The Endeavor era has begun. WWE officially merged with UFC this past Tuesday at the New York Stock Exchange, finalizing the global leader in sports-entertainment’s sale to Endeavor. Executive Chairman Vince McMahon had been shopping WWE around since his return to the company’s board of directors in January and reached a deal with Endeavor come April. Endeavor’s purchase of WWE marks the first time in WWE’s history that it will not be majority owned by a member of the McMahon family. That said, this is not the first time a McMahon has lost power within WWE.
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Shortly after Vince’s return, then-WWE Chairwoman and co-CEO Stephanie McMahon resigned from her corporate positions. Stephanie had been with WWE for the majority of her adult life and held various positions within the corporate side of the company throughout the past two decades.
Will Stephanie McMahon Return to WWE?
What’s next for Stephanie McMahon?
Speaking on the Bill Simmons podcast, WWE CEO Nick Khan reflected on Stephanie’s WWE departure, making note that he wished she had stayed.
“I respected the decision, I wish she hadn’t done that, and she knows that from me personally, she’s a terrific executive and a terrific person,” Khan said. “That’s her decision, her relationship with Vince is theirs and when she made it, I have full respect for the decision.”
Stephanie’s resignation in January came just days after Vince McMahon reinstated himself to the WWE board of directors. Vince had been retired throughout the second half of 2022 following various sexual misconduct allegations. Those allegations revealed that Vince was using millions of company dollars as hush money payments to a number of affairs he had over the years.
While she has no position with WWE right now, Khan added that she would be welcomed back with open arms should she entertain a return.
“I don’t know what the future holds, but with Vince as the chairman of the company, Paul (Triple H) the head of creative, me in the role that I’m in, if Stephanie wanted to do something with WWE, WWE would embrace that,” Khan added. “The WWE universe would embrace that. I think she’s enjoying some time off. After grinding hard, and she grinded hard, take a few months off. She still has school-aged children, she and Paul do, I think she’s enjoying herself.”
