WWE's clear message with approach to Vince McMahon allegations
Vince McMahon needed to remind you who’s still in control and that WWE is still his company, “then, now and forever.”
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By Joseph Staszewski
The Post’s Joseph Staszewski will be bringing you around the world of professional wrestling every Tuesday in his weekly column, the Post Match Angle.
Vince McMahon needed to remind you who’s still in control and that WWE is still his company, “then, now and forever.”
The 76-year-old billionaire, in a public and simple show of power, opened “Friday Night SmackDown” last week live on Fox. It came hours after he stepped aside as CEO and chairman of the company while WWE’s board of directors investigates claims of sexual misconduct against him. McMahon’s daughter Stephanie returned from her leave of absence to take over her dad’s executive role, but McMahon is still heading WWE’s creative and that, in many ways, is where the real power lies.
So, there was McMahon after WWE announced earlier in the day that he would appear on the show — in a likely move for ratings that worked as “SmackDown” (2.29 million viewers) saw a big jump in the key 18-49 demo (0.57) that garnered it the top spot on TV that night. McMahon came out playing to the crowd with his normal strut and his “No Chance in Hell” theme blaring. Not a care in the world because I guess the “Mr. McMahon” TV character isn’t being investigated. Vince McMahon is. While there were some boos, he was loudly cheered at moments and the WWE camera cuts of course showed clapping audience members.
When McMahon spoke, there was no mention of the black cloud and serious allegations currently hanging over him. McMahon mentioned WWE’s tagline of “then, now, forever, together,” welcomed everyone to “SmackDown,” smiled and tossed the microphone away. WWE cameras did happen to catch one fan going, “That’s it?”
No remorse? No apology? Nope.
Vince McMahon addressed the crowd at WrestleMania 38
WWE
McMahon also made a surprise appearance three days later on “Monday Night Raw” for a pointless segment to basically remind the audience about John Cena returning to the show next week — which was announced weeks ago and the company has run endless television promos for.
It appears McMahon is just doing it because he can at this point. It’s all a way for him to show: “I’m here, I don’t plan on going anywhere and I dare the board to try to get rid of me.” It was also a way to show that it is business as usual in WWE and McMahon is hoping the audience accepts that as they do most everything else he provides for them on TV. It doesn’t benefit McMahon for people to look past the headline and question the bare-minimum way he and the company have treated this so far.
The most publicized accusation against McMahon from last week’s bombshell Wall Street Journal report is that he allegedly paid $3 million in hush money to a 41-year-old former employee with whom he had an affair. She allegedly signed a non-disclosure agreement in January that prevents her from discussing their relationship or disparaging him. The board, according to the report, found that McMahon used his personal funds to pay for it and not WWE money.
The Journal also reported the employee, who was hired as a paralegal, allegedly saw her salary increase from $100,000 to $200,000 after beginning her sexual relationship with McMahon. The report said WWE’s board of directors received anonymous emails from someone claiming to be a friend of the woman in the alleged relationship with McMahon stating that the employee was given “like a toy” to John Laurinaitis, the company’s head of talent relations, by the WWE boss. McMahon’s attorney Jerry McDevitt wrote in a letter to the Journal that the ex-paralegal hadn’t accused McMahon of harassment and WWE spokesperson told the paper the relationship was consensual.
Fightful Select and PWInsider both reported that WWE talent were informed Monday night that Bruce Prichard, the executive director of Raw and SmackDown and McMahon’s longtime right-hand man, is now interim head of talent relations. Laurinaitis, who hasn’t been at a WWE event since the allegations surfaced, was placed on administrative leave. WWE didn’t provide clarification on Laurinaitis’ current job status when requested by The Post prior to Monday’s show.
The board, according to the Journal, also uncovered several older non-disclosure agreements related to misconduct claims that other former female WWE employees brought against McMahon and Laurinaitis. While $3 million in hush money and the affair make for an audience-grabbing headline, the real question isn’t as much about this most recent instance, but is there a pattern here, what is the extent of it, and was it swept under the rug? Did it violate anything in McMahon’s contract or the WWE’s code of conduct? That code of conduct does include a line about how it’s against company policy to “grant or offer an employment quid pro quo for personal intimacy.” But we don’t know if that’s the case here.
You would think, given the seriousness of what McMahon and Laurinaitis are being accused of and the fact we have not gotten a public denial from either, that more action would have been taken by WWE. The company has said it is cooperating with its board’s investigation and takes the allegations seriously. McMahon has pledged his “complete cooperation” to the investigation and pledged to accept its “findings and outcome.” But it feels like McMahon, at least publicly, isn’t taking this seriously enough. He appeared live on TV twice within days of the accusations being uncovered, Laurinaitis was reportedly put on administrative leave but McMahon didn’t step away from running WWE creative and his daughter — who was taking a break from WWE — will potentially keep his seat as CEO and chairman warm for him. In how many other companies in the world would that scenario play out? It’s just a further indication of how much power McMahon holds.
Vince McMahon
WWE
