The water in Stamford, Connecticut just got a lot warmer for Vince McMahon and the WWE following a report by the Wall Street Journal that WWE’s board of directors is investigating Vince McMahon for an alleged payoff to a former employee after they allegedly had an affair.
The employee was reportedly hired as a paralegal in 2019 and left the company in January 2022.
A separation agreement was put in place that bars her from discussing her relationship or disparaging McMahon.
The $3 million was supposed to be paid over the course of five years, with $1 million paid up front.
The board began the investigation in April 2022, and has since found older nondisclosure agreements involving misconduct claims made by former WWE employees about McMahon and a top executive John Laurinaitis.
The WSJ did say they were told that the funds were McMahon’s personal money and not the company’s, but if it’s found they were the company’s funds then he could be looking at jail time.
Board’s a mix
The 12 person WWE board is a mix of McMahon’s family and friends, with Vince serving as the chair, Stephanie McMahon, Triple H, and WWE President Nick Kahn are included.
The other 8 members have reportedly retained the law firm Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett LLP of New York to conduct the investigation and the WWE is reportedly cooperating with the investigation.
It was also added that the relationship with the woman was consensual.
To add to the investigation, the board is also looking into WWE’s compliance and human resource programs and company culture.
Consequences ahead
As we mentioned above, if McMahon used company funds he’ll face jail time, but even if he really did use his personal funds we could be looking at the final days with him running the WWE.
The WWE is a publicly traded company, and there’s a distinct possibility that McMahon will be ousted as chair and CEO, depending on what the investigation uncovers.
While McMahon is still the man in charge, others have been forced to resign over lesser proof with other companies.
Still, he’d most likely still call a lot of the shots depending on who’s in charge unless he’s barred from involvement in the company, which is always a possibility.
Given there are other accounts of alleged misconduct, it’s going to be hard for McMahon to remain in power and we could be in the final days of an era.
What do you think about Vince McMahon’s future with WWE? Let us know in the comments below.
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