How the WWE Shaped Linda McMahon
Josh Moody
November 27, 2024
Linda McMahon, nominated to lead the Education Department, helped turn WWE from a regional business into a multibillion-dollar global enterprise.
President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Linda McMahon as education secretary came as a surprise to many in the education world, akin to a story line swerve befitting of her former employer, WWE.
McMahon’s past in professional wrestling was quickly picked apart, with videos of her on-screen moments going viral. The prospective head of the Education Department was shown being manhandled by muscle-bound behemoths, including a wrestler who is now mayor of Knox County, Tenn. Some online commentators poked fun at the nominee and the carnival atmosphere of the WWE, while others embraced the image of McMahon as a fighter ready to bend the department to her will.
The reaction shows how polarizing Trump’s pick is and what lies ahead for McMahon as she gears up for a confirmation hearing to lead the agency that the president-elect has said he wants to eliminate. And in a world where pro wrestling has surprising overlaps with politics, the videos show her deep connection to an industry that shaped her as a leader and politician and gave her a personal connection to Trump, who appointed her to lead the Small Business Administration in his first term.
