Vince McMahon returns to WWE in key role
from Sportsnaut, with Jason Burgos, and from YardBarker.com/www.yardbarker.com
WWE creator Vince McMahon is back in a key role. However, fans of the legendary promotion may not have to worry about the product falling back into its bad habits just yet.
After decades of turning WWE — formerly the World Wrestling Federation — into a billion-dollar international juggernaut, McMahon stepped down from his role as CEO in July and retired from the organization.
Before stepping down, the Wall Street Journal published an expose on the corporate giant that revealed years of hush money payments McMahon had made to a mistress and former employees that accused him of sexual misconduct. Despite his departure, the promotion has succeeded with new leadership. Led by his daughter Stephanie McMahon and son-in-law Paul “Triple H” Levesque.
Yesterday it was reported that Vince McMahon had formerly applied to become a member of the WWE board of directors, which is in his right as the man holding the greatest amount of company shares. On Friday, those maneuverings became official. But what does it all mean for the WWE and its content going forward?
What does Vince McMahon’s return mean for WWE?
As of now, Vince McMahon’s new role with the organization is as the head of the WWE’s board of directors. This means he will not be directly in charge of what the company does on a day-to-day basis or have a say on creative decisions for their television content.
Based on a letter Vince McMahon sent to the board before making his return to the company, his intention is to have a major influence as the WWE enters negotiations for new media rights deals this year. The company’s broadcast contracts with Fox and USA, respectively, end in 2024 and the industry norm is to set up plans for new broadcast deals the year before the current ones end.
As head of the board, Vince McMahon will have the final say on those deals as well as decide who are the buyers in a possible sale of the company, which has been rumored over the last couple of years.