Vincent Kennedy McMahon goes by many adjectives. Demanding, pompous, greedy, intimidating, smart, and coldhearted are all ways of describing this well-known businessman. He is the current CEO and owner of World Wrestling Entertainment. Born in 1945 he was raised into the wrestling industry. He is a 3rd generation wrestling promoter. Vince McMahon holds the title of chairman, producer, and gatekeeper.
Vince McMahon decides everything, and I mean everything. Of the company’s four WWE television shows nothing makes the air without his consent. He controls where the wrestling events are held, who wrestles that night, and the outcomes of matches and segments. He is the true sense of the word gatekeeper. In most cases he controls how audiences react. Through basic storytelling he can make crowds do what he wants them to do. Gatekeepers control our destiny in some cases. In the case of Vince McMahon he controls the destiny of the wrestlers that he hires and presents. Since wrestling is scripted and not a real sport, McMahon holds all the cards. Boxing, tennis, and ultimate fighting are sports that involve one on one competition in which the winning purse is completely controlled by them. Vince pays the most to the main eventers that he decides should be in the main event, while those who are left off of events may not get paid at all.
McMahon is known for being a very strict boss. Some say that wrestlers who work for him are afraid to request time off to heal because it would look like they aren’t as dedicated to the wrestling business as those who don’t need to take time off. Vince McMahon is seen as a gatekeeper that for the most part isn’t seen as ethical. “As long as it makes him money, then it’s good for business” is the attitude that he often comes across as having. An example of why he gets this reaction is one that dated back to 1987 and 1988. Several weeks after winning a championship in what would be known as the biggest match of his career at WrestleMania 3 Ricky Steamboat requested time off. He did so to be with his then pregnant wife, who was expecting his first son. This seems reasonable considering that the WWE (known as the WWF at the time) sent their performers out on the road over 250 days of the year, right? I couple months off. Well, that didn’t sit well with Vince McMahon. Steamboat took time off anyway and when he returned he was not used as prominently as he had originally been. Who needs ethics when business is involved?
Many have benefited and many have lost as a result of McMahon’s decisions. Thousands of wrestlers have benefited throughout the years being that the WWE have given them a platform to be noticed by millions of viewers. The most well-known of these who have benefited are Hulk Hogan, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, Steve Austin, Bruno Sammartino, John Cena, and Ric Flair. Wrestlers who have lost lives due to the pressure of maintaining a certain look (via unnatural means) include dozens and dozens of wrestlers such as Andrew “Test” Martin, Edward Fatu, Eddie Guerrero, Lance Cade, Ray “Big Bossman” Traylor, and Davey Boy Smith. The later list caused McMahon’s decisions to backfire on him publically and personally.
In McMahon was put on trail in 1994 when he was accused of distributing steroids to his wrestlers. Several of McMahon’s former employees testified against him, stating that Vince encouraged them to start using steroids. He was acquitted of charges and he admitted to taking steroids himself. An interesting note is that arguably the biggest star in the history of the WWE, Hulk Hogan, became the star witness that testified against McMahon.
In 2006 the WWE created a health program named “The Talent Wellness Program” that is a comprehensive drug, alcohol, and cardiac screening program. The policy tests for recreational drug use and abuse of prescription medication. Under the guidelines of the policy, talent is also tested annually for pre-existing or developing cardiac issues. The drug testing is handled by Aegis Sciences Corporation. The effects of steroid use are still not as well-known as other drugs because steroids are still relatively new. Enlarge hearts of wrestlers is a reoccurring, trending side effect that wrestlers have gone through, years after the drug abuse had stopped. Still, scientists learn more and more about what it can do to the human body over time
Vince McMahon’s helping to create an environment in which drugs were frequently used eventually caught up to the company in 2007 when top star, Christopher Michael Benoit, had his life end in a double murder–suicide where he killed his wife, son, and them himself. This murder revealed a couple of things, one being that the 40 year old wrestler had steroids in his system and in his house. Reports showed that Benoit had a testosterone level of 207 micrograms per liter and an epitestosterone level of 3.5 mcg/L for a testosterone to epitestosterone ratio of 59:1. Considering that most people have a 1:1 ratio and some have a 10:1 ratio, this was an even bigger eye opener that the WWE still had problems. Tests were conducted on Benoit's brain head of neurosurgery at West Virginia University, Julian Bailes/ Result of those tests showed that Benoit's brain was so severely damaged that it resembled the brain of an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient. So there are many criticisms to Vince McMahon’s gatekeeping habits but he has many positives as well.
The WWE is the top contributor in grants for the Make a Wish program. They have also recently started a campaign that encourages against bullying, the “Be a Star” campaign. The mission of this campaign is to get people, primarily children, to show tolerance and respect to ensure a positive social environment for everyone regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation. Gatekeepers have the ability to control and effect the way people live. Gatekeepers have the authority to control what people see and what people don’t see. McMahon is a gatekeeper that isn’t uncommon when talking about owners of small and large companies. I guess it’s a gene thing.
By: Jason Jeremiah
