With Friday’s news that longtime WWE chairman & CEO Vince McMahon would be retiring, the landscape in the world of professional wrestling is about to change in a massive way.
Not since the late 90’s “Monday Night Wars” between WCW & WWE has there been a more pivotal moment in sports entertainment, as the sports largest entity prepares to usher in a new era.
As part of the announcement, McMahon indicated that his daughter Stephanie & current WWE President Nick Khan would take over as co-CEO’s for the time being. Stephanie will also take on the role of chairwoman for the multi-billion dollar organization, making her one of the most powerful women in sports overnight.
The announcement is not without controversy however, as WWE’s 76 year old founder is currently in the midst of a sexual misconduct scandal which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The WSJ’s article alleges that McMahon purportedly paid former staffers millions of dollars for their silence regarding his rumoured sexual affairs. While his age and health certainly played roles in his decision to retire, the timing of the announcement drew mixed reactions from the wrestling community online.
In a prepared statement to WWE investors, the elder McMahon wrote “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.”
McMahon’s legacy in the world of wrestling is a complicated one no matter how you slice it. Without his stewardship, one could argue the sport would still be a locally focused business, with dozens of indie-promotions fighting to carve out an audience instead of the multi-billion dollar behemoth that WWE has become today.
Others will point to his alleged extra-marital affairs, sexual misconduct lawsuits, questionable on air storylines, and a 1994 steroid scandal as evidence of his power hungry persona. The truth, as it often is, likely lies somewhere between those two extremes.
As part of Friday’s executive “shuffle”, Paul Levesque, better known by his in-ring alter-ego “Triple H”, will now take over the role of Head of Talent relations. News of Levesque’s return was largely lauded by WWE fans who felt that the organization’s NXT brand, and even their flagship RAW/SmackDown programs had become stuck in a rut in recent years.
With the rise of rival promotions such as AEW, and the impending legal maelstrom relating to Vince’s out of ring conduct, WWE finds itself at a crossroads both business wise and storyline wise.
Anytime a personality as large as Vince’s leaves a sport, there’s a massive void created. Whether the newly formed WWE board is up to the challenge of righting the ship, or whether AEW, ROH or other upstarts steal some of their thunder in the months to come remains to be seen.