Warning: Spoilers for Mr. McMahon, Episode 1, “Younger”The Mr. McMahon Documentary sheds some light on the often-forgotten impact of the former Wow Chairman’s late father’s contribution to the wrestling business. Besides his shocking scandals, Vince McMahon is still considered a pioneer of the wrestling business based on how he morphed the business into sports entertainment, changing how audiences see the art of professional wrestling. However, there is at least one overlooked pioneer before him.
Episode one of Netflix Mr. McMahon Docuseries – titled “Junior” – put a spotlight on Vincent McMahon Sr., the man who ran the WWE operations before Vincent Kennedy McMahon Jr. For all the praise and credit Vince McMahon gets for what he did for WWE and how he changed the wrestling business as a whole, people can’t forget that the chicken always comes before the egg. The documentary takes the time to ensure that viewers understand who Vince Sr. is. was and how he crafted the model for success that Vince Jr.
Who is Vince McMahon Sr.?
The original Mr. McMahon dominated the East Coast in the Territories era
It is often forgotten that the former WWE chairman is a third-generation name in the wrestling industry, meaning that he comes from a lineage of people who worked in the business. In this case, he was preceded by his father, Vincent James McMahon, and his grandfather, Jess McMahon. Both Jess and Vince were wrestling promoters in their heyday. Jess McMahon was a promoter for boxing events, concerts and, of course, wrestling shows.
The apple did not fall far from the tree, as the Harlem native Vince set out on his own ambitions through professional wrestling. Both men would find themselves involved with Capitol Wrestling Corporation, a wrestling and boxing promotion. There are conflicting reports about who actually was the founder of CWC between Jess and VinceBut Vince certainly owned it at one point, becoming highly successful in the process. Most importantly, CWC would eventually be rebranded under WWWF, then WWF, and now, WWE.
According to Vincent K. McMahon during the episode, his father was considered the best promoter in the business. News headlines would call him “Mr. Wrestling” while the WWE Hall of Famer Paul Heyman in the doctor immediately calls him “the Pope of Madison Square Garden.” In the Territories era, each promoter had to run shows in a specific area, and in the WWF’s case that was the Northeast, including New York, meaning they could have their shows at the popular Madison Square Garden.
It is interesting to note that when the CWC transformed into WWWF, the promotion also pulled out of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), following a dispute over CWC wrestler Buddy Rogers losing the NWA Heavyweight Title to Lou Thesz. Rogers was then awarded the inaugural WWWF Heavyweight Championship, the precursor to the WWE Championship, which he then lost to Bruno Sammartino, who would then begin Longest World Title Reign in WWE History (2,803 days).
Vince Sr.’s dispute with the NWA surely mirrored what his son would do much later, when Vince Jr. essentially tore up the territory system. However, Vince Sr. always maintained a good relationship with the NWA and never tried to break into other territories, as his son did later. In fact, the WWWF rejoined the NWA in 1971. Still, thanks largely to Sammartino’s charisma and his performances in the Garden, the WWWF Championship and the man who held it took on a prestige that was on par with the NWA Heavyweight Title.
Vince Sr.’s role in Vince Jr.’s life
A conflictual relationship that would shape the future of Vince Jr
Vince Jr. never knew he came from the McMahon family tree until now He met his father at 12. Before that, he didn’t even know his last name was McMahon. Instead, young Vince lived in a trailer with his mother and violently abusive stepfather. In the first episode of the documentary, Vince Jr. details meeting his father for the first time expecting a big hug, but instead received a slap on the back. Vince never learned why his father was absent from his life. They never talked about it, according to him.
Vince Sr. Was as emotionally distant to his son as he was physically distant during his first twelve years of life. What’s most interesting is that Vince Jr. was never sure how to contextualize his father’s distant demeanor, even as an adult. He recalls that despite an awkward first interaction, he immediately fell in love with his father, noticing a warmth in his father’s heart that he wanted. Afterwards, Vince immediately dismissed it as such “Maybe I was bull***** myself.”
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Nevertheless, it is undeniable that Vince Jr’s life changed completely once his father finally entered the picture. He went from living a poor lifestyle to entering the luxurious and glamorous world of professional wrestling. Fascinated by the larger-than-life personas of his father and his employees, Vince Jr. began working for the promotion as an announcer and commentator. The wrestling business is also the only means by which the two would bond. The father-son duo wouldn’t play ball, but they would talk exclusively about the business of wrestling.
How Vince Jr. took over his father’s business
took over the empire
Vince proved his worth as a promoter when his father sent him to Bangor, a remote outpost of the territory, to manage the show in that city. He was successful and when his father started talking about retiring, Vince was quick to step in. However, being the son of the boss doesn’t automatically mean that Vince McMahon is destined to lead the WWE one day.
In fact, it was Gorilla Monsoon, Vince Sr.’s right-hand man, who was the “heir” to the WWF (as the company was renamed in 1979), at least according to Vince’s words in the episode. Therefore, to guarantee his place as the heir, he came to his father with an enticing offer. The deal was that young Vince would pay his father in tri-monthly payments.
Vince would pay his father once every three months until the final payment was made. If Vince ever missed a payment, then Capitol Wrestling Corporation would go back to Vince Sr., who would then keep all of his son’s money without refund. According to Vince Jr., his father and Monsoon didn’t believe he could make the payments, so they accepted. Everyone, including his father, was surprised when Vince made the final payment.
The differences between Vince McMahon and his father
Father and son have more than a few disagreements on how to run the company. Despite some important and innovative ideas, Vince Sr. Did not share his son’s vision of transforming pro wrestling into a form of pure entertainment. The best example is Vince Sr.’s opposition to a young Hulk Hogan, who in 1982 was a rookie in the WWF, taking part in the Rocky III Movie like Thunderlips (the role that would put Hogan on the map). Hogan left for Verne Gagne’s AWA as a result, but when Vince bought his father’s company, he was quick to call Hogan back, priming him as his top star.
Vince Sr. was also opposed to waging war on the other territories, something his son immediately began to do by placing their top stars and running and promoting shows outside of the Northeast. In the documentary, Vince says that finally, facing his success, his father admitted that it was a good idea, and he didn’t care what the other promoters had to say.
Vince Jr. bought the company in 1982, and Vince Sr. died in 1984 of pancreatic cancer. Vince McMahon was able to use the success his father achieved through CWC to make WWE the global, mainstream conglomerate that it is today. Although there was some friction between Vince and his father as two men with different opinions on where they thought pro wrestling should go, that doesn’t change the fact that Wow Would not have become the empire that it is today, without Vince McMahon Sr. he himself built the foundation of it.