42
FEBRUARY2016
AMERICANWAY
Theyearwas1985, threeyearsafterMcMahon
andhiswife,Linda,hadtakencontroloftheWorld
WrestlingFederation,anorganization founded in
the ’50sbyhisgrandfatherandrun lateronbyhis fa-
ther.WWFwasa familybusiness,butMcMahonhad
plans forsomething far larger.Thequestionwas,
wouldhegobust inthepursuitofhisambitions?
Whatfewpeoplerealizedatthetimewasthat
wrestlingwasabouttoemergeasamajorAmerican
sport(orbranchoftheshow-business industry,
dependingonyourviewpoint).AndMcMahon,
asheadofthenow-renamedWorldWrestling
Entertainment,wantedtobethedriving force
behindthistransition.Hisaimwastotakeamar-
ginal, regionalsportandturn it intoapopculture
phenomenon.Todothis,hesetoutto launchamas-
sivelyambitiouseventhe’ddubbedWrestleMania,
whichwouldtakeplaceatMadisonSquareGarden
inNewYorkCityandbebroadcast liveacrossthe
countryviaanewtechnologycalled“closed-circuit
television.”Itwasahugegamble intermsofWWE’s
financesand itsreputation.Manythoughtthe idea
soundedkindofnuts.
Today, recallingtheskepticismthatsurrounded
hisplan, therelentlessly laconicMcMahonshrugs
andsays, “Idonotallowmythinkingtobecon-
strainedby limitations.”
In itself,WWEwasaboldundertaking.
McMahonhadsetouttomeldsportandentertain-
ment inawaythathadn’tbeendonebefore.He
introducedstars likeRowdyRoddyPiperandHulk
Hogan,andpresentedhis fightsas iftheywereper-
formances(which, inaway, theywere), settingthe
stage fortheglitzandsizzlethat’sbecomecommon-
placeatmajorsportingevents.
UntilMcMahonsetoutonhisquest,prowres-
tlinghadbeenaprovincialaffair,withscoresof
smallorganizationsarranging localshows,usually
insmallvenueswithsmallcrowds.McMahonruf-
fled featherswithhisbrazeneffortstogonational.
Hewouldbarge intoestab-
lishedmarketsandpayTV
stationstoputhiswrestlerson
theair, infuriatingtheregional
wrestlinggroups.The fans,
meanwhile, loved it.Theysaw
WWEasanembodimentofthe
outlawspiritthattheyadmired
intheir favoritewrestlers, leg-
ends likeHarleyRaceandthe
JunkyardDog.McMahon’s live
eventsthrivedasaresult.
WrestleManiawastaking
thebusinesstoanew level.
McMahonwantedtocreatea
“supershow.”Hewanted itto
beaonce-in-a-lifetimecard
thatwouldattractcelebritiesandmediaattention.
Mentionoftherisksassociatedwiththisventure is
metwithanothershrug:“Iwasn’tplanningto fail.”
Theeventwasaresoundingsuccess,establishing
WWEasamajorbrand.Bytheendofthatyear, the
organizationhadthreehighlyratedshowsaweekon
USA, slotsonMTV,aSaturday-morningcartoonse-
riesandahostofongoingWrestleManiaevents.And
thesuccesshasendured: In2014,WWEgenerated
morethan$540million inrevenue. Itsprogram-
ming isbroadcast inmorethan180countriesand25
languages. In2015,
Forbes
listedWrestleManiaas
No.5on its listofmostvaluablesportsproperties.
So it isthatMcMahon’senterprisehasgone from
high-risktosure-thing.OfficialsaroundNorth
America lobbyWWEtobringWrestleManiato
theirhomestates,awarethat, inthepastseven
yearsalone, ithasgeneratedmorethanhalfa
billiondollars ineconomic impact for itshostcities.
WhenWrestleMania32comestoAT&TStadium,
homeoftheDallasCowboys, inApril, it isexpected
togeneratearound$140million fortheDallas/
FortWortharea,andorganizershope forarecord
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ITWAS
CRUNCH
TIME
FORVINCEKENNEDY
McMAHON.
