Did Vince McMahon Sell WWE?

The WWE is no stranger to controversy and speculation, and one of the biggest questions on fans’ minds is whether or not Vince McMahon sold the WWE.

Introduction

In 1999, Vince McMahon took World Wrestling Entertainment public, selling 12.6 million shares to the public at $17 each. McMahon still retained a majority stake in the company, but the move seemed to mark a shift in WWE’s focus from being a privately held company to one that was owned by shareholders. In the years that followed, WWE’s share price fluctuated, but generally remained in the $17-$20 range.

However, in recent years, WWE’s stock has taken a nosedive, and as of writing this article, shares are trading at just $9.05. This sharp decline has led many to wonder if Vince McMahon has sold his shares in WWE.

Vince McMahon’s history with WWE

Vince McMahon has been the face of WWE for decades, but there was a time when he almost sold the company. In the early 1990s, Vince was struggling to keep WWE afloat and he was approached by Ted Turner about selling the company. Vince didn’t want to sell, but he was eventually convinced by his wife Linda McMahon to do it. Luckily, the deal fell through and Vince kept WWE.

Vince McMahon’s early life and career

Born in 1945 in Greenwich, Connecticut, Vince McMahon was the son of Vince McMahon Sr., a successful wrestling promoter. After his father’s death in 1984, McMahon took over the WWE (then known as the World Wrestling Federation). Under McMahon’s leadership, the WWE became a publicly traded company and the most successful wrestling organization in the world.

In addition to his role as WWE Chairman and CEO, McMahon has also served as a commentator, on-screen authority figure, and wrestler. He is a three-time WWF Champion and a one-time World Bodybuilding Federation Champion.

McMahon has been married twice. He has four children with his first wife, Linda McMahon: Stephanie McMahon, Shane McMahon, Maria McMahon, and WWE chief brand officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque. He has two children with his second wife, former WWE diva Sable: son Apollo and daughter Vaughn.

Vince McMahon’s takeover of WWE

In 1971, Vince McMahon Sr. handed over control of WWE to his son, Vincent K. McMahon. Under the new ownership, the company began to expand its reach. In 1982, McMahon formed a wrestling territory known as the World Bodybuilding Federation (WBF), which was a short-lived venture that featured famous bodybuilders such as Lou Ferrigno and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The WBF folded after just one year.

In 1984, McMahon took WWE national with the help of his business partner, Jim Barnett. Together they started running shows in major arenas across the United States. This expansion led to the creation of Wrestling’s Main Event, the first nationally televised wrestling program in more than a decade. The success of this show allowed WWE to purchase its rival promotion, the World Wrestling Association (WWA), in 1985.

With WWE now being the only major wrestling promotion in the country, Vince McMahon began to monopolize the industry. He continued to grow WWE by creating new television programs, such as Saturday Night’s Main Event and The Royal Rumble. He also started signing huge stars like Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant, which helped make WWE into a global phenomenon.

However, not everyone was happy with McMahon’s control of professional wrestling. In 1988, Ted Turner–owner of WTBS (the station that aired WWE’s flagship program, Superstars of Wrestling)–purchased Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), another major wrestling promotion at the time. Turner then renamed JCP to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and began airing their shows on WTBS as well.

This created a true wrestling war with McMahon’s WWE and Turner’s WCW fighting for ratings supremacy every week. This war would rage for most of the 1990s and would change the face of professional wrestling forever.

The sale of WWE

In 2009, Vince McMahon announced that he had sold WWE to the investment firm Goldman Sachs. This caused a lot of speculation among fans as to whether or not McMahon had actually sold the company. The answer is a bit complicated.

The sale of WWE to Vince McMahon

In February 2014, it was widely reported that Vince McMahon had sold the WWE to a Saudi Arabian investment group for $3 billion. However, these reports turned out to be inaccurate and McMahon is still the sole owner of the WWE.

The sale of WWE to Vince McMahon’s son-in-law

In 2009, Vince McMahon’s son-in-law, Paul Levesque, otherwise known as Triple H, took over WWE’s Creative Team. This was a major changeup in the company, as McMahon had been running the show since the early ’80s. Levesque’s wife, Stephanie McMahon, is also Vince’s daughter and is one of the on-screen authority figures in WWE.

Several years after Triple H took over WWE’s Creative Team, rumors began to circulate that Vince McMahon had sold WWE to his son-in-law. These rumors were fueled by a 2016 Securities and Exchange Commission filing which showed that Triple H now owns 9.6% of WWE’s Class B shares. This is the same class of shares that Vince McMahon and his family own.

While it’s true that Triple H does own a significant number of WWE shares, Vince McMahon still owns the majority of the company. As of 2019, Vince McMahon owns 82% of WWE’s Class A shares and 54% of WWE’s Class B shares. The McMahons control 71% of the voting power in WWE thanks to their dual-class share structure. So while it’s true that Triple H has a significant stake in WWE, Vince McMahon is still very much in charge of the company.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is safe to say that Vince McMahon has not sold WWE. While the company is not currently doing as well as it has in the past, Mr. McMahon is still very much in control and shows no signs of selling any time soon. Only time will tell if WWE can regain its place at the top of the professional wrestling world, but for now, it seems that Vince McMahon is still very much in charge.