Linda McMahon has long since moved away from the pro wrestling industry and settled into politics, where she’s the current United States Secretary of Education. However, while Vince McMahon was at the forefront of WWE alongside Hulk Hogan, Linda is recognized as the co-founder of the promotion alongside him, and during an interview on “The Sage Steele Show,” she recalled the early challenges of running the promotion and what it cost the McMahon family.
“At the beginning, I mean, it was my husband and I, Vince McMahon and I, and we pretty much were, yeah, doing most [of] everything,” she recalled, adding that today WWE is synonymous with big arenas and wonderful sets, but in the early days, they didn’t even own the rings they held shows in. “So, someone had a business that owned a couple of rings, and if you wanted to have an event, you called that person.”
Linda added that she wasn’t really at events as she wasn’t hands-on with events, but recalled that she sometimes got calls about the ring not being there ahead of shows.
“It was very rudimentary, you know, at the very, very beginning; very amateur-ish,” she said, admitting that WWE events weren’t often the grandest at the time. Though it’s come a long way!”
Running WWE early on cost the McMahon family their home as they had to file for bankruptcy
Unfortunately, not every memory of the early days running WWE was fondly recalled by Linda McMahon, as she explained that while they were building as they went, their accountant once suggested that they should’ve diversified their investments. “We did put money in some construction accounts, we co-signed on some loans…that went belly up, which eventually put us into bankruptcy,” she admitted, noting that their efforts to invest outside of wrestling put them into debt. “We lost everything. My house was auctioned off, my car was repossessed in the driveway, I was pregnant with Stephanie, our second child,” Linda added. “So, I know what it’s like to lose everything.”
Linda also recalled how, despite being involved with WWE early on, she never travelled with the promotion like Vince McMahon did, and was only involved in the business side. This largely allowed her to be more involved in her children’s lives. “I am so fortunate that I never missed an opening night for any of the school plays or that sort of thing – oh, I missed one opening night! Other than that? Somehow, you juggle, you do whatever it is you need to do to get there,” she claimed. “It’s just, it’s showing up. It’s being… It’s being present in their lives and letting them know you always have their back.”
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “The Sage Steele Show,” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
