The Los Angeles Times offered an update on Vince McMahon’s ongoing investigation on Wednesday. In the wake of numerous sexual misconduct allegations and the news that McMahon had paid nearly 15 million to keep various accusations quiet since the mid-2000s, McMahon declared he was retiring from the WWE in July 2022 and stepping down from all of his positions within the company. However, by the end of the year, McMahon had already approached WWE’s Board of Directors about being reinstated as executive chairman. When the board tried to decline his demands, McMahon threatened to use his voting power to shut down any attempts at a sale or any future media rights deals. The board responded by agreeing to his demands and welcomed him back to the company in early January.
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The news of McMahon’s return resulted in board members Ignace Lahoud and Man Jit Singh’s resignation. Stephanie McMahon, who had stepped in as chairwoman and co-CEO following her father’s retirement, also left the company days later.
“‘He’s the kind of person who expects loyalty,’ said someone close to one of the ousted directors, adding that McMahon viewed its investigation as an act of disloyalty, even though the board was doing its job,” the LA Times‘ Stacy Perman wrote. She also managed to get Lahoud on the record, who noted that McMahon’s return wasn’t “judicious.”
“It wasn’t aligned with my way of seeing what governance is,” Lahoud said. “There was a misalignment with what my values are.”
Could Vince McMahon’s New Investigation Force Him to Step Down?
WWE confirmed during its latest quarterly investors’ report that McMahon had been issued a federal grand jury subpoena and was subject to a search warrant in July. McMahon quickly released a statement claiming he was confident the investigation would find no wrongdoing.
Perman’s report concluded with an update on the investigation, noting that its scope remains unclear before quoting attorney Jacob Frenkel, chair of Dickinson Wright’s Government Investigations & Securities Enforcement Practice Group.
“(The inquiry could be) much broader than the one company and its one majority shareholder,” Frenkel said. Perman then wrote, “Depending on the potential findings, McMahon could face criminal and/or civil liabilities that could prevent him from serving as an officer or director of a public company, as well as a clawback of any ‘ill-gotten gains,’ Frenkel said.”
McMahon was present for an employee meeting at WWE’s headquarters in Stamford, Conn., on Tuesday alongside Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel to address last week’s merger of WWE and the UFC into TKO Group, 51% of which will be owned by Endeavor. According to Fightful‘s Sean Ross Sapp, McMahon claimed WWE’s product had grown “stagnant” prior to the merger, which was reportedly met with skepticism from employees given the record-breaking profits the WWE has raked in over the past couple of years. Meanwhile, Emanuel has gone on record saying he has no intention of letting McMahon go following the merger. Stay tuned for more updates on the situation as it becomes available.
