Vince McMahon’s latest claims were met with eye-rolling by WWE employees.
On September 12th, WWE’s merger with UFC was officially completed. The deal saw the creation of the TKO Group which is worth more than $21 billion.
While the merger was seen as an exciting move by many, in the days following the announcement, WWE let more than 100 employees go. This came after Nick Khan had publicly admitted that WWE would be looking to cut costs by at least $50 million upon the completion of the deal.
On September 19th, WWE held an “all hands on deck” meeting for all employees, with Vince McMahon, Triple H, Ari Emanuel, and Nick Khan all in attendance.
A new report from Fightful Select has given an insight into what went down at the meeting, and how it was received. The report notes that McMahon referred to Endeavor’s CEO as his “boss,” and claimed WWE had “plateaued” before the deal.
This was reportedly greeted with lots of eye-rolling within the company, as others pointed to WWE’s record numbers. The comment led many to reaffirm their belief that McMahon set up the deal to ensure he could return to the company.
For his part, Emanuel referenced the fact his daughter works for WWE and said he had leaned on McMahon for advice in the past.
There was talk of the cuts, but they were described as “unfortunate” and something that had to happen.
What Is Vince McMahon’s Job?
Although WWE is no longer under the sole control of the McMahon family for the first time since the 1950s, Vince remains incredibly influential. His official job title is Executive Chairman of the TKO Group, and he’s still effectively in charge of WWE business.
It’s been reported that some within WWE hope Vince McMahon will now step back from creative and have less to do with weekly programming.