Posted in: Sports, TV, WWE | Tagged: wrestling, wwe

Vince McMahon Announces WWE Return, Plans to Sell Company

Vince McMahon is looking to use his majority voting power as a stockholder to elect himself back to the board of WWE and consider selling the company, according to a press release from Vince McMahon himself. The Wall Street Journal previously reported on McMahon's plans to make a comeback at the company after believing he received "bad advice" when he was convinced to retire amidst a scandal over hush money payments for sexual misconduct accusations. WSJ also broke the initial reports about a board investigation into those payments that kicked off the scandal to begin with, ultimately leading to McMahon's ouster.

The press release details McMahon's plan, which is to use his voting power as the primary owner of a McMahon-only class of stock to elect himself, as well as former WWE Co-Presidents Michelle Wilson and George Barrios, to the board, replacing three existing members. McMahon will reassume his position as Executive Chairman and then hopes to initiate a "strategic-review process" to consider selling WWE at a time he believes would be most advantageous in the current media landscape:

Mr. McMahon's new role will enable unified decision making through the Company's upcoming media rights negotiations and a parallel full review of the Company's strategic alternatives, which Mr. McMahon believes is the right course of action and in the best interests of WWE and WWE shareholders amidst the current dynamics in the media and entertainment industry. As Mr. McMahon has communicated to the Board, he believes there is a narrow window of opportunity to create significant value for all shareholders and that to do so, the strategic alternatives review must occur in tandem with the media rights negotiations. He also expressed to the Board that he believes these two initiatives require Mr. McMahon's direct participation, leadership, and support as controlling shareholder.

"WWE is entering a critical juncture in its history with the upcoming media rights negotiations coinciding with increased industry-wide demand for quality content and live events and with more companies seeking to own the intellectual property on their platforms," said McMahon in the press release. "The only way for WWE to fully capitalize on this opportunity is for me to return as Executive Chairman and support the management team in the negotiations for our media rights and to combine that with a review of strategic alternatives. My return will allow WWE, as well as any transaction counterparties, to engage in these processes knowing they will have the support of the controlling shareholder."

A report from the Wall Street Journal notes the board believes it would not be in shareholder's best interests for McMahon to return, but McMahon won't agree not to do so. The report also indicates McMahon may block a sale or new media rights deal if he's not in charge of the process. It's unclear what, if any, recourse the board might have to stop McMahon's return to power.

McMahon's departure has been generally well-received by both stock prices and fan sentiment. Nick Khan and Stephanie McMahon have been running the business side of WWE, while Triple H has been running the company's creative, largely to critical success. Even so, McMahon remained a popular figure with WWE audiences leading up to his retirement, when he repeatedly appeared on television in defiance of the scandal to the cheers and sometimes literal prostration of the crowd. In response to today's news, the stock price jumped.

McMahon did seem to indicate he has no plans to interfere with the day-to-day management of WWE, saying in his statement, "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."

Whatever ultimately happens with Vince McMahon and WWE, it's looking like the turbulent wrestling news cycle of 2022 shows no signs of stopping in 2023.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!