Hush money allegations force WWE CEO Vince McMahon to step down 6/17/22 Transcript

Speaker 1: (00:00)
Please welcome chairman of WWE, Vince McMahon.

Speaker 2: (00:08)
Larger than life Vince McMahon, more famous than some of the wrestling stars he helped create.

Dave Meltzer: (00:14)
He’s the guy. I mean, the WWE is Vince McMahon. You can’t separate them.

Speaker 1: (00:20)
Wrestle Mania.

Speaker 2: (00:25)
Now, McMahon forced to step back from his role as chairman and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, WWE, while the company’s board investigates misconduct claims against him. His daughter, his interim replacement, the Wall Street Journal reporting McMahon paid a former employee who he allegedly had an affair with $3 million to keep her quiet. According to the journal, the separation agreement prevents her from discussing her relationship. The investigation also looking at other non-disclosure agreements involving misconduct claims against McMahon and another executive.

Dave Meltzer: (01:02)
What would’ve been considered boys will be boys, which wrestling was built on for decades and decades and decades, by today’s standards it’s not quite as much.

Speaker 2: (01:12)
“I pledge my complete cooperation to the investigation by the special committee,” McMahon said in a statement. And, “I have also pledged to accept the findings and outcome of the investigation, whatever they are.” Wrestling Journalist Dave Meltzer says it is tough to predict the fallout from the allegations.

Dave Meltzer: (01:31)
Their big defense is that any money that he paid, any hush money that he paid was his own money and it was not company money. And I think that’s the key to the investigation.

Speaker 2: (01:40)
Over decades, McMahon turned the WWE into a billion dollar entertainment juggernaut, including deals with Fox and NBC. He will still be in charge of creative content while the investigation is underway. McMahon has weathered past scandals. In 1994, a jury acquitted him of conspiring to distribute steroids to his wrestlers in the years following Always Center Stage and Always the Showman.

Speaker 2: (02:11)
In 2007, then reality TV star, Donald Trump shaved McMahon’s head in a made for the masses feud. Now, the wrestling world waiting to see how this latest real world match will end.