Will Vince McMahon's Investigation Affect This Week's WWE SmackDown?
Vince McMahon was suddenly in the middle of WWE's biggest story of 2022 on Wednesday when The Wall Street Journal dropped a report of WWE's Board of Directors investigating him for paying millions to former employees to cover up an affair with a former employee as well as various misconduct claims directed at both himself and WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis. WWE told the paper the company was complying with the investigation and echoed that sentiment in an internal statement.
But while there's plenty of speculation about what this could all mean for McMahon's future with the company and WWE's future direction overall, don't expect anything to change in the short term. Dave Meltzer noted on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio that both McMahon and Laurinaitis will be at this week's Friday Night SmackDown.
"Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis are going to TV Friday at least as of a couple of hours ago, that's what we had heard. And they are basically saying it is business as usual. That is what they are saying, yes. I don't know how it could be business as usual. You what I mean? Again, like, this is very early in the game," Meltzer said.
This week's SmackDown will be headlined by Roman Reigns defending his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Riddle. This marks the first time Reigns has put his title on the line (on TV) since unifying WWE's two top prizes at WrestleMania 38 and if Riddle loses he won't be able to challenge for the title again for the remainder of Reigns' run. "The Tribal Chief" also isn't expected to compete at Money in the Bank on July 2, meaning WWE will go three straight pay-per-views without a world championship match for the first time since late 2014.
"What's on my brain right now, what's got your Tribal Chief in here {his heart] right now is, what if that's the last six-man tag you ever see the Bloodline do? I believe, when it comes to TV and it being broadcast for the entire world, that's only the second one. Y'all are freaking out right now. Don't worry, the Tribal Chief loves you. I'm not going anywhere. Unless I am, who knows? What if that's the last one? There is so much riding on us. We have all the titles, we're the very best at what we do... What if that's the last time you see us do what nobody can do? That's the island of relevancy right there, people. It's not a gimmick, were' not just putting this on shirts. This is as real as it gets. Anybody that sits at the table, anybody that tries to step up, anybody that is near us, they automatically become better. You've been seeing this. The proof is in. Whether you like it or not, you love it. And we know you respect it because you acknowledge it everywhere you go. But think about that, if that's the last one, we already know you're going to miss us. We're the greatest to ever do it. It's because we're the Bloodline. And we the Ones," Reigns said following WrestleMania Backlash, teasing his future with the WWE.