The Post’s Joseph Staszewski explores the world of professional wrestling every Tuesday in his column “Post Match Angle.”.
Vince McMahon has finally left WWE, leaving behind a well-deserved disgrace.
The longtime WWE promoter has finally run out of power to save himself and can no longer hide behind the millions of dollars he paid out to women who accused him of sexual misconduct.
McMahon, 78, promptly stepped down as chairman of TKO Group’s board on Friday, a day after a bombshell civil lawsuit was filed by a former WWE employee accusing him of sexually abusing the billionaire and trafficking him to other WWE companies. resigned. In May 2020, he even forced an employee to defecate during a threesome.
This time around, there’s no “Thank you, Vince” segment on TV like there was when he briefly retired two years ago, just as this scandal was beginning, and the legacy of perhaps the most influential martial arts promoter in history remains. It will only be forever tainted over the years. About the mysterious details of the alleged wrongdoing and the lawsuit.
Former employee Janelle Grant said McMahon physically harmed her with fists and other objects (including a sex toy) and then sexually assaulted her before taking turns with another WWE executive. He is accused of locking himself up in WWE’s offices. According to the complaint. She also accused McMahon in her lawsuit of coercing her into sexual relationships in order to keep her job and of distributing pornographic photos and videos of her to other men, including co-workers at WWE.
McMahon’s resignation comes after Wall reported in June 2022 that the then-WWE Board of Directors was investigating McMahon over a $3 million hush-money payment to a former employee whose name was not disclosed until Grant. It ended a 20-month controversy sparked by a Street Journal report. filed a lawsuit claiming that they were only paid $1 million. A WWE investigation concluded that McMahon paid a total of $14.6 million to multiple women who accused him of sexual misconduct.
McMahon denied Grant’s claims in the lawsuit, but ultimately did what he should have done in the first place.
“I stand by my previous statements that Mr. Grant’s lawsuit is a lie, a far-fetched and salacious fabrication, and a persistent distortion of the truth,” McMahon said in a statement to Deadline on Friday. Ta. “I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless charges and look forward to clearing my name.
“However, out of respect for the WWE Universe, the extraordinary TKO business, its board members and shareholders, partners and constituents, and all of the employees and Superstars who have helped make WWE the world leader it is today, I am resigning. ”I was effectively removed from the Executive Chairman position and from the TKO Board of Directors.” ”
McMahon and WWE are no strangers to scandal.
He was acquitted in 1994 after being federally charged with conspiring to distribute steroids to wrestlers working for the company. Former referee Rita Chatterton accused McMahon of rape in 1987. Mr. McMahon has always denied the allegations, but the two reached a multimillion-dollar settlement in January last year “solely to avoid litigation costs,” Mr. McMahon’s lawyer Jerry McDevitt said at the time. Ta.
Unlike in the past when McMahon fully owned WWE or was the controlling shareholder, this time he wasn’t in full charge.
McMahon pursued a sale from WWE in January 2023, using whatever cards he had left when he returned from a six-month retirement. The sale was completed in April with a deal with Endeavor that led to the public merger of the UFC and WWE. , TKO with a valuation of $21.4 billion, led by CEO Ari Emanuel.
Addressing this so quickly would allow WWE as a company to turn the page and return the narrative focus to its positive progress. That’s what Triple H did after the Royal Rumble, dodging questions about McMahon and saying he hadn’t read the complaint.
McMahon served as an advisor to WWE. TKO already knew it was trading in volatile assets. The company made the concession in a filing with the SEC in September. McMahon said the company could be “exposed to negative publicity” that could have financial implications.
It didn’t take long for that to happen, and WWE ended up having to purge the culture that allowed McMahon’s behavior to go unchecked for years.
News of the lawsuit comes after McMahon touted WWE’s $5 billion “Monday Night Raw” rights deal with Netflix on the New York Stock Exchange and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson joining WWE. The announcement comes about 48 hours after a great day for the company, including advertising. TKO board. TKO stock is down 13.3% heading into Tuesday’s trading, with WrestleMania 40 just over two months away.
McMahon wasn’t going to survive this time around, especially since all of this could have been revisited in more detail at trial.
After trying to stay in power for over a year and a half, McMahon got the fate he deserved from the start.
It will be interesting to see if he gets treated in the same way as the many former WWE wrestlers who weren’t mentioned on the broadcast because their image or history didn’t align with the values the company wants to uphold.
For now, McMahon will leave his wrestling empire better off financially than ever, but with his already dubious reputation further shattered.
ten count
The first day for Matthew and Nicholas Jackson’s new characters felt like a letdown. The Top Flight was also late, and you’re standing in the back with your headset on, watching Sting and Darby Allin’s promos, admonishing them for being late like they’re a bunch of self-paced people who don’t do anything? This isn’t going to work unless the new Young Bucks grossly abuse EVP’s authority to get heat and embarrass the talent in weekly storylines. They should have cut off Derby’s microphone for a few minutes and instead poured Christian rock or gospel music into the arena. Be bold. If people hate it, that’s good!
I naturally feel sorry for CM Punk, who finally made his WrestleMania dream come true before he got injured again. But it was great to see a teary-eyed Punk make a deal with Drew McIntyre along the way and do some money-making business on the way out.
Seth Rollins’ promo was so great that it made the best and most considerate case for Cody Rhodes to challenge for the “Dusty Rhodes” title rather than the Hogan/Hollywood belt held by Roman Reigns. did. It’s the lock that slides in.But Cody will do it. have Say no or look like a liar to your audience.
AEW may be onto something with their Escape the Cage team concept after Daniel Garcia and House of Black’s FTR had a great, sold-out premiere. Garcia is really hitting his stride now.
Mustafa Ali follows the Cody Rhodes/Drew McIntyre playback as he was part of the TNA and Wrestling Revolver programs. Change your presentation from WWE to feel more like a star and enjoy wrestling wherever you can, no matter how big or small.
Something about the opening Dynamite scene where Hook tells Samoa Joe they’ll meet in the future before punching the guard some more.
We called on Santos Escobar, Uberto Carrillo, Angel Garza and now Electra López to team up in this field in November. I always read Triple H.
It was great to see the returning Serena Deeb give a very passionate live promo after the Collision match. She could feel a connection to her in a way she didn’t feel when she was a heel, and it extends even further given the severity of her injuries that forced her out. There is much to do.
If WWE is going to do a crossover with TNA on the men’s side, send Moose or Josh Alexander.
With Kevin Patrick leaving the SmackDown commentary team and Pat McAfee joining Raw, it’s time for WWE to do at least two things. 1. Gauge interest in Mauro Ranallo’s return. 2. Please seriously consider promoting Vic Joseph from NXT. He and Corey Graves have great chemistry.
Extra: Does the New Day’s continued loss to the Imperium feel like it’s setting up Big E’s long-awaited return from injury, or am I just expecting too much?
Wrestler of the week
Cody Rhodes, WWE
After months of speculation about The Rock, Rose became the fourth wrestler to win back-to-back Royal Rumble titles, taking the next step in his reputation as the man who should dethrone Roman Reigns. After a drama-filled ending with CM Punk, it was refreshing to see Rose declare in a press conference that he’s “that guy” and denounce those who doubt his status.
This week’s social media posts
match to watch
White-Haired Young Veterans vs. ABC, TNA (Thursday, 8 p.m., AXS TV)
Former NXT stars Drake and Gibson made their way to TNA and were immediately able to compete in a best-of-three series between the company’s tag team champions, Ace Austin and Chris Bey. If you haven’t seen much of either of these teams, this is a good time to take a look as they are some of the top duos not in WWE and this series has great potential.
