WWE: 10 Non-Wrestling Projects Vince McMahon Poured Money Into

2. Linda McMahon's Senate Run

In September of 2009, Linda McMahon stepped down as CEO of WWE and announced her intention to run for the Connecticut Senate seat held by Christopher Dodd, and up for grabs in the 2010 election. McMahon, running as a Republican, cited her experience running a billion-dollar company and creating hundreds of jobs as background that would prepare her for government. Though WWE had switched to a PG-rated television product over a year earlier, critics of McMahon on both sides of the political divide cited the promotion's risqué history in order to damage her candidacy. YouTube videos portraying specific moments in WWE history €“ such as Triple H simulating sex on a corpse and Trish Stratus behaving like a dog on Vince McMahon's command €“ were publicized by her opposition, and soon removed from the site by WWE. The Republican primary election, pitting McMahon against Rob Simmons, was as vitriolic as most pro-wrestling feuds. Simmons circulated more YouTube videos of WWE's offensive angles and criticized McMahon's supposed weak stance on conservative issues, such as abortion. Former WWE scandals, such as the 1994 steroid trial and Owen Hart's death in 1999, came back to haunt McMahon. Still, McMahon managed to edge out Simmons and score the nomination, thanks in no small part to an advertising flood. On the Democratic side, big changes were also afoot. Dodd, considered ripe for defeat by the Republicans, announced his retirement. Now running for the seat as a Democrat would be Connecticut's popular Attorney General, Richard Blumenthal. McMahon attacked Blumenthal's credibility, doing herself no favors. As the campaigning progressed, the death of Lance Cade €“ and Linda McMahon's subsequent callous attitude regarding it €“ also damaged her public opinion. WWE, meanwhile, became a tool in the campaign, launching their own "Stand Up for WWE" movement. This crusade saw wrestlers tell fans to defend the honor of the company if they ever saw it impugned, and was completely transparent. In the end, though, just like McMahon's media blitz, it amounted to little €“ she was soundly defeated by Blumenthal. Final Tally: $50 million loss