WWF · WWE • 1997–2009 (on-screen)
Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon is simultaneously wrestling's greatest promoter and its most memorable villain — the 'Mr. McMahon' character's feud with Steve Austin from 1997 to 2001 is credited with saving the WWF and launching the Attitude Era that beat WCW.
- Born
- Aug 24, 1945
- Hometown
- Hartsville, South Carolina
- Height / Wt
- 6'2" / 248 lb
- Role
- Chairman / CEO, WWE (1982–2023)
- Signature
- Clothesline; Shane McMahon interference
- Storyline
- Mr. McMahon — tyrannical boss villain
The Career Ledger
The record of Vince McMahon
A curated ledger of Vince McMahon's most significant matches. Cross-checked against WWE.com, Wikipedia and Cagematch.
| Result | Opponent | Event | Date | Stipulation | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | Steve Austin | WWF Raw | Apr 13, 1998 | Street fight angle — Austin vs. McMahon first confrontation | Dude Love attacks Austin as corporate hireling — angle not a match |
| Loss | Steve Austin | WWF Over the Edge | May 31, 1998 | Steve Austin vs. Dude Love — McMahon as special referee | McMahon tries to screw Austin; Austin wins anyway |
| Win | Shane McMahon | WWF Raw | various 1998 | Tag — McMahons vs. Austin | McMahon Family briefly got one over on Austin via numbers |
| Win | Steve Austin | Royal Rumble 1999 | Jan 24, 1999 | Royal Rumble Match (McMahon wins) | McMahon wins the Royal Rumble — drawing massive heat |
| Loss | Steve Austin | WWF St. Valentine's Day Massacre | Feb 14, 1999 | Steel Cage Match | Austin wins the cage match; McMahon loses but gets protected by Big Show interference |
| Loss | Steve Austin | WWF Raw | Feb 15, 1999 | Street fight — night after cage | Austin gets his receipt; McMahon beaten in the ring |
| Win | Triple H & Shane McMahon | WWE No Mercy 2003 | Oct 19, 2003 | Tag — Vince & Shane vs. La Resistance (brand-crossing angle) | McMahons win the tag — storyline win |
| Loss | Bret Hart | WWE Raw | Feb 8, 2010 | No Holds Barred Match | Hart beats McMahon — Hitman's revenge for Montreal Screwjob 13 years later |
- LossSteve Austin
WWF Raw · Apr 13, 1998
Street fight angle — Austin vs. McMahon first confrontation · Dude Love attacks Austin as corporate hireling — angle not a match
- LossSteve Austin
WWF Over the Edge · May 31, 1998
Steve Austin vs. Dude Love — McMahon as special referee · McMahon tries to screw Austin; Austin wins anyway
- WinShane McMahon
WWF Raw · various 1998
Tag — McMahons vs. Austin · McMahon Family briefly got one over on Austin via numbers
- WinSteve Austin
Royal Rumble 1999 · Jan 24, 1999
Royal Rumble Match (McMahon wins) · McMahon wins the Royal Rumble — drawing massive heat
- LossSteve Austin
WWF St. Valentine's Day Massacre · Feb 14, 1999
Steel Cage Match · Austin wins the cage match; McMahon loses but gets protected by Big Show interference
- LossSteve Austin
WWF Raw · Feb 15, 1999
Street fight — night after cage · Austin gets his receipt; McMahon beaten in the ring
- WinTriple H & Shane McMahon
WWE No Mercy 2003 · Oct 19, 2003
Tag — Vince & Shane vs. La Resistance (brand-crossing angle) · McMahons win the tag — storyline win
- LossBret Hart
WWE Raw · Feb 8, 2010
No Holds Barred Match · Hart beats McMahon — Hitman's revenge for Montreal Screwjob 13 years later
Authority as character
How Vince McMahon won — and lost
McMahon as a wrestler was always secondary to McMahon as a character — the point was never for him to win clean, but for Austin to overcome the corrupt authority figure. McMahon's in-ring work served the story, not his own performance.
1997
The Montreal Screwjob — McMahon orders the bell rung on Bret Hart at Survivor Series; the real event that created the Mr. McMahon villain
1998
Austin vs. McMahon becomes the biggest angle in wrestling — WWF overtakes WCW in Monday Night Wars
Royal Rumble 1999
McMahon wins the Rumble match — one of wrestling's greatest heel moments
2023
Retires from WWE Board amid personal legal matters — leaves the company he built over 40 years
Title history
Storyline championship history
McMahon's real championship is the company he built. His storyline championship wins were always designed to generate crowd heat, never to establish him as a competitor.
Chapter by chapter
Career timeline
Buys the WWF from his father
Vince McMahon Jr. purchases the WWF from his father Vince Sr. and immediately begins expanding nationally — against the unwritten territory agreement.
WrestleMania I
Produces the first WrestleMania at Madison Square Garden — a gamble that works and establishes the WWE pay-per-view model.
WWF's difficult years
WCW, the steroid trial, and competition from nWo-era WCW put WWF on the defensive. McMahon responds by reinventing the product.
Montreal Screwjob — Mr. McMahon born
Orders the bell rung on Bret Hart at Survivor Series 1997. The real incident creates the Mr. McMahon character — a corporate villain who plays the rules against the talent.
Austin vs. McMahon — Attitude Era
The Austin feud becomes the biggest angle in wrestling — 83 episodes of head-to-head competition with WCW and WWF wins.
Royal Rumble win — WrestleMania XV
McMahon wins the Royal Rumble; main events WrestleMania XV vs. Austin. WM XV main event is a spectacle built on two years of storytelling.
WWF buys WCW
McMahon purchases WCW's library and trademarks from Ted Turner's AOL Time Warner. Wrestling's Monday Night War ends.
Retirement
Retires from WWE Board amid personal legal matters. Leaves the company he built from a regional territory into a multi-billion-dollar global brand.
Essential viewing
Signature matches
Austin vs. McMahon — The Feud (1997–2001)
WWF storyline · 1997–2001
The most commercially successful wrestling angle of the 20th century. Austin represented the blue-collar worker; McMahon the corrupt boss. The crowd invested because the archetype was universal and both performers executed it brilliantly.
vs. Bret Hart — No Holds Barred (WWE Raw, 2010)
February 8, 2010
Thirteen years after Montreal, Bret Hart gets his receipt. The match was basic — McMahon was 64 — but the emotional payoff was enormous and the segment was genuinely moving.
Greatest feuds
Rivalries that defined an era
Steve Austin
THE rivalry of the Attitude Era — tyrannical boss vs. rebellious employee. McMahon's villain and Austin's anti-hero defined late 1990s wrestling and drove WWF past WCW in the Monday Night Wars.
Bret Hart
Montreal Screwjob — McMahon ordered the bell rung on Hart at Survivor Series 1997. The real incident that created the Mr. McMahon character, and one of wrestling's most controversial moments.
Triple H
Long-time real-life son-in-law (married Stephanie McMahon) and on-screen rival. The McMahon-Helmsley Era 1999–2000 was built on their real relationship.
Tag teams & alliances
Partnerships & relationships
Son-in-law
Triple H — married Stephanie McMahon in 2003. The McMahon-Helmsley connection is both real and a major storyline thread.
Son
Shane McMahon — on-screen rival and ally; real-life son who left WWE to pursue his own ventures.
Daughter
Stephanie McMahon — on-screen heel authority figure; real-life WWE Chief Brand Officer until 2023.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
Did Vince McMahon ever wrestle Steve Austin?
Yes. The Austin vs. McMahon feud included multiple physical confrontations and matches from 1997 to 2001. Their most notable formal match was a Steel Cage match at St. Valentine's Day Massacre (February 14, 1999), which Austin won. McMahon also won the 1999 Royal Rumble match as part of the ongoing programme.
What is the Montreal Screwjob?
The Montreal Screwjob occurred at WWE Survivor Series on November 9, 1997. McMahon ordered referee Earl Hebner to call for the bell while Bret Hart was locked in the Sharpshooter — declaring Shawn Michaels the winner without Hart submitting. The incident was not pre-agreed with Hart and is one of wrestling's most controversial real events.
When did Vince McMahon retire from WWE?
Vince McMahon announced his retirement from the WWE Board of Directors in January 2023, amid personal legal matters. He had served as WWE Chairman/CEO since purchasing the company from his father in 1982.
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