Former WWE CEO Vince McMahon, the controlling shareholder of the professional wrestling company, to return to the company to “fully capitalize” on the upcoming media rights negotiations, according to an announcement issued on Thursday.
McMahon, 77, announced his retirement over the summer of 2022 in the midst of sexual misconduct allegations which included non-disclosure agreement payments, that although came from McMahon’s person funds, he failed to report them, totally $19.6 million.
Stephanie McMahon, and Nick Khan, a longtime agent at CAA, assumed the roles of co-CEO after McMahon’s retirement announcement. WWE Hall of Famer Paul “Triple H” Levesque, replaced McMahon as the person in charge of the creative direction of the company’s TV storylines.
Vince McMahon said he is asking to be reinstated as executive chairman of the board of the publicly traded company, along with chair seats for former WWE co-presidents Michelle Wilson and George Barrios, moves that would require three existing members to vacate their board seats.
“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 said.
“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.”
“WWE has an exceptional management team in place,” McMahon said, “and I do not intend for my return to have any impact on their roles, duties, or responsibilities.”
