Back in July, Vince McMahon shocked the world with the news that he was retiring from WWE amidst an investigation into alleged sexual assault and hush money payments. Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan were named co-CEO’s of the company in the wake of his retirement, and Triple H took over as both Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and head of WWE Creative. His job title has since been upgraded to Chief Content Officer.
WWE has seen numerous changes under Triple H‘s new regime, and reaction to life after Vince McMahon has been largely positive backstage.
A new Wall Street Journal report on December 13th, however, broke the news that not only is McMahon refusing to meet the demands of two women who’ve accused him of sexual assault, he’s also expressed his full intent to return to WWE, saying that he received “bad advice” when it came to stepping down from his position.
“It Would Be A Really Selfish Move” – High Level WWE Employee On Potential Vince McMahon WWE Return
Now, a new report from Fightful Select details the reactions of many backstage to the news that McMahon wants to return to the company despite it being in good hands with Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and Nick Khan at the helm.
The report states that as soon as the news broke, many WWE employees reached out to comment on the situation. One WWE talent called the latest news “exhausting,” and despite having a positive relationship with the former Chairman prior to his departure, this talent hopes his time with the company is firmly in the past. Another talent expressed concern for the numerous wrestlers who’ve returned to the company under Triple H’s watch after being fired under McMahon’s regime.
One higher up in the company didn’t seem as worried, noting that the stock price increased, television viewership is up, and morale within the company rebounded after Vince McMahon’s departure. The high level employee doesn’t believe McMahon will come back to WWE despite remaining the majority shareholder in the company, and called any intent of returning “selfish,” stating:
“It would be a really selfish move for Vince to come back under any circumstances. The reason he left, how business has done since then — it’d be really selfish. But selfish activities are what led to him leaving in the first place.”
The Fightful Select report also details the reaction of another longtime WWE staffer, who said that morale within the company has increased tenfold since Triple H took power and also doesn’t believe McMahon will return, whether he wants to or not.
Another employee with over a decade in the company believes the McMahon family will encourage Vince McMahon to stay retired. That person believes the former Chairman’s return could cause irreparable damage to the company’s image and brand, and also noted that the few people who believed WWE would collapse without McMahon have been proven wrong. One notable name was even said to have admitted being wrong about this assumption.
According to the report, on official who came to power in recent years found the timing of the Wall Street Journal’s latest article very interesting. They don’t believe it’s a coincidence that information about further legal issues came to light just as Vince McMahon was speaking to people about a potential return.
Fightful Select notes that in a rare instance, more than a dozen sources who spoke with them were unanimous in the believe that Vince McMahon should not return to WWE.