You’re re-hiiirrrreeeddd. On the brink of Wrestlemania 39, WWE executive chairman Vince McMahon has made a heavyweight move by updating his contract to include a number of clauses, including the exclusive rights to his own life story.
Vince McMahon has tuned up his own band by securing a lucrative deal for himself through WWE and its holdings. This update in his contract “means he will continue [to] serve a two-year term as Executive Chairman of the Board, retroactive to Jan. 9, 2023. For that, he’ll be paid a $1.2 million annual salary, with an opportunity to earn 175% in a target bonus, and an annual stock grant worth millions.” Estimates also put McMahon earning around $11 million in the event of WWE’s sale. But the most interesting component of the contract is, as per Cageside Seats, that “McMahon has also negotiated control over his life story and personal brand. Vince now officially owns his ‘personal experiences, biography and life story, and all other rights of publicity and persona relating to McMahon.’” The previous agreement gave the rights to WWE as a whole.
With Vince McMahon securing his own life story, one wonders just what would be done with them. The most obvious would be a biopic, but since McMahon and his children closely shield many of the company’s secrets and don’t often talk openly about the more controversial moments (pick one), it’s highly unlikely a McMahon biopic would be the juicy affair (no pun intended) fans would want. Just take a look at any of the glossed-over documentaries that Vince McMahon and WWE have produced about the sports entertainment industry over the years–not a single one mentions the time he tried to convince his daughter to appear in an incest storyline! Instead, wrestling fans might be better off with Vice’s Dark Side of the Ring to get more tantalizing views on Owen Hart’s completely avoidable death and the steroid trial of the 1990s.
Vince McMahon, of course, stepped down as WWE chairman and CEO just last year following a sexual misconduct investigation that ended up costing an estimated $20 million. He expressed his interest in returning earlier this year.
If Vince McMahon were to greenlight a movie about his life, who do you think would be a good casting choice? What is a key moment in his life and career you would want to see? Let us know your thoughts below!