page_title: Vince McMahon
section_title: The Invasion and brand extension (2001–2005)
hierarchical_section_title: Vince McMahon / Professional wrestling career / World Wide/World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE / The Invasion and brand extension (2001–2005)
caption_attribution_description: English: From left-to-right: Undertaker (real name Mark Calaway), Vince McMahon, Brock Lesnar and Sable (hidden behind Brock, the blond hair is hers).
context_page_description: Vincent Kennedy McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter and executive, American football executive, and media proprietor currently serving as the chairman and CEO of WWE, and the founder and owner of Alpha Entertainment. McMahon is widely recognized as the pioneer of the professional wrestling revolution in the United States of the 1980s and 1990s, as well as being the industry's most important figure well into the 21st century.
  McMahon was born in Pinehurst, North Carolina, and graduated from East Carolina University with a degree in business in 1968. He worked for the WWE for his father as a commentator and he assumed control of the company in 1982; McMahon saw the commercial potential of monopolizing the industry, which previously operated as separate fiefdoms across the United States. This led to the development of the annual WrestleMania, which has since become the most successful professional wrestling event in history. He faced stiff industry competition from World Championship Wrestling in the 1990s, but eventually purchased the company in 2001 after a long power struggle, and also purchased the assets of the defunct Extreme Championship Wrestling in 2006.
context_section_description: McMahon purchased long-time rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in March 2001 from AOL Time Warner and signed many wrestlers from the organization. This marked the beginning of the Invasion storyline, in which the former WCW wrestlers regularly fought matches against the WWF wrestlers. On the July 9, 2001, episode of Raw Is War, some extremists as well as several former ECW wrestlers on the WWF roster, joined with the WCW wrestlers to form The Alliance. Stone Cold Steve Austin joined the Alliance, along with Shane and Stephanie McMahon. Vince McMahon led Team WWF thus turning face. At Survivor Series, Team WWF defeated Team Alliance in a Survivor Series elimination match to pick up the victory and end the Invasion storyline.
  Following the collapse of The Alliance, McMahon created the "Vince McMahon Kiss My Ass Club", also known as the "Mr. McMahon Kiss My Ass Club", which consisted of various WWE individuals being ordered to kiss his buttocks in the middle of the ring, usually with the threat of suspension or firing if they refused reverting to a heel. The club was originally proclaimed closed by The Rock after McMahon was forced to kiss Rikishi's buttocks on an episode of SmackDown!.
  In November 2001, Ric Flair returned to WWF after an eight-year hiatus declaring himself the co-owner of the WWF, which infuriated McMahon. The two faced each other in January 2002, at Royal Rumble, in a Street Fight which Flair won. Due to their status as co-owners, McMahon became the owner of SmackDown! while Flair became the owner of Raw. However, on the June 10 Raw, McMahon defeated Flair to end the rivalry and become the sole owner of WWE.
  On the February 13, 2003 SmackDown!, McMahon tried to derail the return of Hulk Hogan after a five-month hiatus but was knocked out by Hogan and received a running leg drop. At No Way Out, McMahon interfered in Hogan's match with The Rock. Hogan had originally won the match as he hit The Rock with a running leg drop, but the lights went out. When the lights came back on, McMahon came to the ringside to distract Hogan. Sylvain Grenier, the referee, gave The Rock a chair, which he then hit Hogan with. He ended the match with a Rock Bottom to defeat Hogan. This led to McMahon facing Hogan in a match at WrestleMania XIX, which McMahon lost in a Street Fight. McMahon then banned Hogan from the ring but Hogan returned under the gimmick of "Mr. America". McMahon tried to prove that Mr. America was Hogan under a mask but failed at these attempts. Hogan later quit WWE and at which point McMahon claimed that he had discovered Mr. America was Hulk Hogan and "fired" him.
  McMahon asked his daughter Stephanie to resign as SmackDown! General Manager on the October 2 SmackDown!. Stephanie, however, refused to resign and this set up an "I Quit" match between the two. At No Mercy, McMahon defeated Stephanie in an "I Quit" match when Linda threw in the towel. Later that night, he helped Brock Lesnar retain the WWE Championship against The Undertaker in a Biker Chain match. This started a rivalry between McMahon and Undertaker. At Survivor Series, McMahon defeated Undertaker in a Buried Alive match with help from Kane.
caption: The Undertaker, McMahon, Brock Lesnar and Sable on SmackDown!
exif: {}