Vince McMahon is retired from WWE but it wasn’t entirely by choice.
The Wall Street Journal has been on top of the Vince McMahon stories from the very beginning. Now, they’ve put out a new story today saying that the new federal investigations hastened McMahon to retire from WWE.
New federal investigations into the deepening hush-money scandal enveloping World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. WWE 8.44%▲ hastened the retirement of its chief executive, Vince McMahon, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Securities and Exchange Commission and federal prosecutors have launched inquiries into payments made by Mr. McMahon to settle allegations of sexual misconduct, the people said. The media company said Monday that it has received “regulatory, investigative and enforcement inquiries, subpoenas or demands” in connection with millions of dollars in hush-money pacts.
– Wall Street Journal
The article continued, talking about the payment total, with WWE saying Mr McMahon has it will pay all expenses.
WWE disclosed the inquiries in a securities filing, which also said that an ongoing internal investigation had uncovered agreements by Mr. McMahon to make payments totaling $14.6 million from 2006 through 2022. WWE said Mr. McMahon “has or will pay” all the expenses personally. The payments, first revealed by The Wall Street Journal, should have been recorded in the company’s financial statements, WWE’s filing said. The company said it expects to revise previous financial statements going back to 2019 to reflect the payments. WWE also said that an internal board investigation “expects to conclude that its internal control over financial reporting was not effective as a result of one or more material weaknesses.”
– Wall Street Journal
A spokesman for the independent directors of the WWE board declined to comment. Regulators and law enforcement show how the scandal could put the company’s business interests at risk.
A spokesman for Mr. McMahon and the company previously said that they were cooperating with the internal investigation by the board. A spokesman for the independent directors of the WWE board declined to comment. The SEC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Connecticut, where WWE is based, declined to comment. The inquiries from regulators and law enforcement show how the scandal over Mr. McMahon’s personal conduct could put the company’s business interests at risk. WWE is the biggest pro-wrestling brand in the world, and has lucrative licensing deals with entertainment giants such as Fox Corp. and NBCUniversal. Fox and The Wall Street Journal share common ownership. The company is also seeking new business internationally and in the U.S. A crucial deal with Hulu, which streams WWE’s Monday Night RAW program, is set to expire later this year. Walt Disney Co. has a majority stake in the streaming platform.
– Wall Street Journal
To close out, Wall Street Journal comments on how WWE’s stock is doing with the controversy, as well as what money Vince has/will pay.
Mr. McMahon, 76 years old, announced his retirement Friday, as the internal investigationinto the payment and allegations of sexual misconduct against him and another WWE executive continued. His retirement took wrestlers, wrestling fans and current and former WWE employees by surprise. In the past, Mr. McMahon told members of the board and WWE executives that he would remain in the job until he could no longer work, according to people familiar with his comments. Shares of WWE rose 8.4%, to $71.81 in trading Monday. Vasily Karasyov, an analyst for Cannonball Research who covers WWE, said investors were responding to the possibility of a sale, now that Mr. McMahon has retired. “If you have a company that was created or made into what it is now by one leader, and the leader steps aside … it pretty much will always have [Wall Street] speculating that strategic options will be explored,” Mr. Karasyov said. Mr. McMahon had temporarily stepped aside as CEO in June after a report in the Journal that he had agreed to pay a secret $3 million settlement to a former employee with whom he had allegedly had a sexual affair. A WWE spokesman has said that Mr. McMahon’s relationship with the former employee, a paralegal, was consensual. The board also is investigating allegations that former WWE executive John Laurinaitis had a sexual relationship with the same former paralegal, according to people familiar with the inquiry. Mr. Laurinaitis didn’t respond to requests for comment. The Journal later reported that Mr. McMahon had agreed to pay more than $12 million in hush money settlements over the previous 16 years to suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity. Those payments went to four women, including a former wrestler to whom McMahon agreed in 2018 to pay $7.5 million after she alleged he had coerced her into performing oral sex. The $3 million agreement with the former paralegal and the $7.5 million deal with the former wrestler both stipulated that the money be distributed to the women over a period of years instead of as a lump sum, people familiar with the matter said. Both women still have money coming to them, the people said. WWE on Monday also forecast revenue of $328 million for the second quarter, up from $266 million a year earlier and ahead of Wall Street expectations for revenue of $311.9 million, according to FactSet. The company said it expects operating income of $70 million for the quarter. Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization is expected to be about $92 million, above the company’s guidance range of between $80 million and $90 million, WWE said. With Mr. McMahon’s retirement, WWE has named Mr. McMahon’s daughter, Stephanie McMahon, and the company’s current president, Nick Khan, as co-CEOs. Ms. McMahon will serve as chairwoman. The company also said that Ms. McMahon’s husband, Paul Levesque, better known as the wrestler Triple H, will assume all responsibilities related to WWE’s creative operations, in addition to his regular duties.
– Wall Street Journal
The Vince McMahon story continues to unfold nearly every day, with other news breaking this morning that Triple H is now the head of creative in WWE following McMahon’s retirement. We will continue to be up on this story as it unfolds.
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