Prateeksha Thakur
New Delhi, 20 November 2024
Just hours after US President-elect Donald Trump announced Linda McMahon, WWE’s co-founder, as his pick to lead the Education Department, an old clip of Trump shaving Vince McMahon’s head in a wrestling ring began making the rounds online. Vince, Linda’s husband and the WWE chairman, was on the losing end of a staged feud with Trump back in 2007 — a moment that perfectly captured Trump’s flair for drama.
Trump’s ties to WWE go back much further. In the late 1980s, Trump sponsored WrestleMania IV and V, both held at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City. But it was the “Battle of the Billionaires” at WrestleMania 23 that truly etched his name into WWE lore.
The feud started in January 2007 when Trump, ever the showman, tossed wads of cash into the crowd during a live WWE event, challenging McMahon’s authority. This led to a showdown at WrestleMania, where each billionaire chose a wrestler to fight on their behalf. Trump picked Bobby Lashley, while McMahon backed Umaga. The stakes? The loser would have their head shaved in the ring.
When Lashley secured the win, Trump gleefully took the clippers to McMahon’s hair, cementing one of WrestleMania’s most iconic moments. The event drew a record-breaking crowd of over 80,000 fans at Detroit’s Ford Field, setting a new attendance record. This unforgettable spectacle even earned Trump a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame.
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