Vince McMahon has had an incredible influence on the wrestling business. Fans know him by the character that he has played on television for decades. What you might not know is that he had a very tough upbringing. Here are several young Vince McMahon stories from his childhood and life prior to the wrestling business.
Young Vince McMahon Stories
10) Vince Grew Up Very Poor
WWE fans know Vince McMahon as the egocentric maniac that will spend any amount of money to solve his problems. What you might not know is that a young Vince McMahon had very little money-wise. Vince wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he lived in a trailer park for a lot of his younger years. Here is a quote from Vince himself in a 2016 interview with Muscle & Fitness:
“I grew up dirt poor. When you’re in that class, a lower economic class, everyone is, quote, “above you.” And there were a number of individuals who thought they were above me because of their economic situation. It always bugged me that people would think they were better than me.
Vince also says that growing up poor allowed him a unique perspective on life. He doesn’t think that he is better than anybody, even though he has a ton of money now:
“I developed a philosophy that no one’s better than me, and at the same time I’m no better than anyone else”
9) Vince Was Beaten As A Child
Vince didn’t only grow up poor as a child, he was also the victim of many beatings as a youngster from a variety of people. Here is a quote from Vince about these beatings:
“I grew up in a very aggressive environment to say the least. That includes any number of individuals … beating the hell out of me only because I had a big mouth and had to say what was on my mind”
He says that the beatings that he received as a child made him into the person that he is today. He looked at it as if he was still breathing after the beating that he received, he was the winner:
“I think you have to develop an attitude. From the severity that I experienced, taking numerous beatings and things of that nature, I developed a defensive philosophy that has served me very well through the years. That is: If I lived through whatever the adversarial position was, I won. No matter what happens, if I’m still breathing in and out, I won. So if you have that kind of philosophy, then failure is not a big thing”
8) Vince Wanted To Kill His Step-Father
One of the main people who used to beat Vince in his early days was actually his step-father. A man named Leo Lupton that Vince grew to despise. He describes his step-father as someone who liked to kick people around:
“My parents got divorced and I went with my mom, Vickie. She was in the church choir. A real performer, a female Elmer Gantry. Very striking, with an excellent voice. Lived with her and my real a**hole of a stepfather, a man who enjoyed kicking people around”
Vince says that his step-dad is lucky that he passed away before he could have got his hands on him after the years of abuse that he received:
“Leo Lupton. It’s unfortunate that he died before I could kill him. I would have enjoyed that. Not that he didn’t have some redeeming qualities. He was an athlete, great at any sport, which I admired, and I remember watching The Jackie Gleason Show with him. We used to laugh together at Jackie Gleason”
Unfortunately, those laughs together would later turn into beatings.
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