Vince McMahon Announces Plan To Return To WWE Months After Retiring Following 'Hush Money' Scandal
Jan. 5 2023, Published 6:39 p.m. ET
The founder and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Vince McMahon announced he plans to return as executive chairman on the board of the WWE. The shocking announcement came after McMahon retired amid a 2022 scandal regarding a probe into alleged misconduct with female employees at the company, RadarOnline.com has learned.
McMahon still held a majority of the company's shares despite stepping down from his role in July 2022 after the accusations.
The former WWE CEO was accused of having inappropriate sexual relations with several female employees and allegedly paid them millions in their severance packages to remain silent.
Stephanie McMahon, Vince's daughter, and then WWE president Nick Khan succeeded the founder as co-CEOS upon his retirement; however, those titles could be changing with McMahon's recent statement.
McMahon delivered a lengthy statement on his plan to return to his former company as executive chairman, which included a potential sale of WWE.
Upon claiming the title of executive chairman, McMahon would engage in "necessary actions to position the Company to capitalize on a unique opportunity to maximize long-term value for all WWE shareholders."
The official statement detailed McMahon's return that would "enable unified decision making through the company’s upcoming media rights negotiations" and a "parallel full review of the company’s strategic alternatives."
Several WWE programs — Monday Night Raw, NXT, and Friday Night SmackDown — are under five-year deals that expire in 2024. Peacock also retains streaming rights through 2026. With McMahon's announcement, the potential sale and offloading of WWE rights were put on the table.
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According to Dateline, a potential reason for McMahon's return to the executive board for oversight on a sale could be tied to the costly expense of retaining rights.
Rather than shelling out $600 to $700 million to keep WWE program rights, the company could be more interested in a sale altogether with a media partner.
Comcast, the parent network of current partner Peacock, has been alleged as a potential buyer should the opportunity become available.
On exploring outside opportunities related to the company's future, the official statement from the former CEO read, "Mr. McMahon believes is the right course of action and in the best interests of WWE and WWE shareholders amidst the current dynamics in the media and entertainment industry."
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