Outside of professional wrestling McMahon has occasionally ventured into promoting other sports; his projects have included the World Bodybuilding Federation and the XFL football league.

In 1997, he adopted the character of Mr. McMahon, portrayed as an irascible, villainous, swaggering tyrant who obsessed over maintaining control of his wrestling company and often growled the catchphrase "you're fired!"

[26] In 1968, McMahon graduated from East Carolina University[22] with a business degree and after a nondescript career as a traveling salesman, he was eager to assume a managerial role in his father's World Wide Wrestling Federation promotion.

In 1984, he recruited Hulk Hogan to be the WWF's charismatic new megastar, and the two quickly drew the ire of industry peers as the promotion began traveling and broadcasting into rival territories.

[32] During the late 1980s, McMahon shaped the WWF into a unique sports entertainment brand that reached out to family audiences while attracting fans who hadn't paid attention to pro wrestling before.

In 1987, the WWF reportedly drew 93,173 fans to the Pontiac Silverdome (which was called the "biggest crowd in sports-entertainment history") for WrestleMania III, which featured the main event of Hulk Hogan vs. André the Giant.

As a result, the WWF suddenly found itself back in national pop-culture, drawing millions of viewers for its weekly Monday Night Raw broadcasts, which ranked among the highest-rated shows on cable television.

Although mainly caused by the ruling in favor of the World Wildlife Fund regarding the "WWF" initialism, the company noted it provided an opportunity to emphasize its focus on entertainment.

[46] This period still featured many similar elements of its predecessor the Attitude Era, including the levels of violence, sex, and profanity, but there was less politically incorrect content, and a further emphasis on wrestling was showcased.

[37] On April 7, 2011, McMahon's company ceased using the full name World Wrestling Entertainment and henceforth referred to itself solely as WWE, making the latter an orphan initialism.

[62] It was announced on January 6, 2023, by The Wall Street Journal that McMahon was planning a return to WWE as executive chairman, ahead of upcoming media rights negotiations in 2024 and also to explore a potential sale of the company.

In addition to pro wrestling and hockey, they began selling out rock concerts (including Van Halen and Rush) in non-summer months, traditionally considered unprofitable due to lack of tourists.

[78] The McMahons have supported the Special Olympics since 1986, first developing an interest through their friendship with NBC producer Dick Ebersol and Susan Saint James, who encouraged them to participate.

On the September 23, 1996 Monday Night Raw, Jim Ross delivered a worked shoot promo during which he ran down McMahon, outing him as chairman and not just a commentator for the first time in WWF storylines.

[86] Austin decided to put his title shot on the line against McMahon so he could get a chance to fight Vince at In Your House: St. Valentine's Day Massacre in a steel cage match.

On the December 18 episode of Raw Is War, McMahon faced Kurt Angle in a non-title match which was fought to no contest when Mick Foley interfered and attacked both men.

Almost a year later on Raw in late 2006, Bischoff was brought out by McMahon's executive assistant Jonathan Coachman so that he could announce the completion of his book Controversy Creates Cash.

[124] As a result, McMahon's hair was shaved bald by Trump and Lashley with the help of Steve Austin, who was the special guest referee of the "Battle of the Billionaires" match.

The two appeared to finally bury the hatchet, but after shaking hands, Vince kicked Hart in the groin and left the arena to a loud chorus of boos and the crowd chanting "You screwed Bret!

At Money in the Bank, McMahon and Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis interfered on Cena's behalf but Punk was ultimately successful and walked out of the company with the championship.

From June 2013, members of the McMahon family began to dispute various elements of the control of WWE, such as the fates of Daniel Bryan, and of Raw and SmackDown general managers Brad Maddox and Vickie Guerrero.

[154] He also appeared at Survivor Series introducing The Undertaker to the ring during his retirement celebrations,[155] and in night 1 of WrestleMania 37 on April 10, 2021, to welcome the fans back in person at the Raymond James Stadium after a year of halting live events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the November 22, 2021, episode of Raw, McMahon held an investigation to find out who stole Cleopatra's Egg, a gift given to him by The Rock the previous night at Survivor Series.

ESPN reporter Shaun Assael claimed that: "As a TV pioneer, he went from selling costumed super-heroes like Hulk Hogan to dark anti-heroes like Steve Austin.

"[165] Scott Hammond of VultureHound magazine praised the legacy of McMahon's successes, from Hulkamania and WrestleMania being essential to the 1980s wrestling boom, to defeating WCW in the Monday Night Wars.

[172] Arn Anderson calls McMahon a "marketing genius" for attracting women and children to the product, but says it came at the expense of "the bell-to-bell action", which is the reason most wrestlers got into the business.

[71] On January 10, 2025, it was announced that McMahon was fined over $1.7 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission from undisclosed hush money payments, dated back from 2019 to 2022, handed out to two women while he was with the WWE.

[221] On February 1, 2024, John Laurinaitis, former WWE executive and a co-defendant in the Janel Grant sex trafficking suit, released a statement through his attorney that accused McMahon of sexual misconduct.

"[222] On February 2, 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported that federal authorities in New York had launched an investigation into sexual assault and sex trafficking allegations made against McMahon.

[236][237] Vince and Linda McMahon have donated to various Republican Party causes, including $1 million in 2014 to federal candidates and political action committees, such as Karl Rove's American Crossroads and the research and tracking group America Rising.