The father of current WWE head, Vince McMahon, learned the wrestling business from his own father, Jess McMahon, a wrestling and boxing promoter based in New York. Vince, Sr. played in Madison Square Garden as a child, accurately believing that, in some way, the building belonged to him.
In 1963 – after many successful years of presenting shows in the northeastern United States -- McMahon and his partner, Toots Mondt, broke away from a national confederation of wrestling promoters, and officially formed WWE. In the days of regional wrestling territories, WWE was the largest, stretching from Maine to Washington, DC.
In time, the organization gained so much respect that McMahon’s former rivals again coveted him as a business associate. Meanwhile, the distinguished business titan was schooling his son on the fine points of the industry. But when the elder McMahon sold his company to Vincent Kennedy McMahon and daughter-in-law, Linda McMahon, in 1982, both sports and entertainment were altered more than anyone ever imagined.