Wrestling fans across the globe were shocked when Vince McMahon announced his retirement back in July 2022. While the decade-long president claimed he was retiring owing to his old age, many fans speculated allegations of sexual misconduct to be the main reason. Now it seems like the former wrestling king might be returning to claim his kingdom.
At 77, time for me to retire.
Thank you, WWE Universe.
Then. Now. Forever. Together. #WWE #thankful— Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) July 22, 2022
Going back, heavily scripted wrestling events were run by the McMahon family all the way back to Vince’s father Vince McMahon Sr., and grandfather Jess McMahon. The young Vince decided to take over the company in 1982 and stayed in power all the way to 2022.
It’s hard to deny that wrestling became the international phenomenon we see today largely through McMahon’s leadership. But the former president wasn’t maintaining such a strict composure in his personal life. On July 8th, Wall Street Journal dropped a bombshell report on alleged Hush Money payouts by the billionaire.
As reported, Vince paid more than $12 million over a span of 16 years to silence victims who were subject to sexual abuse and degenerative behavior by him. Some known payout instances took place in 2006, 2008, and 2018. Most of the victims were associated with WWE in one way or another.
Weeks after the allegations came to light, McMahon decided to retire and handed over the responsibility of the co-CEO to his daughter Stephanie McMahon, and WWE president Nick Khan. Stephanie was also scheduled to become the company president. Vince wanted to remain as the lead in the creative department but had to abandon that position too in a later period.
Triple H later became the creative head and introduced a lot of necessary changes to the company. The WWE storyline got more brutal and entertaining in ‘The Game’ era.
Vince’s return to the sport now can have severe consequences. When the former president left, WWE’s share prices didn’t drop by a lot and McMahon was still a majority shareholder. The wrestling franchise also didn’t take a major hit in terms of sponsorships.
Times have changed and now allegations of sexual misconduct are taken very seriously. If Vince finally does return, WWE shares could take a big hit. Big sponsors like Fox, Hulu, P&G, Mattel, and Snickers might pull out.
To sum it up, by making a comeback, Vince McMahon has nothing to gain but everything to lose.
