The professional wrestling world has once again been turned upside down. It was confirmed on Friday morning that longtime WWE Chairman Vince McMahon would be returning to the company in a business capacity, as he and former WWE co-presidents Michelle Wilson and George Barrios were re-appointed to the WWE Board of Directors. This comeback is said to be in an effort to assist with a potential sale of WWE, as McMahon emphasized in his statement that he would not be interfering with WWE’s current management team. Following the news of a potential sale, WWE stock prices saw an increase of 12 percent from yesterday.
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As reactions from the professional wrestling industry begin to pour in, WWE is set to address this change internally later today. As reported by Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, WWE will be holding “a meeting for all employees” at 3:30 PM ET.
A bulk of WWE’s team is in Memphis, Tennessee today ahead of tonight’s WWE SmackDown. Coincidentally enough, McMahon’s initial retirement in July 2022 coincided with a live episode of WWE SmackDown, which featured WWE Chairwoman and co-CEO Stephanie McMahon opening the show by addressing her father’s departure and leading “Thank you Vince” chants before rolling on with the broadcast. It’s unclear if tonight’s WWE SmackDown will address McMahon’s return on camera.
WWE’s three key figureheads, Stephanie, WWE co-CEO Nick Khan and Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque released a joint statement shortly following McMahon’s comeback announcement.
“Today, we announce that the founder of WWE, Vince McMahon, will be returning to the Board,” Stephanie, Khan, and Levesque’s statement read. “We also welcome back Michelle Wilson and George Barrios to our Board of Directors. Together, we look forward to exploring all strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value.”
McMahon made his return intentions clear in a statement released late Thursday evening.
“WWE is entering a critical juncture in its history with the upcoming media rights negotiations coinciding with increased industry-wide demand for quality content and live events and with more companies seeking to own the intellectual property on their platforms,” McMahon wrote. “The only way for WWE to fully capitalize on this opportunity is for me to return as Executive Chairman and support the management team in the negotiations for our media rights and to combine that with a review of strategic alternatives. My return will allow WWE, as well as any transaction counterparties, to engage in these processes knowing they will have the support of the controlling shareholder.”
Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for updates on McMahon’s WWE return.
