Vince McMahon Retires From WWE Amid Scandal

Vince McMahon, the longtime CEO and chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment, announced today he’s retiring from the company at age 77. He had temporarily stepped away from running the company amid a scandal.

WWE’s board of directors has been investigating McMahon over allegations that he’d paid millions of dollars to various women in exchange for silence over relationships and misconduct.

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McMahon, whose exit is effective immediately, said in a statement issued by the Stamford, CT-based company that his daughter, Stephanie McMahon, will be chairwoman and co-CEO. The other co-CEO is Nick Khan, who joined WWE from CAA in 2020.

McMahon took over WWE from his father in the early 1980s and turned it into a global media empire with lucrative deals including  NBCUniversal and Fox in the U.S. and cash for streaming and other rights around the world. Last year, it inked a billion-dollar deal to have its streaming absorbed into NBCU’s Peacock.

After the probe surfaced, he appeared at the start of Fox’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown, boosting ratings as the world tuned in to see whether he would address the controversy. (He didn’t.) Programming includes WrestleMania, Monday Night Raw, and WWE NXT. WWE Studios develops and produces scripted and non-scripted series, docs and features

WWE is publicly traded on the NYSE. The shares are up a hair, just under 1%, in after-hours trading at about $70. He is the company’s biggest shareholder.

In June, the Wall Street Journal reported that the WWE board was probing McMahon for a secret $3 million settlement with a former employee with whom he had allegedly had an affair. The company subsequently confirmed the story and said it was also looking into misconduct by WWE’s head of talent relations, John Laurinaitis. It named Stephanie McMahon interim then.

In July, the WSJ ran another piece saying McMahon had paid $12 million in hush money to four women.

Here’s his complete statement:

“As I approach 77 years old, I feel it’s time for me to retire as Chairman and CEO of WWE. Throughout the years, it’s been a privilege to help WWE bring you joy, inspire you, thrill you, surprise you, and always entertain you. I would like to thank my family for mightily contributing to our success, and I would also like to thank all of our past and present Superstars and employees for their dedication and passion for our brand. Most importantly, I would like to thank our fans for allowing us into your homes every week and being your choice of entertainment. I hold the deepest appreciation and admiration for our generations of fans all over the world who have liked, currently like, and sometimes even love our form of Sports Entertainment.

“Our global audience can take comfort in knowing WWE will continue to entertain you with the same fervor, dedication, and passion as always. I am extremely confident in the continued success of WWE, and I leave our company in the capable hands of an extraordinary group of Superstars, employees, and executives – in particular, both Chairwoman and Co-CEO Stephanie McMahon and Co-CEO Nick Khan. As the majority shareholder, I will continue to support WWE in any way I can. My personal thanks to our community and business partners, shareholders, and Board of Directors for their guidance and support through the years. Then. Now. Forever. Together.”

MORE TO COME…

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