Vince McMahon Back On WWE’s Board Of Directors
Vince McMahon is officially back on the WWE Board of Directors following his recent move to try to sell the company.
It was reported by the Wall Street Journal on Friday that Vince McMahon was planning to use his power as the majority stockholder in WWE to put himself back on as the Executive Chairman. His intention is to sell WWE as part of their next media rights deal, which was going to be negotiated this year since the Raw & Smackdown TV deals expire in October 2024.
There is a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission dated January 5th, 2023 that has confirmed Vince’s intentions. Vince McMahon has removed JoEllen Lyons Dillon, Jeffrey R. Speed, and Alan M. Wexler from the WWE Board of Directors by written consent. Taking their place are McMahon himself along with former WWE Co-Presidents George Barrios and Michelle Wilson with those actions taking effect immediately.
In July 2022, Vince McMahon retired from WWE following an investigation into his sexual misconduct that led to multiple “hush money payments” among other things. It put a black eye on the WWE business, which led to Vince stepping down as the WWE Chairman & CEO while his daughter Stephanie McMahon-Levesque became the Chairwoman and Co-CEO with Nick Khan.
Meanwhile, Vince’s son-in-law Paul “Triple H” Levesque took over as WWE’s Chief Content Officer meaning he has been running the creative aspect of WWE on the main roster since Vince was removed. That was a role that Vince was in charge of for the past 40 years before his retirement.
Regarding his plan to bring back George Barrios and Michelle Wilson on the WWE Board of Directors, McMahon wrote about their experience in a letter that was published on Thursday.
“Ms. Wilson and Mr. Barrios are highly qualified directors whose professional experience positions them well to help the Company achieve the best possible outcomes in both initiatives. As former WWE Co-Presidents and Board members, they are intimately familiar with industry dynamics and the organization’s operations and have helped guide the Company through past successful media rights negotiations.”
In another statement regarding his return, Vince McMahon claimed that his return won’t have any impact on the roles of the management team in place.
“I look forward to working closely again with Michelle and George – as well as the Company’s remaining directors and management team, who have my full support and confidence. WWE has an exceptional management team in place, and I do not intend for my return to have any impact on their roles, duties, or responsibilities.”
This obviously remains a major developing story in the first week of 2023 and we will continue to have more updates on this story in the days ahead.