McMahon family

The McMahon family (/məkˈmæn/ mək-MAN) is an Irish-American family, primarily known for their involvement in the professional wrestling business. They were the founders, owners and promoters of the world's largest wrestling company, WWE. Vince McMahon, a third-generation wrestling promoter, was the chairman and chief executive officer of the company until he sold it to Endeavor. He now serves as executive chairman of Endeavor's subsidiary TKO Group Holdings of which WWE is now a division under. His son-in-law, Paul "Triple H" Levesque, serves as the chief content officer and head of creative for WWE. Vince's son Shane also occasionally performs as a wrestler in WWE, while his wife Linda and daughter Stephanie have also had various roles in the company but are currently not involved.

Not to be confused with MacMahon family.
McMahon
Current regionConnecticut and New York, U.S.
Place of originCounty Galway, Ireland
MembersVincent K. McMahon
Linda McMahon
Shane McMahon
Stephanie McMahon
Triple H (via marriage to Stephanie McMahon)
Connected membersJess McMahon
Vincent J. McMahon

The McMahons' involvement in professional wrestling dates back to 1915 with Jess McMahon when he began promoting shows. Before Jess's death in 1954, he and his son Vincent J. McMahon formed Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) in 1953, which became a Northeastern territory of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), but following a dispute in early 1963, CWC left the NWA and became the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). Vincent's son Vince joined his father's WWWF in 1969 and purchased the promotion 13 years later, which had been renamed to World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979. The company went public in 1999 and was then renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2002, with "WWE" becoming its public trade name in 2011. Today, its programs are broadcast in 150 countries and more than 30 languages.[1] In April 2023, Vince sold the company to Endeavor, the parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC); the sale was finalized in September, with WWE and UFC merging to become divisions of TKO.

The McMahon family has also branched out into movie production and American football, with two incarnations of the XFL.

History

The family's involvement in wrestling started when Jess McMahon, a descendant of the Thomond McMahon clan of Western Ireland,[2] began promoting wrestling shows in 1915. He died in 1954. Jess and his son, Vincent J. McMahon, formed the Capitol Wrestling Corporation in 1953, which would subsequently be renamed twice during his tenure (as the World Wide Wrestling Federation, and then the World Wrestling Federation).[2] Vince Sr. had two wives, Victoria Askew, and Juanita Johnston.[3][4][5] When he retired in 1982, his son from his first marriage, Vince McMahon, purchased the business and served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the company until July 2022, when he retired during a sex scandal investigation.[6] The company is now known as World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) since 2002 and Alpha Entertainment, LLC since 2017.[7][8][9]

Vince and Linda's children are Shane and Stephanie.[10] Shane is married to Marissa Mazzola,[11] and Stephanie is married to Paul Levesque, best known by his wrestling moniker Triple H.[10] Stephanie and Paul have three daughters named Aurora Rose, Murphy Claire, and Vaughn Evelyn.[12] Shane and Marissa have three sons, Declan James, Kenyon Jesse, and Rogan Henry.[11] Linda stepped down as CEO to run for United States Senate in Connecticut. Their son, Shane also departed WWE at the beginning of 2010 to become Chairman and Principal executive officer of YOU On Demand Inc., a New York City-based company that primarily operates in China, but would later return to the WWE in 2016 as an on-screen talent. Vince, Stephanie, and Shane were the only three members born into the McMahon family working under the brand as of 2021. Every member holds a collective 90% of WWE stock through WWE's Class B shares, which the family controls completely. As of June 2016, the WWE has a market cap of over $1.38 billion.[13]

In December 2016, Linda was nominated to be the Administrator of the Small Business Administration by President Donald Trump, and she served from 2017 through 2019.[14]

Since January 2023, there had been speculation that WWE had been placed up for sale.[15] Hours before WrestleMania 39 Night 2 began, CNBC reported via multiple sources that a deal between WWE and Endeavor, the parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), was imminent. The deal involved a merger of WWE with the UFC into a new publicly-traded company with Endeavor holding a 51% stake.[16] The sale was confirmed the next day on April 3, 2023. WrestleMania 39 subsequently became the final WrestleMania in which WWE was owned and controlled by the McMahon family, but Vince maintained his position as executive chairman of WWE.[17] The sale was finalized on September 12, with the 2023 Payback the final major event produced by WWE under the McMahon family's ownership. WWE and UFC subsequently became divisions under a new entity called TKO Group Holdings.[18]

Family tree

Roderick McMahon
(1844–1922)		Elizabeth Dowling
(1846–1911)
Roderick James "Jess" McMahon
(1882–1954)		Rose E. Davis
(1891–1997)
Victoria H. Hanner
(1920–2022)[19]		Vincent James McMahon
(1914–1984)		Juanita W. Johnston
(1916–1998)[20]
Vincent Kennedy McMahon
(born 1945)		Linda Marie Edwards
(born 1948)
Stephanie Marie McMahon
(born 1976)[21]		Paul Michael Levesque
(born 1969)[22]		Shane Brandon McMahon
(born 1970)		Marissa Mazzola
(born 1973)[23]
Aurora Rose Levesque
(born 2006)		Murphy Claire Levesque
(born 2008)[24]		Vaughn Evelyn Levesque
(born 2010)		Declan James McMahon
(born 2004)		Kenyon Jesse McMahon
(born 2006)		Rogan Henry McMahon
(born 2010)

McMahon job titles

See also

References
  1. "Vincent McMahon". Forbes.com.
  2. "Vince McMahon, Sr. biography". WWE. Archived from the original on March 29, 2008. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  3. Hornbaker, Tim (2007). National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Professional Wrestling. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-55022-741-3.
  4. Nation, Ryan (August 22, 2007). "Anyone for tennis? Mr. McMahon!". CANOE. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  5. Petrie, John (January 19, 1998). "WWF Raw recap". The Other Arena. Archived from the original on May 21, 2001. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  6. Adams, Matt (July 22, 2022). "WWE owner Vince McMahon announces his retirement amid a sex scandal investigation". NPR.org. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  7. "Alpha Entertainment LLC". alphaentllc.com. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  8. "WWE'S Linda McMahon Resigns to Run for U.S. Senate" (PDF) (Press release). World Wrestling Entertainment. September 16, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-10-07. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
  9. "Vince McMahon biography". IGN. Archived from the original on November 16, 2007. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  10. "Linda McMahon biography". WWE. Archived from the original on April 16, 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  11. "Shane McMahon biography". NNDB. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  12. "It's a girl". WWE. 2006-07-24. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  13. "WWE 12.31.13 10K Doc". www.sec.gov.
  14. "Senate confirmation vote PN48". February 14, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  15. Sherman, Alex (January 7, 2023). "Vince McMahon is back at WWE to ensure a smooth sale process. Here's who might want to buy it". CNBC. Archived from the original on January 9, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  16. Sherman, Alex (April 2, 2023). "WWE near deal to be sold to UFC parent Endeavor, sources say". CNBC. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  17. Valinsky, Jordan (April 3, 2023). "WWE is combining with UFC to form a new company". CNN. Archived from the original on April 3, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  18. "Endeavor and WWE® Deal to Create TKO Group Holdings Expected to Close September 12". Business Wire. September 7, 2023. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  19. "Victoria Askew Obituary". Askew-Houser Funeral Home. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
  20. "Juanita W. McMahon". Genealogy Bank. Retrieved 2009-03-20.
  21. "Stephanie McMahon profile". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  22. John Milner and Jason Clevett (2004-12-05). "Triple H biography". CANOE. Archived from the original on 2015-04-18. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  23. "Marissa Mazzola profile". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  24. "Stephanie McMahon gives birth to second child". IGN. 2008-07-28. Archived from the original on 2008-08-05. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
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