Vince McMahon is officially back with WWE after retiring last summer amid allegations of sexual misconduct. McMahon remains the controlling shareholder of the wrestling company. According to him, he is returning to “fully capitalize” on the upcoming media rights negotiations. McMahon removed three members of the board and replaced them with himself, Michelle Wilson, and George Barrios. When McMahon stepped down his daughter Stephanie and Nick Khan were named co-CEO of WWE. As a part of his return, McMahon has asked to be reinstated as chairman of the board. WWE is a publicly-traded company.
Vince McMahon plans to return to WWE to pursue a sale of the company, people familiar with the matter say. He retired in July amid a sexual-misconduct scandal. https://t.co/tZSVU6qiEN
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) January 6, 2023
Stephanie McMahon, Nick Khan, and Paul “Triple H” Levesque released the following statement about the move: “Today, we announce that the founder of WWE, Vince McMahon, will be returning to the Board. We also welcome back Michelle Wilson and George Barrios to our Board of Directors. Together, we look forward to exploring all strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value.”
There have been rumors that Vince McMahon is returning to negotiate the sale of WWE to unknown buyers, but he has remained firm that it is about the media rights negations. “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.” There is currently no word if McMahon will just stay on the business side or also return to the creative side of things with WWE.
