10 Times Vince McMahon Sold His Soul
6. Anything But Wrestling
When Ted Turner called Vince McMahon after purchasing Jim Crocket Promotions to say he was in the "wrestling business", McMahon apparently had his coy response lined up, suggesting he was in the "Entertainment" business instead. He then developed a cynical and borderline obsessive distaste with the business rival he swore blind there was no actual rivalry with.
He did, admittedly, attempt to make good on his words by expanding beyond the one thing he'd proven excellent at. Trying first to make it in Hollywood with his golden skinned goose Hulk Hogan, he moved towards bodybuilding after 'No Holds Barred' flopped badly amidst a torrent of justifiably bad reviews. The World Bodybuilding Federation was clearly up his street but left him up sh*t creek as another money-loser resulted in substantial debts when it was eventually folded in 1993.
His most high profile failure - The XFL - will soon be relaunched and reframed as an innovation rather than a business catastrophe. McMahon again waited until he felt he had financial freedom - its 2001 launch followed one of the most prosperous periods in company history - but when the league took a bath after one year he was forced back into wres...entertainment promotion "for his ego, not for money" until a shocking 2018 reveal of his grand plan.
McMahon has given much to the world through his one mammoth success, but he never gives up trying to sell things people simply do not want.