Vince McMahon shockingly stepped down from WWE in 2022. (Credit: AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Vince McMahon, half a year after retiring as WWE Chairman and CEO amid an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, is reportedly looking to return to the company.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the former WWE boss is facing multiple legal demands asserting that he sexually assaulted two women, including Rita Chatterton, a trailblazer who was the first female referee in company history. The attorney representing Chatterson sent McMahon’s lawyer a letter informing McMahon that Chatterton is seeking nearly $12 million in damages stemming from an alleged rape—previously denied by McMahon—in 1986.
In addition, McMahon has been accused by a former California spa manager of assaulting her in 2011 and is also seeking compensation for damages. The Wall Street Journal reports, however, that McMahon—who previously paid more than $12 million to four women to settle sexual assault allegations—has no intention of paying either Chatterton or his latest accuser.
In fact, McMahon, who retired from WWE in July but remains the company’s biggest shareholder, is actually seeking a return to the company. The WSJ adds, “The 77-year-old Mr. McMahon also has told people that he intends to make a comeback at WWE, according to the people familiar with his comments. He has said that he received bad advice from people close to him to step down and that he now believes the allegations and investigations would have blown over had he stayed, these people said.”
McMahon’s hush money payments ultimately totalled roughly $20 million, and his use of WWE funds to make those payments raised a red flag for the SEC because the “payments should’ve been recorded as expenses.” The scandal resulted in McMahon shockingly stepping down from his role as WWE CEO and ultimately retiring, with his daughter Stephanie and Nick Khan being appointed as co-CEOs on July 25.
Throughout its long history, pro wrestling has has been famous for controversies in and out of the ring, but virtually nothing has been as surprising or as damaging to WWE’s public image as the McMahon scandal and the stain it created. A return for McMahon, as noted by Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, is unlikely and could come “at great cost to WWE:”
Since McMahon’s departure, it has virtually been smooth sailing for WWE, both as a global juggernaut and a television product. McMahon, once the be-all end-all of WWE’s creative process, was replaced as the company’s creative head by his son-in-law Paul “Triple H” Levesque, who has done a masterful job of turning around Raw and SmackDown following decades of a product that was booked specifically to McMahon’s liking.
It hasn’t gone unnoticed, either. Back in October just a few months after McMahon left, WWE stock soared, according to CNBC, bucking a trend across the market: “The company’s stock is up more than 50% in 2022, hitting a 52-week high Monday, and trading at levels it hasn’t seen since summer 2019. The S&P 500, by comparison, is down more than 20% this year.” Meanwhile, Nasdaq hailed WWE as a “top pick for growth investors” that “should be on investors’ short list.”
In other words, WWE, in this post-McMahon world, is trending in the right direction, not just as a couple of TV shows but as a entertainment force worth north of $5 billion.
The optimism surrounding Triple H and the positive effect he has had on the quality of both Raw and SmackDown has helped maintain strong TV viewership and win over lapsed fans. With “The Game” running the show, storylines have been better, matches are getting more time, and the roster has improved dramatically, thanks to WWE and Triple H choosing to spend big to bring back a slew of top stars like Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman.
Many of the common issues that plagued WWE—which as of this writing had not responded to a request for comment—under McMahon have been solved or are on their way to being fixed, and fans are responding accordingly, as are the company’s own stars. WWE morale has reportedly seen dramatic improvements since the departure of McMahon, who created a culture of building a TV product designed to appease one man and one man only, no matter how zany or out-of-touch his ideas and booking philosophy had become.
With McMahon gone, superstars feel more free to go out on a limb and try something new, and there is no walking on eggshells. The vast improvements made possible by McMahon’s departure have even been noticed by important company executives. According to Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp, many of those working in WWE’s office absolutely do not want to see a McMahon return:
That sentiment was common throughout WWE. Fightful (h/t WrestlingNews.co) adds, “Over a dozen people [in WWE] were spoken with and it was unanimous that McMahon should not be brought back.”
Perhaps the question is: What would be the benefit of bringing him back? Nothing.
Remember this famous Chris Jericho promo in WCW when he read a seemingly never-ending list of his submission moves? The length of that list pales in comparison to the list of reasons why McMahon—whether his return is even truly feasible or not—should not be brought back in any capacity under any circumstances: The poor public perception it would create, the negative impact on locker room morale and the TV product, the way it would halt momentum, the message it would send to anyone in and outside of WWE regarding serious allegations, the impact it would have on WWE business, etc.
WWE, which reported more than $300 million in revenue in Q3 2022 alone is doing just fine without McMahon, and if anything, bringing him back in any role, on TV or backstage, would run six months of progress while virtually guaranteeing that WWE’s bright future would instantly grow significantly darker.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakeoestriecher/2022/12/14/wwe-must-avoid-vince-mcmahon-return/