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Pre-election transition planning is famously so tight-lipped that you’d barely know it is happening when you read the news of the day. The dreaded headline claims the candidate is “measuring the drapes of the White House” long before any votes are counted. Opposing campaigns are all too eager to pounce on the arrogance of that presumption.

This is why the recent trickle of news about the Trump transition planning is so intriguing — particularly the revelation that Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is serving as a transition whisperer.

Earlier...

On Wednesday, five men who had worked as “ring boys” for World Wrestling Entertainment as young teenagers in the 1980s filed a lawsuit alleging that they were groomed and sexually abused by ring crew boss and ring announcer Mel Phillips on the company’s watch. The suit, filed by five John Does, names WWE, parent company Tko Group Holdings, and WWE co-founders/former executives Vince and Linda McMahon as defendants. (Phillips died in 2012.) The suit paints a picture of Phillips as someone to whom WWE gave unfettered access to kids...

With just weeks to go in this election, we are on the brink of another transfer of power, with a near 50/50 chance that Donald Trump will again be preparing to govern. Ominous signs right now suggest Trump’s plan for this transition is chaotic and risky, flouting rules established to keep the country safe and secure.

What is most worrisome about the Trump planning, though, is the dangerous game of chicken he is playing with the outgoing Biden White House. We recently learned that the Trump transition team has not...

Fans couldn’t understand why Vince McMahon would distance himself from the Netflix documentary Mr. McMahon. The series has disappointed fans who were looking to get a peek into “the real Vince McMahon” as the promo of the series had originally promised. Long-time wrestling fans found it to be the compilation of all the known controversies against the former CEO of WWE.

Vince McMahon | Credits: WWE

Mr. McMahon began work way before the Janel Grant lawsuit against McMahon. In the wake of the allegations and McMahon’s removal from WWE, the docu-series almost took a different path as filmmaker Chris Smith now gained access to talent and footage that the former CEO would’ve never signed off on.

Fans Find Mr. McMahon As A Compilation Of Controversies With Nothing New To Offer A still poster of the docuseries Mr. McMahon | Credits: Netflix

Vince McMahon‘s ring stories go on about...

Attorney Ann Callis of Holland Law Firm, who represents former World Wrestling Entertainment employee Janel Grant in her sexual misconduct lawsuit against Vince McMahon, the former CEO of WWE, gave a virtual press conference on Thursday ahead of the Sept. 25 premiere of the Netflix documentary series Mr. McMahon. Grant, Callis said, does not appear in and has not seen the show, which features interviews with McMahon and WWE stars including John Cena, Steve Austin, Dwayne Johnson, and Hulk Hogan.

Grant’s allegedly traumatic experience with McMahon, Callis said, is “integral...

Hulkamania is going to run wild at the Republican National Convention. As reported by multiple outlets, Terry “Hulk Hogan” Bollea will speak before Donald Trump officially accepts the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday night.

What’s more, longtime Trump supporter Kid Rock will perform at the event after boasting on social media that he would be on hand to support the “American badass president.” He also hinted at doing something wild, asking, “Are you scared?”

CNN anchor Jake Tapper has posted a video of Kid Rock’s soundcheck, during which he appeared to be rehearsing a new song inspired by the assassination attempt on Trump. Check it out below.

Hogan has teased political aspirations over the past several years. In 2018, he claimed that former Trump advisor Roger Stone was pushing him to run for US Senate. More recently, the former WWE wrestler told Fox & Friends that “we need somebody in...

At the Republican National Convention, numerous speakers have been trotted out as so-called “everyday Americans.” Tonight, the list of “everyday Americans” will include Diane Hendricks, a woman who has topped Forbes’ Richest Self-Made Women list for seven years in a row and has a net worth of $20 billion.

Hendricks has donated millions to support Donald Trump’s political rise and played a key role in his shocking 2016 victory in Wisconsin — before scoring a massive tax deduction as a result of Trump’s 2017 tax law. She’s scheduled to speak at...

Donald Trump’s acceptance speech will be the highlight of the final night of the Republican National Convention, but the other speaker lineup will have the feel of a cage match.

Hulk Hogan has been added to the lineup. The entertainer and wrestler sued Gawker for invasion of privacy over the publication of an excerpt of a sex tape. Hogan won and the case was eventually settled, but the case put Gawker out of business. As it turned out, venture capitalist Peter Thiel financed Hogan’s lawsuit. Thiel also helped bankroll vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance’s 2022 U.S. Senate campaign, donating $15 million to a super Pac supporting his candidacy.

Other speakers to be featured tonight include Dana White, CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship and Linda McMahon, former CEO of WWE and Small Business Administration administrator during Trump’s presidency.

Other speakers will include Tucker Carlson, Trump attorney Alina Habba,...

Tucker Carlson is among the celebrity names slated to speak at next week’s Republican National Convention, reportedly in a plum spot on Thursday night before Donald Trump himself accepts the party nomination.

In addition to a long list of elected officials who are backing Trump, the speaker lineup also includes celebrities like Amber Rose, the model, rapper and former stripper; Dana White, the CEO of UFC; and Savannah Chrisley, the TV personality whose parents are serving prison time for fraud and tax evasion. Also on the bill: Lee Greenwood and Chris Janson.

Notably missing from the lineup: Former First Lady Melania Trump and the former president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump. They each spoke at the 2016 and 2020 conventions.

House GOP leaders like Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Majority Whip Tom Emmer are on the list, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Minority Whip John Thune and Republican...

Vince McMahon was leading a fairly perfect life after having co-founded the modern WWE with his wife, Linda McMahon. But then everything came crashing down on him with a series of serious allegations from a former employee that the 78-year-old McMahon had to resign from his position as the CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment.

Vince McMahon. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Yet, what’s worse is that his sad story didn’t even end with this sacrifice. According to recent reports, McMahon is said to have reportedly joined the list of all those celebrities whose names are banned from being spoken on the promotion’s programming — something that Brock Lesnar’s wife is very well aware of, being a member of it herself.

Vince McMahon’s Name Reportedly Banned From WWE TV

While Vince McMahon may have indeed contributed a major hand behind the establishment of the modern World Wrestling Entertainment, his...

Shares in Truth Social parent Trump Media & Technology Group gave back most of their initial gains but still posted a strong debut on the Nasdaq, boosting the value of Donald Trump’s majority stake.

The start of trading for the stock, which resulted from a Spac merger finalized last week, was not accompanied by the usual Wall Street pageantry of an opening-bell ceremony or a gladhanding photo shoot. Still, a surge of initial interest in the stock Tuesday morning prompted market officials to briefly halt trading. Once it resumed, shares eventually cooled off after rising as much as 50%, though they still rose 16% on the day to finish at $57.99.

At that price, Trump’s roughly 60% stake in the company would be worth about $4.5 billion, a conveniently timed windfall given the former president’s many legal obligations. A judge on Monday gave him a reprieve in a civil fraud case in New York,...

Vince McMahon, who has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, is currently treated as someone with whom Tko group and WWE do not want to get involved. His face has now been blurred out of the company’s new video game. Publisher 2K confirmed that McMahon has been cut following the allegations of s*xual assault and trafficking against him made earlier this year.

Former WWE boss Vince McMahon

McMahon left the organization following an ex-wwe employee’s lawsuit accusing him of assault. Apart from being the real-life boss of the wrestling promotion, McMahon also played the villainous Mr. McMahon, an authoritarian character that was a centerpiece of WWE programming for the last few decades.

SUGGESTEDVince McMahon Talked About His Divorce With Linda McMahon in One of the Wildest WWE Moments With Stephanie McMahon WWE 2K24 Blurs Vince McMahon’s Face

WWE 2K24 has blurred footage of...

Today is the latest deadline for campaigns and committees to disclose donors, offering a glimpse at who is putting up huge sums in the 2024 elections, which may end up being the most expensive ever.

According to the latest filings with the Federal Election Commission, Jeffrey Katzenberg, who is campaign co-chair of Joe Biden’s campaign, contributed $1 million to the Ff Pac, which is short for Future Forward, the main independent entity backing the president’s re-election bid. Future Forward made news this week when it announced plans to spend $250 million in an advertising blitz in battleground states. Money is being raised via the SuperPAC and a non profit, meaning some donors have to be disclosed and others do not.

Also contributing to Ff Pac was Sheryl Sandberg, the former Meta exective who recently announced that she was leaving the tech giant’s board. According to Fec records, she contributed $500,059 in...

Editor’s note: This post contain extremely sexually explicit details from the lawsuit against WWE founder Vince McMahon.

Updated, 1:51 Pm: Following a harrowing sexual assault and sex-trafficking lawsuit filed Thursday against Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment by a former WWE staff member, the wrestling mogul and current WWE owners Tko Group Holdings have broken their silence on the grisly claims.

“This lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and a vindictive distortion of the truth,” a spokesman for McMahon said today. “He will vigorously defend himself.”

“Mr. McMahon does not control Tko nor does he oversee the day-to-day operations of WWE,” a Tko spokesperson told Deadline this afternoon regarding the company’s Executive Chairman. “While this matter pre-dates our Tko executive team’s tenure at the company, we take Ms. Grant’s horrific allegations very seriously and are addressing this matter internally.”

The statement...

His former aide has been making bank off his name for years and he wants his cut, right now. At least that’s how former President Donald Trump sees it.

“It’s my fucking money!” the 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner privately vented in October, referring to an alleged sum in the tens of millions of dollars, a source with direct knowledge of the matter tells Rolling Stone.

Trump wasn’t talking about a business deal. Rather, he’s been grumbling about money donated to a think tank his former staffers and...

Christian Nationalists were out in force at Mar-a-Lago on Friday night, once again demonstrating their proximity to Maga power.

Lance Wallnau — the chief promoter of a “Seven Mountains Mandate” for right-wing Christians to seize control over government and culture — was dressed in a tux and streaming live to his 1 million Facebook followers. The black-tie event was the America First Policy Institute gala at Trump’s Palm Beach estate, where the former president was soon to speak.

As he filmed with his cell phone, Wallnau grabbed co-religionist Jim Garlow — the Maga...

As of Tuesday, WWE and Endeavor’s UFC have officially been merged into one company now known as Tko Group Holdings.

The change brings the premier names in sports entertainment and mixed martial arts under one roof for the first time. The question remains, however, what does this mean for fans of either or both promotions?

I fall into the male 18-34 demographic, so naturally I am a fan of both the UFC and WWE. My love of pro wrestling started when my parents let us watch “Monday Night Raw” for the first time in early 1999, the same night Mick “Mankind” Foley won the world championship from The Rock thanks to an assist (and stiff chair shot) from “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.

Eight years later, I was flipping channels and came across the replay of a UFC fight, specifically Mirko Cro Cop vs. Gabriel Gonzaga. I was about to change channels,...

WWE, led by CEO Nick Khan after co-ceo Stephanie McMahon resigned, posted revenue in its fourth quarter up 5 percent to 325.3 million, while operating income fell 22 percent to 62.7 million.

Net income for the fourth quarter went down to 38.8 million, against 60.9 million in the same period of 2021. The latest rise in quarterly revenue at the TV wrestling giant was due to higher network revenues for premium live events like Crown Jewel and Extreme Rules, the company said.

Most of the WWE revenue still comes from media rights, with live events contributing 23.8 million during the latest quarter, up from a year-earlier 20.1 million, while consumer products came to 21.8 million, down from a year-earlier 32.6 million.

During the fourth quarter in the media revenue category, content rights fees, or licensing revenue for flagship TV series like Raw and SmackDown, came to 155.2 million, just up from a year-earlier 150.5 million.

The company saw co-founder Vince McMahon recently return...

World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Vince McMahon will step aside from the company’s business affairs amid an investigation into allegations of a hush-money payment to a former employee and new accusations of sexual misconduct.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Thursday that McMahon paid a secret 3 million settlement to an unnamed female employee, a WWE paralegal, in order to keep their “consensual” affair private. That separation agreement was finalized in January 2022.

The investigation into that claim unearthed “other, older nondisclosure agreements involving claims by former female WWE employees of misconduct by Mr.

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WWE founder and CEO Vince McMahon has “voluntarily stepped back” from his roles as CEO and chairman of the sports entertainment powerhouse amid an “investigation into alleged misconduct” by him and John Laurinaitis, head of talent relations.

“McMahon will retain his role and responsibilities related to WWE’s creative content during this period and remains committed to cooperating with the review underway,” the company said. A special committee of the board is handling the probe. It has appointed McMahon’s daughter Stephanie to serve as interim CEO and interim chairwoman, WWE also said on Friday.

The Wall Street Journal had reported of multimillion-dollar hush money payments to women who allegedly had sexual relationships with McMahon. The allegations were spurred on after the board was contacted by someone who knew an employee who left the company earlier this year and who received a 3 million payment.

Glenn Youngkin is squaring off against Terry McAuliffe for the keys to the Virginia Governor’s Mansion on Tuesday.

It’s been a strange campaign.

McAuliffe is as establishment as establishment gets. He’s tight with the Clintons, once chaired the Democratic National Committee, and has even already served as Virginia’s governor. Youngkin is a political neophyte who’s been trying to thread pretty tight a needle by playing to Trump’s base while also distancing himself from the former president in an effort to court the swing state’s moderates.

The WWE learned a lot about the ties that bind with its fans during the pandemic.

The return of live audiences to WWE events with the “WrestleMania 37” event in Tampa, Fla., in early April was moment of celebration, for fans and for the league, WWE chief brand officer Stephanie McMahon tells Variety‘s “Strictly Business” podcast.

“To see the tears in the eyes of our fans — I got goosebumps,” she says. There was joy in a bottom-line sense as the event set sales and viewership records, and was a good way for WWE to energize its new streaming relationship with NBCUniversal’s Peacock, she said.

But perhaps the bigger surprise was how much WWE was able to rally when it had to host the event — the Super Bowl of the WWE’s year — in 2020 with no fans in the audience. A big spike in online sales of WWE merchandise helped...

WWE will be allowed to continue filming its weekly television shows after Florida governor Ron DeSantis declared the sports entertainment brand is an “essential business” amid the state’s stay-at-home order caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“I think initially there was a review that was done and they were not initially deemed an essential business,” Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said at a press conference Monday, per the Miami Herald. “With some conversation with the governor’s office regarding the governor’s [stay-at-home] order, they were deemed an essential business. Therefore, they were allowed to remain open.”

The company had begun filming shows without audiences at their privately-owned Performance Center in Orlando once more states began banning large gatherings to prevent further spread of the virus. WWE also pre-taped their flagship pay-per-view, WrestleMania, ahead of Orlando’s stay-at-home order in addition to pre-taping multiple episodes of their other shows.

WWE’s...

WWE was cleared to resume live programming from its Performance Center in Orlando, Fla. last week, paving the way for last night’s episode of Raw to air live as well as Wednesday’s Nxt and Friday’s SmackDown.

But how, you might ask?

Florida has shut down everything except for non-essential business, as has been the case in most areas around the United States. But in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis has declared that WWE is an essential business.

Seriously. This isn’t a joke.

In a briefing this week, Orange County mayor Jerry Demings was asked how WWE was deemed essential during the coronavirus outbreak.

“I think initially there was a review that was done and they were not initially deemed as an essential business,” he said. “With some conversation with the Governor’s office regarding the Governor’s order, they were deemed an essential business. And so, therefore,...

Washington — Anonymous campaign cash is as much a fixture of American politics nowadays as yard signs and awkward photos of presidential contenders eating corn dogs. Dark money may have existed well before Citizens United, but that 2010 Supreme Court decision opened the floodgates for untraceable money to soak our elections. It also left voters clueless about who was putting up the hundreds of millions of dollars spent by groups with anodyne names like Priorities USA and Americans for Prosperity.

One of the most infamous players in the dark-money game was an...

All3Media America’s Main Event Media has teamed up with Audioboom to launch an original podcast division and has prepared a slate of projects including TrumpMania and a series featuring Fuller House star Jodie Sweetin.

The United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell producer, which is run by Jimmy Fox, becomes the latest TV production company to move into the podcast world. The division will be run by Emily Bon, who will both produce and co-write projects in its fast-growing slate, and the podcasts will be available on all major platforms.

The aim is to develop podcasts with the goal of developing them for film and television.

“The biggest motivation behind the launch of this division was simple – creative control. It’s incredibly refreshing as a producer to find talent you enjoy working with or a story that deeply fascinates you and immediately be able to give yourself the green light.

Linda McMahon is stepping down from her position in President Trump's cabinet ... but she won't be far from Potus for long. Trump announced the former WWE CEO is resigning as the head of the Small Business Administration at Mar-a-Lago on Friday .... saying "She has been one of our all-time favorites." "I knew she was good, but I didn't know she was that good."  Although McMahon is stepping down, she's not leavin' Trump -- she's putting her focus on his reelection.

Linda McMahon says she didn't make the call for the WWE to move forward with the Pay-Per-View event in Saudi Arabia on Friday ... saying she's no longer responsible for WWE's business moves.  Besides being married to WWE honcho Vince McMahon -- Linda also served as a high ranking executive in the organization from 1980 through 2009.  She's now part of the Trump administration -- serving as the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, based in Washington D.

WWE SmackDown! Live commissioner Shane McMahon is battling multiple injuries after a stunt gone wrong.

The 47-year-old longtime wrestling personality found himself in the ring at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Sunday, battling longtime rival Kevin Owens, 33.

While the two exchanged their fair share of headbutts and clothesline dives on the floor and on top of the SmackDown!‘s “Hell in a Cell” cage, all went wrong when McMahon jumped from the top of the structure and down 20 ft. to the ground in an effort to knockout Owens.

Instead it was McMahon who was knocked out cold from the fall,...

Donald Trump and his inner circle have earned many comparisons, most of them unfavorable: a reality show, “House of Cards,” “Veep,” and so on and so forth. Courtesy of “Hostel” director Eli Roth, we have further proof of yet another: professional wrestling.

Read MoreDonald Trump Tweets Reddit Video of Himself Attacking CNN

“It doesn’t matter what side of the political fence you’re on. The characters we have in the White House are out of WWF wrestling in the ‘80s,” Roth told reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour. “You got guys saying things that would make Rowdy Roddy Piper in his heyday blush. This is actually happening. You start to see that. It always gets out there, first on Twitter, then to ‘SNL’; it just filters its way into television and movies.”

Read MoreThe Roots and Alex Gibney to Explore the History of Hip-Hop for New AMC...

[[tmz:video id="0_80sf5s7o"]] Linda McMahon was in the hot seat during a hearing in D.C. on Wednesday ... when a Republican congressman called her out and demanded answers ... about John Cena's engagement.  The congressman pushing the issue is Rod Blum of Iowa -- who used his 45 seconds of floor time ask Linda about the big story from WrestleMania 33 ... Cena's proposal to Nikki Bella.  The question got some chuckles in the room ... but one person who wasn't havin' it was Linda.

[[tmz:video id="0_lselo6t0"]] Wrestling legend Kurt Angle says America's in great hands now that Linda McMahon has officially been confirmed as part of Donald Trump's cabinet ... 'cause she's a "genius." The WWE Hall of Fame inductee says his former boss is the perfect person to head the Small Business Administration ... and has proven herself by turning the WWE into a billion-dollar business. "If you doubt Linda McMahon, you'd have to be literally crazy." Linda's entire family -- including Vince McMahon,...

If you’ve been bugged by those pictures of Donald Trump signing executive orders in an Oval Office filled with just white men, “Morning Joe” shares your frustration. On Monday morning, panelists on the MSNBC talk show criticized Trump for not filling his cabinet and inner circle with enough women and minorities. So far, only two women have been confirmed and are officially part of Trump’s cabinet: Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. Former WWE CEO Linda McMahon is awaiting confirmation to head the Small Business Administration, while Betsy DeVos is at risk of being blocked by the Senate after.

[[tmz:video id="0_6ftqufml"]] If Vince McMahon has White House ambitions, he's already got 2 supporters on board ... Alberto Del Rio and Paige ... who say the WWE honcho would make a Much better prez than Donald Trump.  First off, Alberto Hates Trump ... with a passion.  But when we asked the pro wrestler about the President-elect naming Linda McMahon to head his Small Business Administration ... he didn't seem too confident in his former WWE boss.  Still, Alberto and Paige say they...

[[tmz:video id="0_s8sd4mp4"]] John Leguizamo had one word locked and loaded to describe Prez-elect Trump's choice of Linda McMahon for a Cabinet position, and no ... it was Not positive. Leguizamo's never been confused for a Donald Trump fan, so his reaction to the ex-wwe exec being named head of the Small Business Administration might not be all that shocking. The actor's strong insinuation/allegation on his way into Madison Square Garden Wednesday night ... was that America's non-politician President...

President-elect Donald Trump will nominate former WWE executive Linda McMahon as administrator of the Small Business Administration, his transition team announced Wednesday. McMahon’s selection for the cabinet-level position aligns with Trump’s “America First” agenda to “bring back our jobs and roll back the burdensome regulations that are hurting our middle class workers and small businesses,” the president-elect said in a statement. He continued: “Linda has a tremendous background and is widely recognized as one of the country’s top female executives advising businesses around the globe. She helped grow WWE from a modest 13-person operation to a publicly...

Ever since he kicked off his presidential campaign last June, billionaire businessman Donald Trump has touted his history of giving to good causes, with his campaign saying he's donated more than $102 million to charity over the past five years. But according to a new Washington Post analysis, not one of those donations was a personal gift from the Gop front-runner's own money. Many of the thousands of gifts cited on a 93-page list Trump's campaign provided to the Associated Press last year were free rounds of golf, donated by his courses for charity auctions and raffles, The Post reports. The...

Ever since he kicked off his presidential campaign last June, billionaire businessman Donald Trump has touted his history of giving to good causes, with his campaign saying he's donated more than $102 million to charity over the past five years. But according to a new Washington Post analysis, not one of those donations was a personal gift from the Gop front-runner's own money. Many of the thousands of gifts cited on a 93-page list Trump's campaign provided to the Associated Press last year were free rounds of golf, donated by his courses for charity auctions and raffles, The Post reports. The...

WWE Network

Some of WrestleMania’s greatest bouts have also been some of WWE’s bloodiest encounters. There’s an art to the violence, with a new level of drama being uncovered when a wrestler is washed in the red stuff. Done appropriately, it works wonders in getting the intensity and meaning of a match over to the audience.

Of course, since WWE went PG in 2008, blood has been banned. There were multiple reasons, mainly Linda McMahon’s senate campaign and WWE’s bid to be family/advertiser friendly. There was also a big health factor to consider, because it isn’t exactly medically advisable to run a razor blade over the forehead.

Blood loss and risk of infection were always a real danger when it came to blading.

But despite the valid arguments against blood, would any of the following ‘Mania classics have really been the same without the presence of plasma?...

[[tmz:video id="0_8thukg9t"]] Vince McMahon is such a Beast in the gym, even his own musclebound son-in-law refuses to hit the weights with the guy ... telling TMZ Sports, "He's too crazy." We got Triple H and his wife Steph McMahon out in NYC -- and we asked 'em about their famous midnight workouts ... and how the hell they muster up the energy to train that late at night!!  That's when we brought up 70-year-old Vince -- who's legendary...

WWE.com

In the long ago late ‘90’s, in the faraway land of Stamford, Connecticut, Vince McMahon, his awful kids and Vince Russo, created some of wrestling’s most bizarre and flat-out insane storylines. Since that Attitude Era heyday, the company has made a ruthlessly aggressive effort to clean up its act.

Whether the change came because of Linda McMahon’s Senatorial run or just a natural evolution to attract new audiences, WWE is now solidly PG programming. Turn on Raw and you’ll see superstars blowing up at each other over things like… popcorn. Hey, at least they stopped making those “Marine” movies, right?

But, adult WWE fans were raised on Mae Young giving birth to a hand and Hhh screwing a mannequin in a coffin, they miss insanity. Kooky, crazy or even controversial storylines would raise the emotional stakes and keep things unpredictable.

And in some cases, the...

WWE.com

Vince McMahon became an active WWE roster performer past just calling the matches on television in 1996. Amazingly, by the year 2000, the Wrestlemania main event would involve a McMahon as active on-screen character in each corner of a main eventer. In the nearly two decades since Vince McMahon decided to take his performance aspirations in pro wrestling to the next level, while Vince has certainly abused himself for our entertainment, his own family hasn’t been too far away from the fray, too.

Between Shane’s daredevil stunts, Stephanie’s occasional in-ring exploits, and yes, even Linda McMahon putting her body on the line for our entertainment, the McMahon family’s hyper-physical involvement in WWE’s product is impressive. Intriguingly, one would believe that Triple H marrying Stephanie and becoming a largely behind-the-scenes part of WWE would absolve him from any in-ring goings on. However, even that’s untrue,...

wwe

Although the ante was upped during the attitude era of the late 90s, controversial or un-pc angles were no stranger to the wrestling business in the years before then. For decades promoters have been presenting raunchy, racist, homophobic or otherwise offensive angles in the hope that controversy will create cash or, at the very least, some mainstream publicity. In the world of professional wrestling there is no such thing as bad publicity even if Vince McMahon can often be found launching tirades against the ‘evil media’. Vince and company have given the media plenty of firepower in this perceived witch-hunt against WWE and their past indiscretions undoubtedly harmed Linda McMahon’s two failed bids for a seat in the Us Senate in 2010 and 2012.

As former CEO of WWE, Linda’s opponents delighted in bringing to the attention of the wider population some of the questionable content WWE has featured on its TV shows,...

WWE.com

“Superstar” Billy Graham’s flamboyant stylings and over-the-top catch phrases are infamous. It can easily be argued that Graham was ahead of his time — a precursor to the modern era of wrestling, where talking and jiving are equally as important as what happens inside the squared circle. The Superstar laid the way for stars like Hulk Hogan and The Rock through his copious catch phrases and picturesque physique.

Sadly, however, the “Superstar” paid the price for his astronomical success in professional wrestling. In the past decade and a half, the Graham’s health has rapidly fluctuated. He’s had numerous operations and been diagnosed with a plethora of problems — from heart problems to liver cirrhosis to Hepatitis C.

Now, according to a post made by Graham on Facebook, things have gone from bad to worse. The “Superstar” claims that doctors have told him that his liver — which he...

WWE.com

With the introduction of the Total Divas reality show, the real relationships of some of the top male and female performers in professional wrestling have come into the spotlight. Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella, Jimmy Uso and Naomi, John Cena and Nikki Bella and Tyson Kidd and Natalya are all relationships that have been exposed for the entire world to see. In the process, interest in other real life wrestling couples has risen.

Some of those couples are well-known, even to the most casual of wrestling fans. “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth were known to have been married for years before they joined hands in matrimony at SummerSlam 1991. Vince and Linda McMahon have led World Wrestling Entertainment for years while their daughter, Stephanie, and her husband Triple H have taken an increased role in the day-to-day operations within the company.

There are other couples who die-hard...

Copyright: The History Of WWE: 50 Years Of Sports Entertainment Blu-ray

Over the past four months, as the $WWE stock price has soared, rumors have swirled about World Wrestling Entertainment. There has been wild speculation on the value of the new domestic TV Rights deals and how many people have signed up for the WWE Network. They’ve even been wild gossip involving a merger or takeover. (As explained below, this is really baseless – Vince McMahon controls the company’s voting shares so there can’t be a hostile takeover.)

The concept of WWE being run by someone who wasn’t in the McMahon family might feel like anathema to wrestling fans. Still, consider how many times we’ve seen Vince McMahon driven by his personal preferences and random whims. Think about the failing projects that have continued – just out of a perverse desire to “stick it” to his critics.

Casey Rodgers/Invision for 2K/AP

Whenever somebody gets announced for the WWE Hall of Fame there’s always a question of who might induct that person by speaking for a few minutes about the inductee. There have been some recent obvious ones like Christian presenting Edge or Triple H presenting Shawn Michaels, but sometimes there are surprises.

Today on Twitter, the Ultimate Warrior informed us of who his presenter will be:

Fortunetelling pundits lack the integrity it takes to figure me out. I’m honored @Linda_McMahon accepts my request to introduce #wwehof2014.

That’s right. Ultimate Warrior is going to be inducted by Vince McMahon’s wife Linda, the former WWE CEO that stepped down from the company when she ran for political office twice. Warrior is the headliner for this year’s Hall of Fame class, so there will be a lot of attention on him as...

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WWE_Tag_Team_Champion_Cody_Rhodes.jpg

Prepare for a ton of moaning and “I wish I was a booker”, guys.

These days, a lot of long time WWE fans feel that the company just isn’t as Good as it used to be. And this is blamed on a lot of things. The PG rating, the lack of blood and puppies, no WWE ice cream bars, Linda McMahon’s senate campaign, the complete and total Absence of the Gobbledy Gooker… I could go on and on (and jaded smarks in their Stone Cold Steve Austin shirt usually do).

But in truth, the product Is stagnating. And if we look at just how the product is presented to us, we can see that there’s a number of things they Used to do that, for some reason, they just don’t do anymore. And three...

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Love him or hate him, Eric Bischoff was right when he named his autobiography; Controversy Creates Cash. It certainly does, and the pro wrestling world has always been a controversial business. In the fight for ratings, publicity and attendance pro wrestling promoters will do just about anything to get fans and the media talking about their product. This has meant that over the years we have been witness to all manner of storylines and shocking gimmicks.

In recent times the WWE has made significant progress in it’s political correctness. With advertising partners and television networks putting pressure on the WWE the politically incorrect height of the Attitude era is becoming an ever more distant memory. Of course Linda McMahon’s political ambitions were also a huge contributing factor in the WWE’s newfound political correctness, but despite...

Oh Hell Yeah.

Can you believe that it’s been 10 years since Stone Cold Steve Austin has wrestled? At WrestleMania Xix (in 2003), The Rock pinned Austin in what would be Austin’s last match. The next night on Raw, Eric Bischoff “fired” Austin, a necessary storyline to protect Austin from the ring. His body had finally waved the white flag, after years of struggling through his neck injury (sustained after a piledriver from Owen Hart at Summerslam ’97) and multiple knee surgeries. Unlike Edge’s retirement speech the night after WrestleMania 27 – also due to longstanding injuries – no one knew at the time that Austin’s departure from the ring would also be permanent.

But he was far from absent from WWE, and has served in many other capacities in the 10 years since. Shortly after his storyline firing, Linda McMahon re-hired Austin as Co-General Manager. He’s been a guest referee, participated in beer-drinking contests,...