WWE today confirmed the return of Vince McMahon to its board and said it’s removed three directors to make room for the former CEO and two of his allies. “Today, we announce that the founder of WWE, Vince McMahon, will be returning to the Board,” said WWE Chair and Co-CEO Stephanie McMahon, Co-CEO Nick Khan and Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque. “We also welcome back Michelle Wilson and George Barrios to our board of directors. Together, we look forward to exploring all strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value.”
Vince McMahon, the majority owner and former chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment who retired last year amid a misconduct probe, plans to return to the company and pursue a sale of the business. McMahon, who has majority voting power through his ownership of WWE’s Class-B stock, said Thursday he had told the company that he is electing himself and two former co-presidents and directors, Michelle Wilson and George Barrios, to the board. The move to reinstate McMahon, which the board previously rebuffed, and the others will require three current directors to vacate their positions.
Actions come as the wrestling-company board assesses the damage caused by the former CEO’s secret hush pacts.
World Wrestling Entertainment said Monday that $14.6 million of payments by former CEO Vince McMahon from 2006 to 2022 weren’t recorded in the company’s accounts but should have been, and as a result the company will revise some of its previously issued financial statements. McMahon resigned Friday as CEO and chairman of WWE in the midst of a scandal that has the board investigating him for payouts to women, including former employees, in exchange for silence over affairs and inappropriate conduct
In a brief statement issued by World Wrestling Entertainment Friday, Vince McMahon said he is retiring as the company’s chairman and CEO. He noted that he remains its majority shareholder. McMahon stepped down temporarily as CEO and chairman of WWE in mid-June during an investigation into alleged misconduct. Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported McMahon agreed to pay more than $12 million over the past 16 years to suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity.
The longtime chief of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. secured nondisclosure agreements to keep secret allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity.
Exclusives
The board of World Wrestling Entertainment is investigating a secret $3 million settlement that longtime chief executive Vince McMahon agreed to pay to a departing employee with whom he allegedly had an affair, according to documents and people familiar with the board inquiry. The January 2022 separation agreement bars the now-former employee, who was hired as a paralegal in 2019, from discussing her relationship with McMahon or disparaging him, the people said.
AEW is WWE’s first real fight in decades. It may change the face of pro wrestling in the U.S. Though the television contracts are just below those of professional sports leagues in the United States, the money spent on broadcasting pro wrestling is serious. AEW is in the middle of a $175 million television deal with WarnerMedia to air matches on Dynamite and Rampage twice a week on TNT, before moving to TBS next year.
World Wrestling Entertainment has positioned itself on the cutting edge of Internet television with its new subscription-only streaming video service.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Two giants in the wrestling world are getting ready to rumble – in a courtroom. Nashville-based Total Nonstop Action Wrestling has sued World Wrestling Entertainment, accusing […]
