Vince McMahon has stepped down as CEO and Chairman of the Board in the WWE amid an investigation into allegations of alleged misconduct.
The 76-year-old and John Laurinaitis, the WWE’s head of talent relations are being investigated after a report in the Wall Street Journal over claims he paid an ex-employee millions of dollars in hush money over an alleged affair.
The Special Committee has appointed his daughter, Stephanie McMahon, to serve as interim CEO and interim Chairwoman.
McMahon, however, will retain his role and responsibilities with WWE’s creative content during this period, meaning WWE TV will largely remain the same.
A statement from the WWE read: “WWE and the Board of Directors today announced that a Special Committee of the Board is conducting an investigation into alleged misconduct by its Chairman and CEO Vincent McMahon and John Laurinaitis, head of talent relations, and that, effective immediately, McMahon has voluntarily stepped back from his responsibilities as CEO and Chairman of the Board until the conclusion of the investigation.
“McMahon will retain his role and responsibilities related to WWE’s creative content during this period and remains committed to cooperating with the review underway.” And the boss said he will cooperate fully with the investigation and ‘will do everything possible to support the investigation.’
“I have also pledged to accept the findings and outcome of the investigation, whatever they are,” he said.
McMahon’s personal net fortune is worth $2.4bn, according to Forbes. Upon his puchase of the WWF in 1982, he has been in power ever since and driven it to heights of success unseen in any other outlier in ‘sports entertainment’ or professional wrestling.
He has been married to Linda McMahon since 1966 and have two children, Shane as well as Stephanie, who is married to wrestling legend Triple H a.k.a. Paul Levesque.
It was believed his son-in-law, who retired from competing earlier this year due to a heart complaint, was being groomed to be McMahon’s successor, before his health setback saw him take a step back from the company.
