Vince McMahon Recently Met With TKO Group Boss
The TKO Group is still keeping an eye on Vince McMahon.
Back in January, Janel Grant filed a lawsuit against McMahon, John Laurinaitis, and WWE alleging sexual abuse and sex trafficking. The suit has since been paused and a federal investigation launched.
Shortly after the allegations went public, McMahon left the Board of Directors of the TKO Group. Although he denied the claims made by Grant, he said he’d stepped down “out of respect for the WWE Universe, TKO, shareholders, and business partners.”
Since then, McMahon has remained away from the running of WWE, but that doesn’t mean he’s retired. It was recently reported that Vince McMahon is looking to launch an entertainment company when his legal issues are resolved. Two former WWE executives will also be involved in the prospective new company.
Meanwhile, a second lawsuit was filed against Vince McMahon, Linda McMahon, WWE, and TKO in October. The suit alleges that those named were complicit in the sexual exploitation of children by former ringside announcer and ring crew chief Melvin Phillips Jr.
Despite this, it seems McMahon hasn’t been completely cut adrift by TKO, and he remains a shareholder in the company.
Mark Shapiro Met Vince McMahon
During an interview with Alex Sherman of CNBC, TKO President Mark Shapiro was asked whether he still hears from McMahon, and he revealed he recently met up with him to “check-in.” Shapiro said that while McMahon was a “total pro,” he remains “out of the business entirely.”
“I had breakfast with him a few weeks ago, just to check in, it’s been a long time. Haven’t heard from him at all. Obviously, the series on Netflix came out. I wanted to see kind of where he was. He couldn’t have been more cooperative. He couldn’t have been nicer. He was a total pro at breakfast.
It’s a one on one get together, but he’s out of the business entirely. He doesn’t make decisions. He’s not on the board. He doesn’t opine. We don’t consult him. He’s got some litigation that he’s working through, and frankly, he wants the privacy and the time to work through it, which is great.
In the meantime, we’re going to keep building TKO and WWE, expanding the horizon and expanding the opportunities. He’s still a shareholder, not the shareholder he once was, but still a shareholder,”
When asked if McMahon was supportive of WWE’s new direction, Shapiro said he couldn’t have been more positive, but reiterated that he wasn’t looking for his opinion.
H/t to Fightful