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Oh, I know it hurts to say goodbye,
But it's time for me to fly.
REO Speedwagon
With The Wall Street Journal’s bombshell report of three more NDAs/seven figure payouts to women he is alleged to have sexual dalliances with, if Vince McMahon really cares about the legacy that he created in WWE, it’s time for him to heed the words above and remove himself from the company before he causes it further, and possibly irreprable, damage. If he won’t do so, The Board needs to do it for him.
When the first story broke last month that McMahon had paid $3M to a former paralegal, well it wasn’t good news, not by a long shot. But, if someone wanted to defend McMahon (like all of the fans at the shows that he has appeared on who gave him ovations despite the disgusting nature of the story), they could say, “Well, there are plenty of paralegal jobs and if she didn’t like it, she could just leave.” Now, I don’t think that is a valid argument, but it could made. That changed today.
With the revelation that he is alleged to have paid $7.5M to a former wrestler to keep her silence after their relationship ended, this has ventured into Roger Ailes at Fox News territory. Even if the wrestler wanted to engage in the relationship, Vince was THE person who decided if she got air time, if she got a push, or if she never saw the ring at all. There’s no world where any sane person can say that the woman in question didn’t feel pressure to have sexual relations with his boss. There is no world a sane person could say she didn’t feel pressured to comply when the man who controlled her future came on to her. There is not like there was an AEW in 2005 either. WWE was the big time and nothing else even came close. If a woman wanted to be on TV in wrestling, WWE was the only place to make a real living doing it. When the guy who controls your future comes on to you, he is using his position of power and hanging it over you. He should be gone for that reason alone.
In the story, it alleges he “coerced” her into giving her oral sex and when she declined further advances, she was “demoted” and then released. If true, that is textbook sexual harassment, as is the allegation of sending a person unsolicited naked photos of yourself. This is the behavior of a sexual predator and WWE can’t allow him to stay on any longer.
Even if the company wants him to stay, it may be a moot point. Luckily for WWE, they are in the middle of huge TV deals with NBC Universal for Raw, NXT 2.0 and The WWE Network and FOX for Smackdown. Their revenue streams are safe for now, provided there is no out clause in the TV deals for lurid conduct by McMahon. But what about at this time in 2024? Will NBC and FOX want to stay in business with a company being run by someone who signs women to NDAs to make his unwanted dalliances disappear? I would have to think this will give them pause, and we have already seen how FOX reacted when Ailes did what he did at FOX News. And don't forget that NBC dealt with the Matt Lauer fiasco. For anyone saying, “But WWE does great ratings” consider this, WCW was still doing a good number for Nitro when the company was dissolved.
There has been a claim for years that McMahon leaving the company would cause irreparable harm to WWE. I haven’t believed that for a long time. In fact, I could make the case that him leaving could be a boon as the dull creative process, which he controls, could improve without his poor ideas making TV every week through Bruce Prichard. WWE is now a well oiled, content producing machine and they have talented people like Stephanie McMahon, Paul Levesque and Nick Khan in place to run it.
Even now, when the product isn’t exactly riveting, it has a loyal fan base that turns out for it and thus makes it valuable to its broadcast partners, especially in a time when TV audiences are harder and harder to garner. But will it stay that way in two years, when it’s time to negotiate new deals, if Vince is still around? That’s a good question. More than that, with Vince around it could limit other companies interest in doing business with WWE. Do you think DISNEY, with their image of wholesome programming, would want to do business with Vince after this? I don’t. Do you think some of their corporate partners, like Snickers, want to be associated with a man alleged to have forced himself on women? Now, would be included to do business with him gone and his daughter in charge? I see a much better chance of that happening now that this lurid story is in the public eye.
Yesterday, Conor Schell resigned from The WWE Board. The company gave the reason that he was devoting time to his business. I think it’s fair to wonder if that is the whole story. Gun to my head, I would say it’s not. It sure feels like getting away from this sordid mess was at least part of why he would leave the position. It’s also fair to wonder if part of the reason he left is due to him knowing how Vince is, with him wondering if Vince will choose to stay on, or worse, and make a bad situation into a catastrophe. I wonder that as well.
Vince has always seen himself as being above reproach and I really have to wonder if he has the clarity to see that his alleged behavior has taken him from being a huge asset to WWE to a huge detriment. Most people in this position, especially at his age of almost 77 years old would realize the right thing to do is to move on from the company he created. Vince? Well let’s just say I have my doubts that he will do that.
So if he stays, The Board has to act and remove him of his responsibilities. There is no world where they can keep him in the role of the guy who determines who gets TV time after this. It’s just impossible.
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