In Your House, McMahon talked about the behavior and attitude of Stone Cold Steve Austin, such as Austin having assaulted WWF Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter and commentators such as Jim Ross and McMahon himself. Mr. McMahon demanded that Austin defend his Intercontinental championship against The Rock in a rematch. As in the previous match, Austin used his pickup truck as a weapon against The Rock and the Nation of Domination gang. Austin decided to forfeit the title to The Rock, but instead, Austin gave The Rock a Stone Cold Stunner and knocked McMahon off the ring ropes.

At Judgement Day, there was still no champion crowned as Austin declared himself the winner after counting a double pinfall three count for both men. McMahon ordered the WWF Championship to be defended in a 14-man tournament named Deadly Games at Survivor Series in 1998. McMahon made sure that Mankind reached the finals because Mankind had visited McMahon in the hospital after McMahon was sent to the hospital by The Undertaker and Kane. He also awarded Mankind the WWF Hardcore Championship due to his status as a hardcore wrestling legend. Originally, McMahon was acting as he if he was helping out Mankind during the match. At one point, The Rock turned his attention to McMahon. McMahon turned on Mankind after a screwjob, however, as The Rock had caught Mankind in the Sharpshooter. Mankind had not submitted but McMahon ordered the referee to ring the bell, thus giving The Rock the WWF Championship. This was a homage to the “Montreal Screwjob” that occurred one year earlier. McMahon referred to The Rock as the “Corporate Champion” thus forming the Corporation with his son Shane and The Rock. At Rock Bottom: In Your House, Mankind defeated The Rock to win the WWF Championship after The Rock passed out to the Mandible Claw. McMahon, however, screwed Mankind once again by reversing the decision and returning the belt to his chosen champion, The Rock. McMahon participated in a “Corporate Rumble” on the January 11, 1999 Raw as an unscheduled participant, but was eliminated by Chyna.

McMahon restarted a long-running feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin when, in December 1998, he made Austin face the Undertaker in a Buried Alive match with the Royal Rumble qualification on the line. Austin defeated the Undertaker with help from Kane. McMahon had put up $100,000 to anyone who could eliminate Austin from the Royal Rumble match. At Royal Rumble, thanks to help from the Corporation’s attack on Austin in the women’s bathroom during the match (Austin and McMahon went under the ropes, not over them as the Royal Rumble rules require for elimination to occur along with the ‘Shawn Michaels Rule’, in which both feet must touch the floor after going over the top rope) and The Rock distracting Austin, McMahon lifted Austin over the top rope from behind, thus winning the match and earning a title shot at WrestleMania XV against the WWF Champion The Rock. He turned down his spot, however, and WWF Commissioner Shawn Michaels awarded it to Austin, which infuriated McMahon. Austin decided to put his title shot on the line against McMahon so he could get a chance to fight Vince at In Your House: St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in a steel cage match. During the match, Big Show — a future member of the Corporation — interrupted, making his WWF debut. He threw Austin through the side of the cage thus giving him the victory.

In October 1999, McMahon led the WWF in an initial public offering of company stock. McMahon acquired the fading World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from Turner Broadcasting System on March 23, 2001, bringing an end to the Monday Night Wars. On April 1, 2001, Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) filed for bankruptcy, leaving WWF as the last major wrestling promotion at that time. McMahon later acquired the assets of ECW on January 28, 2003.

McMahon returned as a face in the fall of 1999 and won the WWF Championship in a match against Triple H, thanks to outside interference from Austin on the September 16 SmackDown!. He had decided to vacate the title during the following Monday’s Raw Is War because he was not allowed on WWF TV because of the stipulations of the Fully Loaded 1999 contract he signed. However, Stone Cold Steve Austin reinstated him in return for a WWF title shot. Over the next few months, McMahon and Triple H feuded, with the linchpin of the feud being Triple H’s storyline marriage to Stephanie McMahon. The feud culminated at Armageddon in 1999; McMahon faced Triple H in a No Holds Barred match which McMahon lost. Afterward, Stephanie turned on him, revealing her true colors. McMahon, along with his son Shane, then disappeared from WWF television, unable to accept the union between Triple H and Stephanie. This left Triple H and Stephanie in complete control of the WWF.

McMahon’s on-screen persona is known for his throaty exclamation of “You’re fired!”, and his “power walk”—an exaggerated strut toward the ring, swinging his arms and bobbing his head from side to side in a cocky manner. According to Jim Cornette, the power walk was inspired by one of McMahon’s favorite wrestlers as a child, Dr. Jerry Graham. The Fabulous Moolah, however, claims in her autobiography that “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers was the inspiration for the walk. McMahon has occasionally dropped his character performance upon real-life events affecting WWE, such as the death of Owen Hart at Over the Edge in 1999, the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the death of Chris Benoit. Generally speaking, the character has been portrayed as a heel, though on occasion the character has been a face as well.

In 2000, McMahon again ventured outside the world of professional wrestling by launching the XFL, a professional American football league. The league began in February 2001, with McMahon making an appearance at the first game. It folded after one season due to low television ratings.

McMahon purchased long-time rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in March 2001 from AOL Time Warner and signed many wrestlers from the organization. This marked the beginning of the Invasion storyline, in which the former WCW wrestlers regularly fought matches against the WWF wrestlers. On the July 9, 2001, episode of Raw Is War, some extremists as well as several former ECW wrestlers on the WWF roster, joined with the WCW wrestlers to form The Alliance. Stone Cold Steve Austin joined the Alliance, along with Shane and Stephanie McMahon. Vince McMahon led Team WWF thus turning face. At Survivor Series, Team WWF defeated Team Alliance in a Survivor Series elimination match to pick up the victory and end the Invasion storyline.

In November 2001, Ric Flair returned to WWF after an eight-year hiatus declaring himself the co-owner of the WWF, which infuriated McMahon. The two faced each other in January 2002, at Royal Rumble, in a Street Fight which Flair won. Due to their status as co-owners, McMahon became the owner of SmackDown! while Flair became the owner of Raw. However, on the June 10 Raw, McMahon defeated Flair to end the rivalry and become the sole owner of WWE.

In 2001, McMahon was interviewed by Playboy and performed an interview with his son Shane for the second issue of the magazine that year. In March 2006, at age 60, McMahon was featured on the cover of Muscle & Fitness magazine. In August 2006, McMahon, a two-disc DVD set showcasing McMahon’s career was released. The box art symbolizes the blurred reality between Vince McMahon the person and Mr. McMahon the character. McMahon features profiling of the Mr. McMahon character, such as the rivalries with wrestlers, on-screen firings, and antics. The DVD includes Vince’s business life, such as acquiring WCW and ECW and the demise of the XFL. McMahon’s top nine matches of his professional wrestling career are included in McMahon. In March 2015, at age 69, McMahon once again appeared on the cover of Muscle & Fitness magazine.

On May 5, 2002, the World Wrestling Federation announced it was changing both its company name and the name of its wrestling promotion to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) after the company lost a lawsuit initiated by the World Wildlife Fund over the WWF trademark. Although initially caused by an unfavorable ruling in its dispute with the World Wildlife Fund regarding the “WWF” initialism, the company noted it provided an opportunity to emphasize its focus on entertainment.

He began a feud with Eric Bischoff in late 2005, when he decided that Bischoff was not doing a good job as General Manager of Raw turning face again. He started “The Trial of Eric Bischoff” where McMahon served as the judge. Bischoff ended up losing the trial; McMahon “fired” him, and put him in a garbage truck before it drove away. Bischoff stayed gone for months. Almost a year later on Raw in late 2006, Bischoff was brought out by McMahon’s executive assistant Jonathan Coachman so that he could announce the completion of his book Controversy Creates Cash. Bischoff began blasting remarks at McMahon, saying that he was fired “unceremoniously” as the Raw General Manager, that there would be no McMahon if not for Bischoff’s over-the-top rebellious ideas, and that D-Generation X was nothing but a rip off of the New World Order.

McMahon eventually became the regular play-by-play commentator and maintained that role until November 1997, portraying himself as easily excited and over-the-top. In addition to matches, McMahon also hosted other WWF shows, and introduced WWF programming to TBS on Black Saturday, upon the WWF’s acquisition of Georgia Championship Wrestling and its lucrative Saturday night timeslot (McMahon sold the timeslot to Jim Crockett Promotions after the move backfired on him and he eventually acquired JCP’s successor company, World Championship Wrestling, from AOL Time Warner in 2001). At the 1987 Slammy Awards, McMahon performed in a musical number and sang the song “Stand Back”. The campy “Stand Back” video has since resurfaced several times over the years as a running gag between McMahon and any face wrestler he is feuding with at that particular time, and was included on the 2006 McMahon DVD.

On the May 15 Raw, Triple H hit Shane with a sledgehammer meant for Michaels. The next week on Raw, Triple H had another chance to hit Michaels with the object but he instead whacked the Spirit Squad. For a few weeks, McMahon ignored Michaels and began a rivalry with Triple H by forcing him to join “Kiss My Ass Club” (Triple H hit McMahon with a Pedigree instead of joining the club) and pitting him in a gauntlet handicap match against the Spirit Squad. Michaels, however, saved Triple H and the two reformed D-Generation X (D-X). This led to a feud between the McMahons and D-X, throughout the following summer. He also with the Spirit Squad teaming with Shane lost to Eugene by disqualification on July 10. At SummerSlam in 2006, the McMahons lost to D-X in a tag team match despite interference by Umaga, Big Show, Finlay, Mr. Kennedy, and William Regal. The McMahons also allied themselves with the ECW World Champion Big Show. At Unforgiven, the McMahons teamed up with The Big Show in a Hell in a Cell match to take on D-X. Despite their 3-on-2 advantage, the McMahons lost again to D-X thus ending the rivalry.

As of 2006, McMahon has a $12 million penthouse in Manhattan, New York; a $40 million mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut; a $20 million vacation home; and a 47-foot sports yacht named Sexy Bitch. His wealth has been noted at $1.1 billion, backing up WWE’s claim he was a billionaire for 2001, although he was reported to have since dropped off the list between 2002 and 2013. In 2014, McMahon had an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion. On May 16, 2014, McMahon’s worth dropped to an estimated $750 million after his WWE stock fell $350 million due to a price drop following disappointing business outcomes. In 2015, McMahon returned to the list with an estimated worth of $1.2 billion. In 2018, his net worth reached $3.6 billion.

On February 1, 2006, McMahon was accused of sexual harassment by a worker at a tanning bar in Boca Raton, Florida. At first, the charge appeared to be discredited because McMahon was in Miami for the 2006 Royal Rumble at the time. It was soon clarified that the alleged incident was reported to police on the day of the Rumble, but actually took place the day before. On March 25, it was reported that no charges would be filed against McMahon as a result of the investigation.

In January 2007, McMahon started a feud with Donald Trump, which was featured on major media outlets. Originally Trump wanted to fight McMahon himself but they came to a deal: both men would pick a representative to wrestle at WrestleMania 23 in a Hair vs. Hair match. The man whose wrestler lost would have his head shaved bald. After the contract signing on Raw, Trump pushed McMahon over the table in the ring onto his head after McMahon provoked Trump with several finger pokes to the shoulders. Later at a press conference, McMahon, during a photo opportunity, offered to shake hands with Trump but retracted his hand as Trump put out his. McMahon went on to fiddle with Trump’s tie and flick Trump’s nose. This angered Trump as he then slapped McMahon across the face. McMahon was then restrained from retaliating by Trump’s bodyguards and Bobby Lashley, Trump’s representative. At WrestleMania 23, McMahon’s representative (Umaga) lost the match. As a result, McMahon’s hair was shaved bald by Trump and Lashley with the help of Steve Austin, who was the special guest referee of the “Battle of the Billionaires” match.

On June 11, 2007, WWE aired a segment at the end of Raw that featured McMahon entering a limousine moments before it exploded. The show went off-air shortly after, and WWE.com reported the angle within minutes as though it were a legitimate occurrence, proclaiming that McMahon was “presumed dead”. Although this was the fate of the fictional “Mr. McMahon” character, no harm came to the actual person; the “presumed death” of McMahon was part of a storyline. WWE later acknowledged to CNBC that he was not truly dead.

The “Mr. McMahon” character officially returned on the August 6 episode of Monday Night Raw. McMahon said that he faked his death to see what people thought of him, with Stephanie accused of faking mourning while checking her father’s last will to see how it would benefit her. He also talked about many subjects, including an investigation by the United States Congress and owing money to the IRS. McMahon also declared a battle royal to determine a new Raw General Manager, which was won by William Regal. At the end of Raw, Jonathan Coachman informed McMahon of a (storyline) paternity suit regarding an illegitimate long-lost child, who was revealed in the following weeks as being a male member of the WWE roster. On the September 3 Raw, McMahon appeared and was confronted by his family. They were interrupted by Mr. Kennedy, who claimed to be McMahon’s “illegitimate son”. He was himself interrupted by a lawyer claiming Kennedy was not McMahon’s son and that the real son would be revealed the next week on Raw. His illegitimate son was finally revealed on September 10 on Raw as Hornswoggle. In February 2008, after months of “tough love” antics towards Hornswoggle, John “Bradshaw” Layfield revealed that Hornswoggle was not McMahon’s son and that he was actually Finlay’s son. It turned out that the scam was thought up by Shane, Stephanie and Linda McMahon, along with Finlay.

In early 2011, McMahon once again stepped away from WWE storylines to focus on both his corporate and backstage duties.

On June 11, 2012, McMahon returned to give a job evaluation to John Laurinaitis. After a conflict with Cena and Big Show that saw McMahon accidentally knocked out by Big Show, McMahon declared that if Big Show lost his match at No Way Out, Laurinaitis would be fired. Cena defeated Big Show in a steel cage match, and McMahon fired Laurinaitis. McMahon announced AJ as Raw’s new general manager at Raw 1000 and made Booker T SmackDown’s new general manager on August 3 episode of SmackDown. After CM Punk interrupted him on the October 8 episode of Raw, he challenged Punk to a match, threatening to fire him if he declined. The match did not officially start, but McMahon held his own in a brawl with Punk until Punk attempted the GTS. Ryback and Cena interfered and McMahon ultimately booked Punk in a match with Ryback at Hell in a Cell.

In February 2014, McMahon helped launch an over-the-top streaming service called the WWE Network.

During the buildup for the 2013 Royal Rumble, McMahon told CM Punk that if The Shield interfered in his match with The Rock, Punk would forfeit his title. During the match, the lights went out and Rock was attacked by what appeared to be The Shield, leading to Rock’s loss. Vince came out and restarted the match at Rock’s request and Rock was victorious. The next night on Raw, while conducting a performance review on Paul Heyman, he was assaulted by the returning Brock Lesnar, who attacked him with the F-5. According to WWE.com, McMahon broke his pelvis and required surgery. Vince sought revenge on Heyman and faced him in a street fight on the February 25 episode of Raw, but Lesnar again interfered, only for Triple H to interfere as well, setting up a rematch between Lesnar and Triple H at WrestleMania 29. From June 2013, members of the McMahon family began to dispute various elements of the control of WWE, such as the fates of Daniel Bryan, and of Raw and SmackDown General Managers Brad Maddox and Vickie Guerrero. After Triple H and Stephanie created The Authority, McMahon celebrated Randy Orton’s victory at TLC with them, but stepped aside from his on-screen authority role in early 2014 to evaluate Triple H and Stephanie’s control of the company.

McMahon and his wife have donated to various Republican Party causes, including $1 million in 2014 to federal candidates and political action committees, such as Karl Rove’s American Crossroads and the research and tracking group America Rising. The McMahons have donated $5 million to Donald Trump’s charity, the Donald J. Trump Foundation. The McMahons donated over $8 million in 2008, giving grants to the Fishburne Military School, Sacred Heart University, and East Carolina University. Nonprofit Quarterly noted the majority of the McMahons’ donations were towards capital expenditures. In 2006, they paid $2.5 million for construction of a tennis facility in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania. The McMahons have supported the Special Olympics since 1986, first developing an interest through their friendship with NBC producer Dick Ebersol and Susan Saint James, who encouraged them to participate.

In 2017, McMahon established and personally funded Alpha Entertainment, a separate entity from WWE. On January 25, 2018, he announced the resurrection of the XFL. The league filed for bankruptcy on April 13, 2020.

On January 22, 2018, McMahon returned on Raw 25 Years to address the WWE Universe, only to later turn on them by calling them “cheap” turning heel once again. He was later confronted, and stunnered, by Stone Cold Steve Austin. On March 12, McMahon made an appearance in a backstage segment with Roman Reigns, announcing that Reigns would be suspended for his recent actions. On SmackDown 1000 McMahon returned as face once again after dancing on TruthTV.

McMahon returned once again to WWE television on the December 17, 2018, episode of Monday Night Raw, accompanied by his son Shane, daughter Stephanie McMahon, and his son-in-law Triple H, promising to shake things up as they admitted they weren’t performing as well as they should have. McMahon announced that the four of them would now run both Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live collectively. In early 2019, McMahon entered in the feud between Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston, not letting that latter receive a WWE championship match at WrestleMania.