Eric Bischoff spoke with SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall this week for NBC Sports Boston. Bischoff was there to promote his second autobiography Grateful, which is due out November 11 (Pre-order here).

During their discussion, Bischoff spoke at-length about Vince McMahon retiring from WWE, what it was like working directly under Vince McMahon and his personal outlook for WWE’s future with Triple H leading creative and Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan serving as Co-CEO’s.

You can watch the full interview here, with highlights below:

Eric Bischoff on Vince McMahon Retiring

“It’s funny, I just got done talking with Hulk Hogan, we were talking about this. It’s going to be strange for people like us, all of us who have been fans, all of us who have been in the business and have worked with fans, in my case, competed against him, worked for him, covered the gamut,” said Bischoff. “It’s just weird, he’s been there forever, he’s the only head coach the team has ever had since the team was born, for most of us.

It’s going to be weird, but I think it’s going to be better. Look, Vince did amazing things. Anybody that doesn’t give him credit, a lot of it, and respect, not only credit, but respect for what he’s accomplished business wise, let’s separate his personal proclivities from business and what he built.. Anybody that doesn’t respect what he built is just juvenile, child-like. But, I think with new management..

Bischoff on Working Under Vince McMahon

“I’ll talk about this briefly, when I was there in 2019, I worked side by side with Vince McMahon. On a pretty regular basis. I was in way too many meetings with Vince McMahon than I even want to think about, I get PTSD-like symptoms when I do. As amazing as what Vince built is, and how he went about it, his personal way of going about creative, his system, his creative system and approach, doesn’t work for anybody but him. It just doesn’t. It’s well documented, working 20 hours a day, 2 o’clock in the morning meetings, by the way, true, been there, had to do it. It doesn’t work well for a team that you’re relying on.

“I think with Triple H in there now, because Triple H has been in that spot before, he knows how tough it is to work with Vince, because of Vince’s system, and because he knows, I think we’re going to see a new creative system in place in the next few months, I think that new system is going to allow some extremely talented writers that I know are still there, that I had the chance to meet and work with for a few months, incredibly talented people, guys like Ed Koske who’s been there 20-something years, incredible talent. A lot of great talent there on the writing team that will be able to emerge in this new environment, and I think you’re going to see a much better product as a result.”

WWE’s Bright Future

“The rest of the company, you know, one of the old things that I think anybody that is honest about Vince, has to acknowledge and respect, is that he built the public company that is now WWE, is a blue-chip public company. There are seasoned executives that are highly credentialed, their bios, their history, their success, their resumes are off-the-charts good, in every part of the company, whether it’s the CFO’s, Nick Khan, Stephanie could not be a better person to be in the position she’s in, it’s a very solid company that will survive the former CEO. Not only survive it, but surpass it.”

“The stock market reflected that. The stock is up 10%. Everybody on Friday, the Dave Meltzers of the world, ‘Oh my god, he made the announcement after the market closed because he knows the market is going to crash’ – not only is this piece of garbage trying to pretend to know what’s going on in the wrestling business and the television business, now he’s a stock market analyst, and what did the stock market do? It went up. Vince is gone, ‘Ok, I’m in!’”

Pre-Order Eric Bischoff’s second autobiography, Grateteful, now at GuyEvansBooks.com.

If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to SEScoops for the transcription.

This week’s WWE RAW was a highly anticipated broadcast following Triple H’s takeover of WWE creative.

While Triple H technically took over prior to RAW, the creative direction was mostly set heading into SummerSlam. This week’s RAW show marked an opportunity for a statement to be made about the new creative direction for the company, with a reset possibly at hand.

According to a new report from Fightful Select, morale is high among WWE talent following Monday’s broadcast. While there has been much creative frustration backstage at WWE in recent months (and years), a new creative force behind the scenes has reportedly given new hope to some of the talent.

The Fightful report noted that they had heard from multiple talent across brands who have a renewed sense of optimism. It was specifically mentioned that Dakota Kai’s return to the company was seen as a beacon of hope, with some talent noting that maybe their future could improve as well.

“Two particular top talent (s) in WWE said they were excited to not wrestle the same person every week and hoped that was a key (emphasis) move going forward,” Fightful reports.

• Backstage News on What’s Changed Since Triple H Took Over WWE Creative

More Focus on WWE’s Female Roster

There was an increased emphasis on women’s wrestling during Monday night’s broadcast, and both Mustafa Ali and Ciampa were also featured on the show; possible a sign of more pushes for underutilized talents.

Fightful also noted that a talent not signed with WWE reached out to say that the emphasis on the women’s division was notable.

Interestingly, the Fightful report went on to say that they had spoken to dozens of talent and not heard from anyone who had concerns about Vince McMahon no longer being in control of creative.

What did you think of Monday night’s WWE RAW? Let us know in the comments section below.

Make sure to check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news: Apple – Spotify – YouTube. 

WWE under Vince McMahon was known to try and erase stars from history whose legacy was deemed damaging for the company. It’s ironic that Mr. McMahon himself seems to be getting the same treatment.

The chairman was accused of having an affair with an ex-WWE employee earlier this month. He was reported to have paid her $3 million for an NDA.

This revelation triggered an internal investigation. Mr. McMahon was forced to retire from all his WWE positions last week after more NDAs were discovered, totaling $12 million in settlements.

• Backstage News On New SummerSlam Faction

Vince McMahon Erased?

SummerSlam 2022 was the first WWE Pay-Per-View after the chairman’s retirement. Among other things, it featured a match between Pat McAfee and Happy Corbin.

What’s worth mentioning is that the video package that aired before the bout showed McAfee’s interaction with Stone Cold Steve Austin from WrestleMania 38. However, it avoided showing Vince McMahon.

PWinsider further reported that the office which was built as Vince’s Office backstage before his exit was simply listed as the CEO office at SummerSlam.

There was a separate office for Triple H with a ‘Paul Levesque’ sign. All the old signs that would have featured McMahon’s name were nowhere to be found on the latest WWE show.

What do you think about WWE purposefully avoiding the mention of Vince McMahon at SummerSlam? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

It’s been one week since Triple H was named EVP, Talent Relations of WWE, and Vince McMahon announced his decision to retire from WWE, stepping down as CEO.

This past Monday morning, it was announced that Triple H would assume all creative duties that were previously held by this father-in-law. It was the first time he had been in charge of creative since stepping away from his duties with NXT last year due to health issues. 

While speaking with the media on Friday at the WWE tryouts in Nashville, Triple H talked about the undertaking of replacing Vince McMahon. 

“You’ve gotta watch the show…there are a massive pair of shoes to fill that I am trying to step into, but I do not dream, for one second, that I can fill those shoes by myself. It’s going to take a lot of us. It’s going to take a team, it’s going to take everybody here to fill those shoes and continue this on, but we will.”

Triple H continued, “the intent is to continue the legacy of what has been going on, that made me fall in love with this business that he created and to take it to new levels. To take it beyond where it is now. The only way we’re going to do that is as a team. That’s with Steph [McMahon], Nick Khan, myself, Kevin Dunn, everybody that is here. That is with all this talent. The great hardest working talent in the world. I have no doubt in my mind that with this team, we can do it, not an inkling of doubt. It’s just a lot of hard work, and we’re all going to grind. We have the greatest fans in the world, and we’re going to make sure they get everything they want out of this product and then some.”

Triple H later added after recapping his week so far, “like I said, it’s going to take all of us to fill a big pair of shoes, but we’re hell-bent on doing it.”

If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit with an h/t to SEScoops for the transcription.

Kurt Angle has revealed what he texted to Vince McMahon after it was announced that McMahon has retired.

As noted, there have been a lot of changes within WWE as of late. Vince McMahon stepped down as WWE CEO after some sexual misconduct allegations came to light.

He then decided to retire, handing the reigns of WWE creative over to son-in-law Triple H.

Now, various professional wrestling stars have offered up their reactions to the news. Recently, WWE Hall Of Famer Kurt Angle was interviewed by Bleacher Report and offered his take on the situation.

Angle revealed that he actually texted McMahon after the news of his retirement broke, and divulged some details on the conversation.

“I text him five days ago when he decided to retire. I said, ‘Love you, Vince.’ I didn’t want to go into detail, what happened, this and that. He said, ‘I love you too.’ That’s all we said to each other.

“Vince has always been kind of a father figure to me. We did have a falling out in 2006, but we mended that in 2017 and I love the guy to death. He’s such a great individual.

“We all make mistakes as human beings and Vince is no different, but he’s an excellent individual.“

Kurt Angle and McMahon worked closely together when the former Olympic Gold Medalist wrestler was brought into WWE in the late 90s.

He would go on to become one of the company’s biggest stars of his generation.

Although he doesn’t wrestle anymore, having retired and been inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame, Angle still regularly gives his take on the current goings on within the business on his podcast, “The Kurt Angle Show.”

Quotes via Fightful

Vince McMahon’s wife, Linda, has given her first public comments about her husband leaving the company he built into a global empire. 

It happened during an America First Policy Institute event, and things got awkward. 

“I’m not going to talk about Vince and WWE, I’m here to talk about AFPI.”

The interviewer asked a follow-up question, and she responded:

“Well, you know what? He’ll just be deciding on how he’s going to spend his free time. I think that’s a good thing, thanks.”

The Wall Street Journal broke the news about the WWE Board of Directors investigating McMahon over a $3 million settlement that McMahon had agreed to pay a former employee with whom he allegedly had an affair. They also reported he paid them more than $12 million to four women formerly with the company to “suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity.”

Since Vince’s resignation, Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan have been named co-CEOs, while Triple H has been named Head of Creative.

Linda helped launch Titan Sports alongside her husband, where she served as president and CEO of WWE until leaving the company in 2009. Since her departure from WWE, he attempted to secure a seat in the Senate in 2010 and 2012 but was unsuccessful. 

Former US president Donald Trump named McMahon the head of the Small Business Administration in 2020.

Vince McMahon has been named in yet another lawsuit over XFL.

Per PWInsider, a man named David Adrian Smith filed a lawsuit before the District Court for the Northern District of Texas on July 20. People such as Vince McMahon, Dani Garcia, The Rock, current WWE CFO Frank Riddick, Riddick’s wife Carol and others has been named in the lawsuit. Both WWE and ESPN have also been mentioned.

Smith has claimed that he had an email exchange with Carol Riddick in May 2016 in which he “disclosed confidential trade secret information,” including market and opportunity analysis regarding the concept of a minor league or developmental football league. He is alleging that the Riddicks disclosed this information, and it was brought to Vince McMahon. McMahon further shared it with former NBC executive Dick Ebersol as well as ESPN.

Per the claims made in the lawsuit, the “trade secret information” were used in production of the ESPN 30 For 30 documentary This Was The XFL. Smith is alleging that WWE sold the rights to XFL over to McMahon’s Alpha entertainment because they knew the ‘trade secrets.’ Ebersol also launched the AAF league in part because of his knowledge of the said secrets.

When The Rock, Dani Garcia and others purchased XFL, the trade secrets were “disclosed / conveyed to and acquired / received” to the new ownership without the authorization of smith. David Smith is requesting damages for the misappropriation of his trade secrets with an estimated figure greater than $15 million as well as a declaration that defendants’ actions were unlawful, among other things.

Neither Vince McMahon, nor any other involving parties have responded to these claims publicly. We’ll keep you posted on any development in the story.

• Good News for Vince McMahon as lengthy Lawsuit Ends

WWE Hall Of Famer Kurt Angle was saddened to learn of Vince McMahon’s departure from WWE recently.

The professional wrestling world certainly shook up when it was announced that longtime WWE CEO and creative front-man Vince McMahon decided to retire. This came after allegations of sexual misconduct began to surface, sparking investigations.

Various names from the professional wrestling industry have reacted to the news, now, including WWE Hall Of Famer Kurt Angle.

Angle offered his thoughts on the matter during a recent interview with FOX News. Angle called McMahon the longtime “Achilles heel” of WWE, before praising his mind for business.

“I’m sad because Vince was the Achilles heel of WWE. He’s what made it roll, he’s what made it happen. If it weren’t for Vince, the WWE would not exist.

“I’m not saying he’s perfect. He didn’t do everything perfectly. He made very few mistakes from a business standpoint.”

Angle worked very closely with McMahon during a large part of his professional wrestling career. After winning an Olympic gold medal, Angle signed with WWE in 1998, quickly rising up as one of the company’s top stars.

The former WWE Champion credits McMahon with the idea of purposely presenting him as an over-the-top babyface that the fans would receive as a heel.

“He thought it was perfect for me to be an Olympic gold medalist. He wanted me to be this clean-cut Olympian that preached the three I’s and motivated fans. And actually, he knew it would backfire.

“He was pretending to push me as a baby face knowing that the fans would crap all over me because I was so clean cut, it was like, give me a break, this guy can’t be that good. It worked extremely well and it turned me heel.

“Even though I would preach the three I’s, I would still cheat and win. That also gave me a lot of heat.”

Last Friday, Vince McMahon announced his retirement, bringing an end to his four-decade career as part of WWE. 

McMahon’s retirement comes one month after he stepped down as CEO and Chairman of WWE, due to the ongoing investigation against him. 

The former Chairman is alleged to have paid over $12 million to multiple women over 16 years in Non-Disclosure Agreements. 

The Tribal Chief reacts

Many WWE Superstars personally benefited from pushes by Vince McMahon, but few stars were treated better than Roman Reigns. 

Under McMahon, Reigns was pushed heavily as one of the company’s biggest stars, earning a mixed response from fans. 

It wouldn’t be until Reigns turned heel in August 2020 that he would win over his critics, and has dominated WWE since then. 

While signing autographs following a recent appearance on the Today Show, and was asked for his comments on McMahon’s retirement.

“I just wish him nothing but luck and happiness in the future. It’s been great.”

Roman Reign on Vince McMahon’s retirement.

There’s no word on what McMahon plans on doing with all his newly-acquired free time now that he’s retired.

McMahon’s Future

Vince McMahon may be retired, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be enjoying life away from WWE. 

After the two articles from the Wall Street Journal, which made the claims against McMahon, the authors have teased another article coming very soon, and have been speaking to former employees.

McMahon is still under investigation by WWE’s board, who are under investigation themselves over claims they breached their duties to shareholders, by not mentioning the McMahon scandal prior to it going public

CM Punk isn’t expecting much change within WWE despite Vince McMahon’s retirement.

With McMahon stepping down as WWE CEO, and now retiring as the head of creative for the company as well, many are expecting big changes for the promotion moving forward.

However, ex-WWE Champion and current All Elite Wrestling (AEW) World Champion CM Punk doesn’t share those expectations.

In a recent interview with Absolute Geek, Punk suggested he doesn’t think McMahon’s retirement will change WWE’s culture at all.

“You think because he tweeted that ‘I’m retired’ you think that he’s not going to be hands-on, and he’s not gonna –

“But I don’t think the structure there, I don’t think the – what’s the word I’m looking for? I don’t think the culture there changes. At all. I think it is what it is.”

CM Punk & WWE

Punk is no stranger to WWE. He signed with the company back in 2005 before eventually departing in 2014. During his time with the company Punk established himself as one of their biggest stars, racking up five World Title runs.

However, his relationship with the company broke down in very ugly fashion in his final months with WWE, eventually leading to Punk walking out and eventually being fired.

Punk ventured into other industries such as mixed martial arts (MMA), acting, and comic book writing during a seven-year hiatus from wrestling. He then helped shake up the professional wrestling world again when he signed with AEW in August of 2021.

After finally winning the AEW World Title from Adam Page at Double Or Nothing this past May, Punk unfortunately suffered an injury that forced him to be shelved for several months.

He’s still officially listed as the AEW World Champion, however, an interim AEW World TItle was implemented, of which Jon Moxley currently holds.

When he’s ready, Punk will likely return to feud with the interim AEW Title holder to unify their belts.

UFC president Dana White has reacted to the news of Vince McMahon retiring from WWE.

As noted, the recent sexual misconduct allegations against McMahon have forced him to step down as CEO of WWE, and he also subsequently retired as the head of creative for the company as well.

During a recent post-fight press conference after his Dana White Contenders Series show, the UFC boss was asked for his thoughts on his longtime fellow promoter finally calling it a career.

White had nothing but good things to say about McMahon, claiming he has nothing but respect for Vince, while acknowledging he’s also “buried the hatchet in my back a few times.”

“Oh, I got stories about Vince for days, White said. “But yeah, you know, what that guy built and what he’s done is incredible. He’s been doing it for 50-plus years. You know, I watched that stuff as a kid, and to still be here doing it now, it’s phenomenal.

“He’s a killer, he’s buried the hatchet in my back a few times – but that’s what you’re dealing with. It’s not like you – you don’t deal with a killer and not expect him to try and kill you. Yeah, I have nothing but respect for Vince though.”

The UFC and WWE have seemingly had a good relationship with one another in the past several years. For a time, Brock Lesnar split his time between the two companies before ultimately returning to WWE on a more permanent basis.

White has also been in the crowd for WrestleMania in the past when Ronda Rousey competed, while Vince McMahon has also been seen cageside at UFC shows as well.

In fact, McMahon was recently Octagon-side, along with his daughter Stephanie McMahon, son-in-law Triple H, and SmackDown commentator Pat McAfee.

At the show, UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya actually used The Undertaker’s entrance prior to his title bout against Jared Cannonier in the UFC 276 main event.

There has been renewed talk about a potential WWE sale in light of Vince McMahon’s recent retirement.

The recent sexual misconduct allegations against McMahon have caused a plethora of massive changes within WWE. With McMahon stepping down as CEO, his daughter Stephanie McMahon and WWE President Nick Khan have assumed the roles as co-CEOs.

McMahon’s retirement also saw Triple H ascend to be the new head of WWE Creative.

With Vince McMahon stepping aside, that leaves the door open for an even bigger change to take place, including an outright sale of the company.

There has been a longstanding belief that Vince McMahon was the “magic ingredient” keeping WWE in such good financial shape. Fears that WWE would be in trouble once Vince stepped aside have proven to be untrue, at least in the short term.

Impact on WWE Stock

Following the news of McMahon’s retirement, WWE stock has actually increased. Investment firm Loop Capital upgraded its outlook of the company.

The recent growth growth of WWE’s stock price is largely due to the perception that there is now a greater chance that WWE is sold over the next few years.

WWE President Nick Khan has in the past been adamant that the WWE is more than willing to entertain offers for a sale. Earlier this year, he reiterated, “We’re open for business.”

With WWE’s U.S. TV rights renewal coming up in approximately mid-2023, a potential acquirer might think it more opportune to buy the company rather than strike a temporary rights deal.

Currently FOX owns the broadcasting rights to SmackDown, while Monday Night RAW is hosted by NBCUniversal. Both deals will be up at the end of 2024.

As for potential buyers, there are several companies that make sense. Some being Comcast, Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, Paramount Global, Apple, Amazon and Netflix. Warner Bros Discovery in particular would make for a very interesting situation, as they currently air All Elite Wrestling (AEW) on TNT and TBS.

Attempting a WWE purchase would be a smart business move on anybody’s part given the growth WWE has seen in the past several years. Over the past decade WWE has consistently grown annual revenue.

Monday it was announced that second-quarter revenue is currently expected at about $328 million for the quarter. That’s a 23% increase from last year. Also, WWE has an operating income of about $70 million, which is a 52% increase.

In regards to a potential WWE sale, only time will tell given how fresh the recent changes have been.

News has come out regarding the creative environment Vince McMahon inspired in recent years in WWE while in charge of creative. 

Although he temporarily stepped down as CEO and Chairman due to the hush money scandals, he was still heavily involved in creative up until last week before he resigned. 

Fightful Select reports sources from within the creative process have indicated that many writer’s assistants effectively needed to ‘filter’ McMahon and needed to know what not to write for McMahon when taking notes for him.

The report stated that minutes were ‘heavily edited’ for a long time, claiming that edits were made for various reasons ranging from simple kayfabe terms to McMahon saying things that would appear insensitive or offensive. 

A former production employee reportedly noted, “If a live feed of Vince McMahon on a headset any given night ever made it out, that it would provide a picture of that production experience, especially for the announcers. There were plenty of times he was in a good mood, but he would blow up at the most ridiculous things and act like they ruined an angle far past its expiration date anyway.”

Fightful previously noted that sources who worked with him are more open to speaking about their experiences following his exit from the company. 

Tony Khan gave his opinion on Vince McMahon’s Resignation when he spoke with Steve Fall of NBC Sports Boston.

Shakeup In WWE

This week, Vince McMahon announced his retirement from WWE, after decades of running the company.

McMahon’s retirement comes one month after he stepped down as CEO and Chairman of the Board, due to the allegations of misconduct against multiple female employees.

McMahon is alleged to have paid over $12 million in Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) over 16 years.

WWE executive Paul Levesque (Triple H) has assumed “all responsibilities related to WWE’s creative,” the company announced Monday morning.

Tony Khan Shares His Opinion

Tony Khan recently spoke with Steve Fall of NBC Sports Boston about the recent shakeup within WWE’s backstage personnel.

The CEO and General Manager of AEW said:

“I believe that there are a lot of great wrestling fans all over the world who are following pro wrestling pretty closely and there’s obviously been shakeups. I’ve definitely followed that promotion since I was a small kid. And it’ll be interesting to see how things turn out in the world of pro wrestling and I’m a big fan of pro wrestling all over the place, not just AEW. And now not just Ring of Honor either. We’ve worked with New Japan Pro Wrestling, and a lot of other great companies all over the world. 

So, we’ll see what’s to be held for the future of the pro wrestling business. But I’m glad that AEW and Ring of Honor are both a huge part of it with AEW every Wednesday on TBS, and every Friday on TNT and now Ring of Honor with the Pay Per View events on Bleacher Report hopefully, will lead to a weekly Ring of Honor also going forward.”

Watch Steve’s interview with Tony Khan here:

We have some backstage details to pass along on who wrote this week’s WWE Monday Night RAW after Vince McMahon’s resignation.

As noted, McMahon stepped down as head of creative, leaving Triple H to fill the void. This was the first episode of Monday Night RAW in which McMahon was not backstage running the show.

Who Wrote This Week’s WWE RAW?

However, the show did have McMahon’s fingerprints on it. According to a report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, much of the show was already written on Thursday of last week. Nobody ripped up anything and only a few minor changes were made.

For the most part, the show fans saw this week was the one that had already been approved. Fans will likely have to wait until after SummerSlam for any major changes to be seen, as the storylines leading into the event are already laid out.

It will certainly be interesting to see what the new regime does for the on-screen WWE product. McMahon has been at the helm of creative for decades, however, in recent years he’s received heavy criticism for the product that has been dished out.

With Triple H now overseeing things, WWE fans are hoping for a much different product, especially with the TV-14 format seemingly returning after SummerSlam. Not only is McMahon out as head of creative, but he was forced to step down as WWE CEO as well.

Now, his daughter, Stephanie McMahon, and Nick Khan serve as co-CEOs of WWE.

The Wall Street Journal has a new report regarding Vince McMahon and his retirement from WWE. 

The report notes McMahon was driven into retirement by investigations from federal prosecutors relating to his hush money scandals. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is also investigating McMahon.

WWE alluded to investigations in their SEC filing but did not state a specific entity. WWE stated they had received “regulatory, investigative and enforcement inquiries, subpoenas or demands” regarding the hush money payments. McMahon’s departure was listed as a resignation by WWE. 

The WSJ report noted they tried to reach out to spokespeople for McMahon and WWE, but they did not immediately respond to the requests.  A spokesman for the independent directors of the WWE board declined to comment. Neither the SEC nor the spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Connecticut provided any comment.

McMahon announced his retirement from the company last Friday. Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan were named new co-CEOs on Monday, and Paul “Triple H” Levesque is the Head of Creative. 

The Wall Street Journal previously broke the news about the WWE Board of Directors investigating McMahon over a $3 million settlement that McMahon had agreed to pay a former employee who he allegedly had an affair with and him paying more than $12 million to four women formerly with the company to “suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity.”

To the surprise of pretty much no one, there’s more to Vince McMahon’s retirement than age.

Just hours before the July 22 episode of WWE SmackDown went off the air, it was announced that Vince has retired. The wording of the statement left some to believe that McMahon could possibly retain his role on the creative team but that isn’t the case.

While Vince remains the majority shareholder, he is completely gone as an executive from the company.

While McMahon is 77 years old and many believe this move was long overdue, his retirement didn’t come about because he felt he had done all he needed to do.

Vince McMahon Resigned

In an 8-K report, which is a required company filing to the SEC, Vince McMahon’s departure from WWE is officially listed as a resignation.

The news shouldn’t come as a surprise. Vince McMahon was in hot water after The Wall Street Journal uncovered Vince’s alleged million-dollar pacts with former female employees over the course of 16 years.

While many felt that McMahon was bulletproof, you simply can’t get away with this kind of stuff in 2022 and beyond.

Stephanie McMahon is now the full-time Chairwoman and shares the CEO title with Nick Khan. WWE has also informed reporters that Triple H is now positioned as the Head of Creative.

This week, Vince McMahon announced his retirement from WWE, after decades of running the company.

McMahon’s retirement comes one month after he stepped down as CEO and Chairman of the Board, due to the allegations of misconduct against multiple female employees.

McMahon is alleged to have paid over $12 million in Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) over 16 years.

Will He Stay Retired?

For years, it was said that the only way McMahon would ever relinquish control of WWE is when he passes away, so the choice to retire is rightly being seen as a huge deal.

While McMahon has insisted that he is finished with WWE, there are some who are skeptical about how long this will last.

Fightful Select reports that some in WWE don’t see McMahon’s retirement as long-lasting, given that he has little hobbies or social circle outside of pro wrestling. (via Wrestling Inc.)

“I’m not banking on anything being permanent,” one source said. “Triple H was phased out, Stephanie was phased out, Bruce left the company for a decade, Johnny has been in and out, and none of them has the power Vince does. I’m not convinced that he can actually stay away, especially if he feels the heat has died down.”

“I’m not banking on anything being permanent… I’m not convinced that he can actually stay away.”

The ‘Heat’

If Vince McMahon is waiting for the heat of these recent scandals to die down, then he may be waiting a very long time.

Reporters from the Wall Street Journal have said that they are conducting interviews with former WWE Superstars, and a third article is expected to be published.

Vince McMahon held the keys when it came to WWE creative for over 5 decades. Now that he is gone from the company, the WWE programming is expected to go through some major changes.

Fightful Select provided some updates on what changes we can expect. They noted that one source within creative said that we may see fewer rematches moving forward.

It’s believed that Vince McMahon will redo a match if he liked it and thought that it made sense. He then ‘later forget that they’d done it so many times.’

There were people that claimed that the 76-year-old had issues remembering names of talents here and there. This might be a reason why he shortened many talent names.

People believe that the new leadership may not want to deviate from McMahon’s vision too much out of ‘respect’ for the boss, but they still think that small improvements in current programming can make a huge difference.

As far as long-term changes go, most people said that it will be determined by who ends up in control of creative. If Bruce Prichard ends up taking over, it’s likely that not much will change.

Though if it’s someone else, the likelihood of ‘forward progression’ will be much higher. You can check out more backstage news on Vince McMahon’s retirement here.

This week, Vince McMahon announced his retirement from WWE; an act that countless people thought they’d never see.

McMahon’s announcement comes a month after he stepped down from the roles of WWE CEO and Chairman of the Board, over allegations of improper conduct with female employees. 

McMahon has allegedly paid over $12 million in Non-Disclosure Agreements to female WWE employees over the past 16 years. 

Concerns Over McMahon

McMahon’s decision to step down from WWE is unquestionably the biggest shift in power the promotion has ever seen, and there are concerns for the ex-CEO’s future. 

According to Wade Keller of PW Torch, many close to McMahon are worried about how he will spend his time now, as he has no hobbies or social circles outside of pro-wrestling.

Despite this, McMahon is not expected to return to WWE in any capacity other than as the father of Stephanie McMahon. 

In his retirement statement, McMahon did not address the allegations against him, which many believe is the reason for his retirement. 

Keller reports that with McMahon retiring days before Raw returns to Madison Square Garden, the claims against him must be serious, as Vince has a lot of love for ‘The World’s Most Famous Arena.’

It is said to be in WWE’s interest to keep McMahon happy as he is still a large shareholder and his opinion carried a lot of weight.

Future Plans in WWE

 After stepping down as WWE CEO and Chair, McMahon remained in charge of WWE creative, though that has changed now.

Keller notes that Bruce Prichard is expected to take over the role as head of creative for the time being. 

Kevin Dunn, a long-time confidante of McMahon (who some consider little more than a Vince yes man) is expected to remain in his role as an Executive Director of WWE, though it is unlikely he will remain in the role for the long-term.

Changes are expected, but they will be gradual as the company wishes to demonstrate stability to stakeholders including stockholders, partners, and sponsors.

There are even talks from AEW wrestlers, who believe they will have a better chance in WWE or that at the very least, WWE will show more of an interest in them without Vince McMahon in charge.

Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan will serve as co-CEOs, and while they are not close, they are not considered enemies.

Women and WWE

Many Superstars are said to be optimistic that this change of leadership will help them, but it is understood that any changes to the rosters will be gradual rather than immediate.

Female Superstars are reportedly the most optimistic, as WWE Chairwoman Stephanie McMahon is said to be well-liked and is a supporter of women’s wrestling.

Some even think that Naomi and Sasha Banks could return after walking out of the May 16 Raw due to creative differences with Vince McMahon’s plan for that night’s main event.

It’s believed that the former Women’s Tag Team Champions’ main beef was with Vince and that his retirement could smooth things over.

However, other management may still hold a grudge against both women, who have shown no signs of being brought back to TV.

The wrestling world is still in shock over the news of Vince McMahon’s retirement. However, latest reports suggest that it wasn’t a last-minute decision.

The decision of Vince McMahon’s retirement was said to be made ‘about a week or so’ ago. Not many people knew what was coming, and the site has been told that the shockwaves are still being registered within the WWE HQ and beyond.

Many long-term employees are especially in shock because similar to a lot of fans, they never truly believed that one day they would be working for the company without Vince McMahon at the helm.

The decision to make Stephanie McMahon the co-CEO alongside president Nick Khan was made shortly after it became clear that the boss will be leaving.

• Read Vince McMahon’s Memo to WWE Employees About his Retirement

The timing of the announcement was no coincidence. Releasing the news on late Friday was a strategic move to blunt any negative fallout in terms of media and stockholder response.

Vince McMahon was not present backstage at SmackDown. It’s confirmed that he will not be officially involved in the creative process going forward, though there is no word on how the creative will work after McMahon’s retirement.

Kevin Dunn and Bruce Prichard were said to be the people running Friday’s SmackDown taping in Boston. Stephanie McMahon and Triple H were backstage as well but it wasn’t clear if Nick Khan was there.

• Wrestling World Reacts to Vince McMahon’s Retirement

Vince McMahon sent an internal message to WWE talent informing them of his retirement from the company, in addition to his tweet and WWE’s press release. 

The memo was shared by an Reddit insider and confirmed by F4Wonline.com. McMahon noted that he enjoyed sharing his passion with talent and encouraged them to be everything they can be as a person and a performer.

“To all WWE Superstars: as I approach 77 years old (OMG am I really that old?), I feel it’s time for me to retire. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed sharing my passion, wisdom, and love of the business with you. No longer will you see the smiling, docile, level-headed, calm presence at Gorilla every week.

Your dedication to WWE will ensure that our company will continue to grow and prosper. Our organization is nothing without you. You are WWE’s only natural resource, chosen to perform in front of a global audience.

You are all WWE Global Ambassadors. Carry the WWE flag wherever you go. Wave it high and proud. And bust your ass to be all you can be as a person and as a performer.

One other thing-I won’t be with you, but I’ll be watching. Remember to keep your hands up, grab a hold, and sell. Btw, SmackDown airs live tonight at 8pm Eastern/7pm Central on FOX.

Vince”

Although McMahon is retiring as WWE’s Chairman and CEO and is no longer in charge of creative, he will continue to be WWE’s majority shareholder. Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan are WWE’s new co-CEOs.

All of this comes after the reports from the Wall Street Journal about the WWE Board of Directors investigating McMahon over a $3 million settlement that McMahon had agreed to pay a former employee who he allegedly had an affair with and him paying more than $12 million to four women formerly with the company to “suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity.”

Several wrestlers have reacted to the bombshell news on Friday afternoon that Vince McMahon has retired from WWE. 

McMahon’s decision to step down as Chairman and CEO came after the Wall Street Journal stories about him paying out $12 million in hush money to cover up alleged sexual misconduct with former talent and employees.

Vince will no longer be involved with the WWE creative process. It remains to be seen how Vince’s retirement affects the day-to-day operations, especially with the weekly TV shows. He still owns the majority of WWE stock, but will no longer be seen backstage at WWE shows. Nick Khan and Stephanie McMahon will serve as co-CEOs going forward now that Vince is out. 

AEW President Tony Khan wrote an interesting tweet shortly after the news was made where he noted that he is “grateful to now be the longest-tenured CEO in pro wrestling.”

You can see the reactions below: 

The Vince McMahon era in WWE has come to an end.

On Friday afternoon just hours before WWE SmackDown, Vince McMahon announced his retirement as the Chairman and CEO of WWE. His daughter, Stephanie, had taken his place in interim roles amid an investigation into alleged million-dollar pacts with former employees.

The statement issued by WWE announcing Vince’s retirement has now listed Stephanie as the Chairwoman and co-CEO of WWE. She now shares the CEO title with Nick Khan.

Here is the official statement from Vince McMahon:

“As I approach 77 years old, I feel it’s time for me to retire as Chairman and CEO of WWE.“

Vince McMahon announces retirement

“Throughout the years, it’s been a privilege to help WWE bring you joy, inspire you, thrill you, surprise you, and always entertain you. I would like to thank my family for mightily contributing to our success, and I would also like to thank all of our past and present Superstars and employees for their dedication and passion for our brand. Most importantly, I would like to thank our fans for allowing us into your homes every week and being your choice of entertainment. I hold the deepest appreciation and admiration for our generations of fans all over the world who have liked, currently like, and sometimes even love our form of Sports Entertainment.

“Our global audience can take comfort in knowing WWE will continue to entertain you with the same fervor, dedication, and passion as always. I am extremely confident in the continued success of WWE, and I leave our company in the capable hands of an extraordinary group of Superstars, employees, and executives – in particular, both Chairwoman and Co-CEO Stephanie McMahon and Co-CEO Nick Khan. As the majority shareholder, I will continue to support WWE in any way I can. My personal thanks to our community and business partners, shareholders, and Board of Directors for their guidance and support through the years. Then. Now. Forever. Together.”

Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline has since reported that Vince sent out a message to the talent saying that while they will no longer be seeing him, he will be watching them.

“Vince sent out a message to talent confirming his departure, noting they wouldn’t be seeing him but he’d be watching them, and then concluding with a plug for Smackdown tonight.”

Bryan Alvarez’s report on Vince McMahon’s message to WWE talent

For those wondering if the language in Vince’s statement means he’s retaining his role as the Head of Creative, that isn’t the case. Vince McMahon is out for good.

Vince had come under fire after several hush pacts were reported by The Wall Street Journal. The reports claimed McMahon paid millions in NDAs over the course of 16 years in hopes that former employees involved wouldn’t air out his sexual advances.

One former female talent claims that the company demoted her once she stopped sexual relations with Vince and the company decided against re-signing her.

The belief is that even more details will soon emerge and it’s all led to McMahon finally leaving the WWE empire.

Vince McMahon wasn’t in the backstage area for a recent WWE TV taping.

McMahon may have stepped back as the CEO and Chairman of WWE but he still very much runs the show. When Stephanie McMahon was announced as the interim CEO and Chairwoman, WWE made it clear in a statement that Vince remains at the helm of creative.

Vince has stepped back from the role amid an investigation into his alleged million-dollar pacts with former female employees.

Despite the situation, Vince hasn’t really missed a beat in terms of being fully entrenched in the gorilla position for Raw and SmackDown.

It appears he wasn’t seen for a recent taping, however.

Vince McMahon Missed SmackDown

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Vince McMahon was not present for the July 15 episode of SmackDown. In addition, Kevin Dunn wasn’t seen in the backstage area either.

At this time, there is no word on why Vince McMahon and Kevin Dunn weren’t in attendance for the show.

It had been reported that Vince’s planned trip to Canada to visit John Cena had been pushed back a week. Cena recently had an official wedding ceremony but it’s unknown if Vince attended.

It’ll be interesting to see if it’ll be business as usual for the July 22 episode of WWE SmackDown, which will be held inside TD Garden in Boston, MA.