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Vince McMahon Retires From WWE Amid Ongoing Investigation Into Conduct

The longtime WWE owner has announced he is stepping away from the company for good.

55 Comments

After over 40 years of leading World Wrestler Entertainment, taking it from a regional wrestling federation to a global entertainment corporation, Vince McMahon is retiring as CEO amid an internal investigation into hush money payments. The former chairman and CEO of the company announced the news in a tweet, writing, "At 77, time for me to retire. Thank you, WWE Universe. Then. Now. Forever. Together."

While this may have come as a shock even two months ago, it's been a tumultuous time for McMahon, as he had temporarily stepped down from his chairman and CEO roles within the company, following a Wall Street Journal report of an internal WWE investigation into sexual misconduct. It was first reported in early June that McMahon was alleged to have paid a former employee to keep them from discussing an affair. A further Wall Street Journal report claimed the investigation uncovered another $12 million paid out over the years to women.

In the midst of the investigation, Stephanie McMahon stepped into the role of interim chairwoman and CEO of WWE, while it was announced Friday, July 22 that her husband Paul "Triple H" Levesque would resume his role as executive vice president, talent relations. Levesque left that role last year after a medical emergency, at which time John Laurinaitis took on the duties. However, Laurinaitis is reported to also be involved in the investigation and is believed to currently be on leave from the company.

In a press release, McMahon elaborated further on his retirement, adding, "Throughout the years, it’s been a privilege to help WWE bring you joy, inspire you, thrill you, surprise you, and always entertain you. I would like to thank my family for mightily contributing to our success, and I would also like to thank all of our past and present Superstars and employees for their dedication and passion for our brand. Most importantly, I would like to thank our fans for allowing us into your homes every week and being your choice of entertainment. I hold the deepest appreciation and admiration for our generations of fans all over the world who have liked, currently like, and sometimes even love our form of Sports Entertainment."

Moving forward, WWE's press release notes that Stephanie will serve as the company's chairwoman and co-CEO, alongside co-CEO Nick Khan. At this moment, there's no news on who will take McMahon's place within the company creatively, though GameSpot has reached out to WWE for comment. In the meantime, he remains the company's majority stockholder.

For more, you can check out the recent discussion on the allegations from GameSpot's wrestling podcast, Wrestle Buddies, below.

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

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kkrakhed

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Edited By kkrakhed

deshaun watson, steve wynn, vince mcmahon, harvey weinstein, r kelly, this is your legacy.

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darktruth007

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Edited By darktruth007

This guy was hillarious and the soul of the WWE.

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LTKCentaur

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In the immortal words of Commander Shepard: "Hope you kick yourself in the balls on the way out the door."

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Slannmage

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I would say WWE will go woke now..... but they already did and that's why it sucks today lol.

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alastor529

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VINCE MCMAHON YOUUURRR FFFIIIIIIIRRRRED!

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Sepewrath

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All the stuff Vince was caught up in over the years and this is the hill he dies on--that's very 2022.

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JohnnySweepLeg

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Paul Bearer aka William Moody has died unless his own sons who accepted his induction into the hall of fame were just paid actors

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tsunami2311

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maybe WWE will stop sucking now that vince isnt gona have full control of the wrestlers then again, i probably still wont watch it

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Sepewrath

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@tsunami2311: Would be good to see HHH in charge, NXT was better than the main WWE show--well until Vince took it over.

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GalvatronType_R

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Maybe Vince will finally admit that they faked Paul Bearer's death (he's living comfortably in Chile) and explain how he got that British dude to kiss his unwashed rear end on national TV.

But anyone who thinks Vince won't be pulling the strings behind the scenes in crazy. His daughter will be a figurehead, Vince will still be fully in charge.

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Longshank

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@GalvatronType_R: I thought Paul Bearer may have returned to "Parts Unknown." Wasn't that where all wrestlers of mystical origins hailed from back in the day? (Undertaker, Papa Shango, etc) LOL

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deactivated-64a3ced8b46b8

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@GalvatronType_R: "Maybe Vince will finally admit that they faked Paul Bearer's death (he's living comfortably in Chile)".

??? He died from a heart attack.

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GalvatronType_R

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@thecupidstunts: that was a work. He’s in South America. They were going to run a resurrection angle and they abandoned it.

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deactivated-64a3ced8b46b8

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@GalvatronType_R: Wiki, (and everywhere else online), has him as deceased. Not saying you're wrong, but what are you basing this off of?

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Longshank

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@thecupidstunts: You are correct, Paul's been gone for quite some time now. I remember multiple (legitimate) news outlets reporting this, and I even made a FB post eons ago after he passed. There's no "work" at play.

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Avatar image for deactivated-64a3ced8b46b8
deactivated-64a3ced8b46b8

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@longshank: I didn't realize he was so popular that stories around his death had been circulated. Elvis or Jim Morrison I get. But Paul Bearer?

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Longshank

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Edited By Longshank

@thecupidstunts: I've lived long enough to see conspiracy theories circulated over and over again, and just about all of them turn out to be utter nonsense. It would be one thing if WWE faked the death and subsequently resurrected someone iconic like Mark Calaway (The Undertaker), but there would be no logical reason to pull such a stunt for a tertiary character such as Paul Bearer -- no disrespect to William Moody, the actor who portrayed him -- and STILL lie about it to this day.

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Miquella

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My childhood ... End of an era :(

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blaznwiipspman1

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So Shane gets nothing lol

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ZombieVirolina

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@blaznwiipspman1: Shane screwed Shane.

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dmblum1799

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Edited By dmblum1799

Of course.

You know, in Rome they used to say Bread and Circuses. And I don't know what you would call this but it's several notches below that.

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Thanatos2k

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He doesn't even get an I Quit match?

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SargentD

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End of an era, he did a good job

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Agent_Stroud

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@sargentd: No he didn’t, Trumpette. You only like him because he folded like a cheap suit to Donnie. 😏

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ZombieVirolina

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We wish Vince McMahon the best in his future endeavors.

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Longshank

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Edited By Longshank

Now that an era is ending, I hope someone or some people come in to shake up wrestling again, just like Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff did with the Monday Night Wars (aka WWE's Attitude Era vs WCW's NWO). Otherwise there's NO CHANCE IN HELL wrestling ever reaches the same heights it did 25 years ago.

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OldDadGamer

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OldDadGamer  Moderator

@longshank: Not sure it will reach those heights anyway. It's just not a form of entertainment that fits with how most people (especially young people) consume entertainment these days. It doesn't lend itself to the whole "release a whole season at once" model of Netflix and Amazon and HBO (I mean, you COULD, but the whole build up of story would be lost), TV ratings for live sports are in decline, so people sitting and chilling for a couple hours with beers and snacks is also struggling....how can wrestling be packaged for a 2022 audience (and beyond?)

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Longshank

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Edited By Longshank

@olddadgamer: My last sentence of reaching the old heights was merely a jestful excuse to use McMahon's infamous theme of "No Chance...", lol!

I don't expect wrestling to come anywhere close to what it achieved in the late 90's. The Attitude Era did something remarkable. It transcended its genre, crossed over to a different audience, and actually stole football fans away from Monday Night Football among the 18-49 demographic. I recall this vividly when sports jocks would crowd my college dorm lounge to watch Monday Night Raw every week. With that said, I do think wrestling can survive in the era of streaming and season dumps (releasing entire seasons at once). Though keep in mind that HBO and Disney+ don't endorse this practice with all their shows (i.e., The Mandalorian, Westworld).

During the Attitude Era, Monday Night Raw played out like a serialized show, full of multiple plot threads and weekly cliffhangers. I think that model would still work in the era of streaming or regular television. Wrestling is unique in that it is a year round product and doesn't operate under a season model, per se. I'm a believer in delivering a good product first and foremost. No matter what platform it is packaged or distributed under, if the product is good, people will come -- though maybe not in the same measurable numbers given all the different metrics used to gauge viewership (Nielson, hours streamed, etc). Wrestling will likely always be niche; even at its height, WWE only drew about 7-8 million viewers a week. But at least it was part of the cultural zeitgeist. If wrestling can somehow find a way to be culturally relevant again, I think that'll be enough of an achievement.

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vgmkyle

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EVEN MY IMMEDIATE FAMILY BOUGHT IT - YouTube

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uninspiredcup

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Edited By uninspiredcup

For someone who poured his life into industry, a dismal way to end.

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ZombieVirolina

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@uninspiredcup:

And exactly who is to blame?

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TreeChopper88

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@ZombieVirolina: People like you so far for this!

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ZombieVirolina

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@treechopper88: I didn’t sleep with the geriatric.

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TreeChopper88

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@ZombieVirolina: You havent slept with anyone ever, and will never. I can deduce this from your single comment.

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ZombieVirolina

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@treechopper88:

Assumptions are the mother of all f-ck ups junior.

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TreeChopper88

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@ZombieVirolina: Yet that is all you have done with your previous comments. Lol kids...

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ZombieVirolina

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@treechopper88: Get back on your meds. You’re babbling again.

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TreeChopper88

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@ZombieVirolina: lol is that the new fallback?

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timthegem

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This makes two smart decisions that Vince has made this year. The first one was telling Shane to GTFO when he tried to give himself a world title shot at Wrestlemania.

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Sepewrath

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@timthegem: Well this wasn't much of a decision, he walked out on his own, instead of the walk of shame by being shown the door.

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BassMan

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Edited By BassMan

$12 million in hush money over the years... Damn, that is some costly side action.

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TheIronSaint

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@BassMan: he paid less for WCW.

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ZombieVirolina

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@theironsaint: Actually the same.

Paid $2m for WCW. Paid $2m per piece.

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illegal_peanut

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I always hated when people retire during a scandal. ESPECIALLY when they're already a decade overdue for retirement.

It's the biggest middle finger possible. Because they end up using the retirement like an ejection seat. Instead of what it was used for. And I say an ejection seat. Because we all know when this blows over, the fire settles, and the wreckage is cleared. he's going back to being the head of WWE. He's not gone foir good.

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Sepewrath

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@illegal_peanut: I doubt he gets back in, the scandal police will be waiting for the company to try and let him back in the door.

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Rolento25

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@illegal_peanut: Scandal is a joke anyways, He curled some toes and the women also got to walk a way with some life changing money.

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ghostspartan

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@illegal_peanut: retirement is always an ejector seat. im sure around that time ill be reaching for the button to just drop everything and go.

also if he gets back at over 77 that just means everyone else in the business are completely incompetent

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Archangel3371

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Oh wow. Having been an avid wrestling fan for 40+ years this feels like the end of an era.

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