10 Seedy WWE Stories Vince McMahon Wants You To Forget
3. Everything's Changed (1989-1994)
The much-publiscised 1994 trial of Vince McMahon and Titan Sports becomes bigger by virtue of its potential butterfly effects as the years pass by. The story has been told in great detail by the company as well as Dave Meltzer and other prominent figures covering the case at the time, but an innocent verdict muddied wrestling's waters even if it cleared McMahon's name.
Notes from the trial spoke to an industry in desperate need of a drugs clean-up, not least as McMahon still laughably tried to earnestly promote his event to the youngest corners of the television audience.
A December 1st 1989 memo from Linda McMahon to Pat Patterson highlighted the need to remove eventually-jailed Dr George Zahorian ahead of him being rumbled and charged for selling steroids in 1991. Rick Rude - f*cking Ravishing Rick Rude for f*cks sake - spoke of McMahon saying he "didn't look good" as if to suggest he should get back on the drugs he'd stopped taking in order to try and start a family. Hulk Hogan testified to receiving packages of the stuff in flagrant contradiction of his training/say your prayers/eat your vitamins schtick, opening the rest of the roster up to anecdotal scrutiny in the process.
The game had changed, and McMahon, legally had to change the game. For about a year...