Mr. McMahon's parting analysis

Mr. McMahon did not appear to be himself moments before his limo exploded.

Mr. McMahon is presumed dead, the victim of an apparent limousine explosion moments before Raw signed off the television waves Monday night. As a federal investigation into the incident forges ahead, a slew of questions demand answers — among them, determining Mr. McMahon’s very last thoughts, as well as possible reasons for his bipolar behavior during his seemingly final instants on this mortal plane.
Last week, WWE.com asked a prominent psychiatrist from Connecticut to analyze the billionaire, whose disturbing disorders had soared off the charts since losing his ECW World Title to Lashley at One Night Stand. “Jane Doe, Ph.D.”— identified as such to protect her against any legal or personal retribution from the Chairman’s office in Stamford-based WWE World Headquarters — had evaluated that Mr. McMahon was “a ticking time bomb of pent-up rage,” suffering from severe manic episodes. But after watching the events that transpired on Raw Monday night, even Dr. Doe, a mental health expert with nearly 17 years experience in the field, admitted that she was “truly horrified.”
For a moment, WWE.com assumed that the psychiatrist was speaking of the tremendous explosion that engulfed the Chairman’s limousine and in all probability incinerated his body. But then Dr. Doe further elaborated on her statement. “After getting over the initial shock of what had occurred, I reviewed a tape of Raw several times,” she said. “Upon doing so, there is no doubt in my mind that Mr. McMahon believed his end was near.”
Inferring that Mr. McMahon demonstrated some “sixth sense” about his impending doom sounds like sheer lunacy. Dr. Doe rejects our portrayal of the notion, dismissing it as “some Hollywood-glamorized analogy,” but she stands by her shocking statement. “I had no reason to make such an observation until after the subject expired in the explosion, and no physical evidence exists to support my claim,” she admitted. “But the signs are definitely there.”
These “signs” to which Dr. Doe refers are commonly known as the Five Stages of Grief. “Elisabeth Kübler-Ross first presented these stages as a model in her book On Death and Dying,” she explained. “Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance.... Those who are either terminally ill or have just lost a loved one often experience each of these stages. Everyone, myself included, became so distracted by his manic behavior that it was simple to overlook ‘Mr. McMahon Appreciation Night,’ which in essence was a self-imposed journey toward accepting his own fate.
“Consider his behavior on Raw, ECW and SmackDown the week before,” she continued. “He simultaneously wavered between denial and anger over losing his ECW Title. By ordering matches at the spur of a moment — particularly that Last Chance Match between [World Heavyweight Champion] Edge and Batista at Vengeance: Night of Champions — one could assess that Mr. McMahon was actually bargaining for more time. Perhaps he thought that by shaking the foundation of his company, and its champions, he could somehow prolong his own legacy.”
The psychiatrist also cites that prior “McMahon-ic attacks” — including his Raw reference to an “ominous black cloud” approaching, plus his rocking-chair catatonia at ECW — were, in effect, masking the stage of depression. “I think he tried countering his mixed state by levying one of his so-called ‘Appreciation Nights.’ Sadly, even in his addled condition, he must have understood deep down that he formed his empire by destroying countless lives in the industry, and would therefore not find many admirers.”
And that final stage of acceptance? “Just think back to his opening statement on Raw Monday,” Dr. Doe said. “His bipolar behavior was responsible for the shaking in his hands, as well as a low attention span that required him to read his own words from a sheet of paper. In retrospect, by describing what was about to occur that night as the ‘defining moment’ of his life, he was really telling everyone that he had stopped looking back, and was now facing forward.”
Is Dr. Doe insinuating that the Chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment, a self-made billionaire who also achieved ring victories over the likes of Undertaker, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Bobby Lashley, had actually developed some sort of death wish? “Not at all,” she rectified. “I believe he enjoyed life to its fullest, particularly — judging by those who spoke at his ‘Appreciation Night’— when his own self-gratification caused others misery. However, it is possible that something or someone provoked a fatalist mentality within him…made him believe that no matter how much he kicked and screamed, he couldn’t change his fate.”
According to the mental health expert, evidence of Mr. McMahon resigning himself to such a fate, however circumstantial, lies within his body language and facial expressions during Raw’s last 10 minutes.
“Watching his sudden inability to speak, plus dropping that microphone in the ring, had nothing to do with his shifts between mania and depression,” she explained. “If anything, he almost looked euphoric —his slight smile and wandering gaze implied realization, that he knew some heavy weight was about to be lifted from his shoulders. It also wouldn’t surprise me if he walked away completely unaware of the audience in attendance, or even the Superstars standing around the arena hallway. In his mind, everyone pretty much ceased to exist.”
Dr. Doe insists that if Mr. McMahon held onto one belief, regardless of grief stages, moods or mania, it was a sense of self-preservation. “He’s built his fortune on being a survivor, so if someone could have firmly reached out to him, I don’t think you and I would be discussing this tragedy today,” she said. “If you watch the footage again, he’s taking deep breaths just as he leaves the arena. Then he’s looking behind or around him while he’s walking toward his limousine. He couldn’t have known what was about to happen, but he was clearly preparing himself for something unpleasant. I think that somewhere inside, he was also hoping that someone would come to his rescue at the last moment. Unfortunately, it never happened.”
When all is said and done, does Dr. Doe suspect foul play at hand? “Sorry, but I’m not some TV psychiatrist who solves mysteries on the side,” she replied. “Police work isn’t my field of expertise, so I’d rather let the authorities form their own conclusions. If there was a puppet master pulling Mr. McMahon’s strings from afar, I’m sure they’ll be found out. I simply hope that the McMahon family, the WWE Superstars and your fans take the time to mourn and heal from this terrible ordeal.”