Vince McMahon has returned to WWE. The long-time WWE executive ended his six-month retirement last week, making a comeback to the WWE Board of Directors. Just days after Vince’s return, WWE Chairwoman and co-CEO Stephanie McMahon resigned from her corporate positions, leaving CEO responsibilities in the hands of Nick Khan while Vince was once again elected as chairman of the board. These rapid developments have accelerated chatter on a potential WWE sale, with the likes of Comcast, Amazon, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund emerging as possible suitors.
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The entire professional wrestling industry has their eyes locked on WWE, and that includes AEW President Tony Khan. Speaking on In The Zone, Khan revealed that he’s following Vince’s return to WWE “very closely.”
AEW has taken some shots at Vince on its televised shows before. The late Brodie Lee molded some aspects of his heel persona after Vince, while AEW Tag Team Champion Max Caster has directly name-dropped the WWE Chairman on past freestyle entrance raps.
“No filter, I ain’t Instagram. We make the a– boys retire like Vince McMahon,” Caster rapped in Summer 2022 on AEW Dynamite.
Khan has been a top figure in the professional wrestling industry since 2019, when he founded All Elite Wrestling. Since the company’s inception, AEW has aired weekly broadcasts on TNT and TBS, acquired top free agents like CM Punk and Bryan Danielson, and has drawn some of the biggest non-WWE houses in decades.
One of Khan’s most notable accomplishments with AEW has been his ability to develop partnerships with wrestling promotions across the globe. AEW has worked with Mexico’s Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, China’s Oriental Wrestling Entertainment, Japan’s New Japan Pro Wrestling, and a number of American-based promotions throughout its four years of existence. While AEW has never explicitly crossed over with WWE, contracted AEW talent have appeared on WWE broadcasts in a pre-taped capacity before.
While the direct ramifications of Vince’s WWE return on AEW are unknown, it’s worth noting that Warner Brothers Discovery is listed as a potential buyer of WWE. Warner Brothers Discovery currently owns the broadcast rights to AEW.
Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for updates on Vince McMahon’s return to WWE.
