Breaking News: Vince McMahon officially resigns from WWE/TKO amid Sex Trafficking allegations

[Peter Popoff]

What's crazy is AEW and WWE posters are gonna be teaming up like Austin, Rock on this shyt.

 

[Carl Tethers]

1000th thread post. Vince STINKS

 

[Dave24]

Full Article Here

Spoiler

Vince McMahon, World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.’s longtime leader, agreed to pay more than $12 million over the past 16 years to suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity, an amount far larger than previously known.

The payouts went to four women, all formerly affiliated with WWE, who signed agreements with Mr. McMahon that prohibit them from discussing potential legal claims against or their relationships with the 76-year-old executive, according to people familiar with the deals as well as documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

The previously unreported settlements include a $7.5 million pact with a former wrestler who alleged that Mr. McMahon coerced her into giving him oral sex and then demoted her and, ultimately, declined to renew her contract in 2005 after she resisted further sexual encounters, according to people familiar with the matter. The wrestler and her attorney approached Mr. McMahon in 2018 and negotiated the payment in return for her silence, the people said.

In another previously unreported deal, a WWE contractor presented the company with unsolicited nude photos of Mr. McMahon she reported receiving from him and alleged that he had sexually harassed her on the job, according to people familiar with the woman’s 2008 nondisclosure agreement. Mr. McMahon agreed to pay her roughly $1 million, these people said.

And in a 2006 agreement, a former manager who had worked 10 years for Mr. McMahon before he allegedly initiated a sexual relationship with her was paid $1 million to keep quiet about it, according to people familiar with the deal.

The Journal previously reported about a $3 million hush pact reached in January between Mr. McMahon and a former WWE paralegal with whom he allegedly had an affair, citing documents and the people familiar with the matter. WWE’s board is investigating Mr. McMahon’s agreement with the former paralegal, and the 2018 deal with the former wrestler, people familiar with the inquiry said.

The board also is investigating allegations that WWE executive John Laurinaitis had a sexual relationship with the same former paralegal, according to people familiar with the inquiry. Additionally, the board is looking at a $1.5 million nondisclosure agreement reached in 2012 with an employee involving misconduct claims against Mr. Laurinaitis, these people said.

Mr. Laurinaitis, a former wrestler known as Johnny Ace, had been head of WWE talent relations for eight years when he was forced to step down in 2012 and take a smaller role at the company. His demotion came around the same time as the $1.5 million deal with the employee, who alleged she had an affair with Mr. Laurinaitis and that he demoted her after she broke it off, people familiar with the nondisclosure agreement said.

Mr. McMahon had restored Mr. Laurinaitis as head of talent relations last year. WWE has since placed Mr. Laurinaitis on administrative leave, a person familiar with the matter said.

The Journal couldn’t determine whether the board probe includes the nondisclosure agreements involving the contractor and the former manager, or how far back the investigation will go. A spokesman for the board’s independent directors declined to comment.

Neither Mr. Laurinaitis nor an attorney for Mr. McMahon responded to requests for comment.

The company is cooperating with the board inquiry, a WWE spokesman said. Mr. McMahon’s relationship with the former paralegal was consensual, the spokesman said, adding that the company is taking the allegations seriously.

In a June 8 letter to the Journal, Mr. McMahon’s attorney, Jerry McDevitt, said that the former paralegal hadn’t made any claims of harassment against Mr. McMahon and that “WWE did not pay any monies” to the ex-employee “on her departure.”

The investigation by the board’s outside counsel at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP was triggered by a series of anonymous emails that directors received earlier this year, the Journal reported. The emails, reviewed by the Journal, described Mr. McMahon’s deal with the former paralegal and alleged that he and Mr. Laurinaitis took advantage of her.

Mr. McMahon temporarily stepped aside as the chief executive and chairman of WWE on June 17, following the Journal report on the $3 million agreement with the former paralegal. Mr. McMahon has pledged to cooperate with investigators. His daughter, Stephanie McMahon, replaced him pending the outcome of the investigation, though Mr. McMahon still oversees WWE’s creative side, the company said.

WWE shares closed at $62.51 on the day Mr. McMahon stepped aside and slid below $60 over the following days. Shares closed Thursday at $65.07.

WWE describes Mr. McMahon as critical to the success of the company, which runs the world’s most famous wrestling business and reported record revenue of $1.1 billion last year. WWE said in regulatory filings that losing Mr. McMahon would put its entire business at risk.

WWE’s revenue includes a five-year exclusive agreement with NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming platform struck in 2021 and valued at $1 billion. The company also has TV licensing agreements with Fox Corp. and NBCUniversal, and recently secured its first stand-alone international distribution deal with Disney Plus Hotstar in Indonesia. Fox Corp. and Journal parent News Corp share common ownership.

Mr. McMahon owns a majority of WWE’s Class B shares, giving him the bulk of shareholders’ voting power, securities filings show. The Class B shares have 10 times the voting power of the Class A shares available to regular investors and are owned exclusively by Mr. McMahon, his family and trusts benefiting individual family members, the filings show.

“The bar is going to be reasonably high to wrestle the business from family control,” said Brandon Ross, a research analyst at LightShed Partners who follows WWE. But he added that any outcome that would strip Mr. McMahon’s creative responsibilities would materially change the company.

‘A good time’

The company’s shows have featured executives, including Mr. McMahon, as characters who join in cartoonish violence, risqué skits and soap opera-like story lines about the inner workings of WWE. Mr. McMahon plays a vengeful boss with an out-of-control libido. Some women who have crossed paths with him allege he engaged in similar behavior in real life.

In 2006, Mr. McMahon made news after an employee at a Boca Raton, Fla., tanning salon accused him of groping her, according to a police report.

The employee told police that Mr. McMahon showed her nude photos of himself on his phone and later tried to kiss her, the police report said. Mr. McMahon said “he was only trying to have a little fun,” according to the woman’s account in the police report. Mr. McMahon’s lawyer told police he denied any wrongdoing, the report said.

Prosecutors declined to file charges, citing a lack of independent evidence, records show.

Mr. McMahon’s wife, Linda McMahon, helped build the company and was WWE’s chief executive until she stepped down in 2009 for the first of two unsuccessful campaigns for the Senate. She served as head of the Small Business Administration under former President Donald Trump. Mrs. McMahon didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Mr. McMahon said in an interview with Playboy magazine published in 2001 that he had been unfaithful to Mrs. McMahon with multiple women in prior years but had put a stop to the affairs after realizing “the havoc you create in others’ lives, just from wanting to have a good time.”

Mr. McMahon’s affairs at the company were common knowledge, according to former WWE employees.

The former paralegal to whom Mr. McMahon agreed to pay $3 million was brought into the company as a legal assistant in 2019, according to people familiar with the matter. She never applied for the job, these people said. Mr. McMahon had met her at his Stamford, Conn., condo building, where both were living, the people said.

WWE placed her in the legal department because the woman’s resume said she had attended law school, the people said. The woman often talked with colleagues in the department about her close relationship with Mr. McMahon, the people familiar with the matter said. The talk about Mr. McMahon was so frequent that her boss asked her to stop, saying she was making other employees uncomfortable, according to one of the people.

In 2021, the woman transferred from the legal department to talent relations under Mr. Laurinaitis, who returned to the role he had held a decade earlier.

WWE considered raising the woman’s annual salary from $100,000 to around $300,000, at Mr. McMahon’s request, according to people familiar with the matter. The company settled on a base salary of $200,000 and a director-level position.

An anonymous email sent to the board on March 30 this year, and viewed by the Journal, alleged that Mr. McMahon increased the woman’s salary after he began a sexual relationship with her. The email alleged that Mr. McMahon “gave her like a toy” to Mr. Laurinaitis.

Let's hear that spin stooges!

@Love Bizarre it's over for Vince!

 

[NoMorePie]

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reported behind the site’s paywall that Vince McMahon will be heading to Vancouver to meet with Cena after tonight’s WWE SmackDown. That show takes place in Fort Worth, Texas. Immediately after, Vince will hop aboard a plane to Vancouver.

“With Peacemaker set to resume filming after being renewed for a second season, John Cena is expected to be in Vancouver heavily over the next few months. But he doesn’t appear to be alone.

Fightful has learned that Vince McMahon is scheduled to travel from Fort Worth to Vancouver late Friday night after WWE Smackdown. We weren’t given a specific reason, but told it likely has something to do with John Cena, and the word backstage was that was the reason for McMahon’s scheduled travel.”

The mysterious trip seems to indicate that Mr. McMahon has something to talk to John Cena about. Cena is not currently announced for WWE’s upcoming SummerSlam event. Perhaps Vince is looking to lure him back to WWE to take some of the heat off from the scandal.

Could've sworn Cena was spotted in London just a few days ago, since hes currently shooting fast x. I don't know how he could be in Vancouver at this point. But imagine Vince tryna beg Cena to come back

Spoiler

Cena pliz come back

 

[I love Latina women]

@Love Bizarre it's over for Vince!

 

[Larry]

I’m man enough to admit that I don’t care about any of this shyt forreal and just want Vince hoe ass gone for my own selfish reasons because I want the product I religiously watch to be better and I feel the only way to achieve that is with Vince packed up




Anyone else willing to admit that or am I just a piece of shyt?


Save the industry, pack Vince up

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

If vince somehow stays……..

Brandon just answered his own question lol. The Board p*ssy. But what FOX/Universal/sponsors do or say holds more weight.

if they don't feel it's a big enough deal then Vince stays.

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

Front page on ESPN and CNN now. Maybe it's gaining traction..

 

[Peter Parker]

I’m man enough to admit that I don’t care about any of this shyt forreal and just want Vince hoe ass gone for my own selfish reasons because I want the product I religiously watch to be better and I feel the only way to achieve that is with Vince packed up




Anyone else willing to admit that or am I just a piece of shyt?


Save the industry, pack Vince up

I respect you more for actually saying it unlike these other nikkas where that’s all they really care about

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

if Cena gets a huge bag off all this

Wait.. so Roman vs. Lesnar don't got the juice for SS?

 

[darryl]

So it's all come down to this I don't know Vince. It ain't looking too good. If this was 15 years ago, I wouldn't even sweat it. I would be like Vince is gonna kick out at 2. But we in a whole different climate now. If they could get weinstein, who had wayy more pull than Vince, then yea...

 

[Jesus H. Christ]

1. Vince gonna go out ike he did in that Austin-Taker first blood match when Austin won, they gonna have to drag him out kicking and screaming
2. He could've got some fire dome from some groupies for far less, LOL. But Vince is on that power trip kis my ass club stuff.
3. He might get kicked off the board but he's still majority owner, so he'll just work from home basically and still control everything. He won't be at shows backstage, or hell he might still.

They'll put on a show to save face for the media, but nothing will really change

I just don't see Vince stepping down & I mean cutting all ties from the E. As you said he might distance himself publicly, but still gonna hold power. Cokeboy not tapping out

 

[The Prince of All Saiyans]

Could've sworn Cena was spotted in London just a few days ago, since hes currently shooting fast x. I don't know how he could be in Vancouver at this point. But imagine Vince tryna beg Cena to come back

Spoiler

Cena pliz come back

Thats just how International Juan moves :salute
I might head to Vancouver in my purple Cena shirt and hat and walk around Pender and West Hastings

I’m man enough to admit that I don’t care about any of this shyt forreal and just want Vince hoe ass gone for my own selfish reasons because I want the product I religiously watch to be better and I feel the only way to achieve that is with Vince packed up




Anyone else willing to admit that or am I just a piece of shyt?


Save the industry, pack Vince up

I am just at the current fvckery

I know he smashed trish, before vince she was doing some low end trashy modelling

 

[Toe Jay Simpson]

See if I was Tony Khan this would be when I finally for win lose or draw played my full hand against WWE.

Imagine what Eric Bischoff would have done with this information back in 97 with Billionare Ted’s platform. We’d all be watching AEW right now on Mondays cause WCW would have still gone out of business.

 

[Spiritual Stratocaster]

A trip to DR would have saved him a lot of money

It appears he gets off on the power...

Coercing a chick who is under your employment into sex...then dangling employment over her head.

shyt must be thrilling for a psychopath such as Vince.

This is the guy who woke up and literally decided

"Imma make these guys KISS my ass on tv "