Linda McMahon's Pro-Wrestling Past Came Back To Haunt Her Senate Campaigns

Before landing positions in both Trump administrations, Linda McMahon served as the longtime CEO of WWE, the professional wrestling company formerly controlled by Linda's estranged husband, Vince McMahon. However, between leaving WWE in September 2009 and being confirmed for President Donald Trump's first cabinet in early 2017, Linda ran to represent the state of Connecticut in the Senate not once, but twice — first in 2010 and again in 2012. The controversial businesswoman, who ran as a Republican, lost in the general election to her Democratic opponents on both occasions, with Linda's checkered pro-wrestling past coming back to haunt her.

During the 2010 election cycle, which pitted Linda against eventual winner Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut Democrat was not shy about bringing up WWE's rather sordid past. At one campaign event, he pointed out how the wrestling company had laid off a significant chunk of its employees during Linda's final year in charge, while she took home an eight-figure salary. On another occasion, he brought up the well-established history of steroid abuse within the company, alongside claiming that WWE had "marketed sex and violence to children," (via the Seattle Times).

During the 2012 race, which saw Linda failing to topple Democrat Chris Murphy, the politician took aim at several eyebrow-raising storylines that took place on Linda's watch. "I want to be able to tell my two sons that if you spend your life making money off of demeaning women, off of exploiting domestic violence, that you don't get rewarded with a seat in the U.S. Senate," Murphy stated during a campaign rally (per the CT Mirror), seemingly referencing an infamous televised segment from 2001 in which Linda's husband Vince, in character, forced wrestler Trish Stratus to get on her hands and knees, bark like a dog, and strip down to her underwear.

Interestingly enough, it wasn't just Democrats who took Linda McMahon to task for her controversial pro-wrestling past during her two unsuccessful Senate campaigns. As it turns out, fellow Republicans, whom she defeated in the primaries, also had a bone to pick in that respect. Rob Simmons — who ended up coming in second place to Linda in the 2010 Republican primary — also brought up the steroid-related investigations into WWE. And, in an open letter, Simmons' campaign manager Jim Barnett called on the Trump staffer to address the many scandals that Linda McMahon had been involved in. 

That same year, eventual third-place Republican candidate Peter Schiff ran an attack ad featuring WWE footage of her kicking announcer Jim Ross in the crotch. Things didn't let up during the eventual 2012 primary either. In fact, Republican Chris Shays chastised Linda for the infamous Trish Stratus segment while decrying WWE's onscreen content at a GOP debate. "She calls this a story. I call it an outrage," Shays asserted (via the CT Mirror). All of this bad publicity wasn't lost on Linda's husband Vince McMahon, who himself has a long history with Linda's eventual boss Donald Trump. 

In 2010, the pro-wrestling juggernaut launched the "Stand Up for WWE" campaign, which many interpreted as an attempt to clean up its image in the name of advancing Linda's political aspirations. In 2012, WWE even addressed Shays directly, refuting his claims that the company promoted violence or bigotry in an open letter to the candidate. "WWE's programming may not be your personal choice of entertainment, but that does not give you the right to recklessly damage our corporate reputation," it read in part. Unfortunately, though, Linda still failed to get elected in the long run.