10 Wrestling Legal Battles That Turned Ugly
1. The United States Federal Government Vs. Vince McMahon
Unlike the injury that forced Vince McMahon to sport a neck brace on the day of his acquittal, there were no questions of validity when a Federal District Court jury found him not guilty of conspiring to distribute steroids to wrestlers following their prohibition in 1988.
It was unquestionably the trial of his life. Initially facing three separate charges that also included accusations of possessing illegal drugs, McMahon was staring jail time in the face, and had even arranged a regime headed up by Jerry Jarrett to take his place should the 22 July 1994 decision have not gone his way.
The prosecution called 11 wrestlers to the stand to individually testify. The scene had the potential to completely sink McMahon, with the likes of Hulk Hogan, Rick Rude, and The Ultimate Warrior all leaving the company under rather auspicious circumstances whilst having the types of bodies that drew so much attention to Vince's hyper-inflated 1980s product in the first place.
However, whilst admissions of usage were commonplace in the trial, there was at no point any credible evidence supplied that suggested Vince had provided steroids or pushed his talent towards using them. Only Kevin 'Nailz' Wacholz was up for hanging McMahon, but he also stated under oath how he "hated (his) guts", and was widely discredited as a result.