So, you’re probably wondering why, on the eve of Wrestlemania 40 Weekend, I’ve decided to touch on this dirty piece of business. Well, it’s pretty simple. I just finished my Ramblemania Rewind series where I just rewatched and redid all my Ramblemania musings… and while I’ve enjoyed revisiting these shows, I can’t help but feel that the experience has been somewhat tainted due to the actions of one man. And for the past couple months, I’ve been largely silent on the matter because, well, I want to keep this blog on the upbeat side of things. Talk about things I like, praise the good stuff, poke some fun at the bad stuff, and just generally shoot some breeze.
The focus of this particular post is none of the above. In fact, it is quite deprived. And it is something that has tainted a lot of good memories for me. A lot of good memories regarding a form of entertainment that has been a large part of my life for the better part of three decades. A form of entertainment that was brought to heights of popularity thanks to the vision of one man. A man who has done more to propel this form of entertainment to new heights than any man could hope to achieve. A man whose influence permeates every aspect of this form of entertainment.
A man whose legacy is forever tainted due to recent circumstances.
And I’ve been silent on this issue because, yes, I want to keep maintain some sense of fun on this blog… but also because I simply didn’t have the words. What could I say about this business that hadn’t already been said? What was I feeling about this whole thing? How does this affect a lifetime of memories, of which this man was a part of? I didn’t quite have the words… but eventually, I found a few words. And I wanted to share those words before Wrestlemania 40 took place. And I wanted to
On July 26th, 2022, I wrote a commentary post of sorts in regards to Vince McMahon shortly after his “first retirement” due to sex scandal allegations at the time. Something of a lightweight post reflecting on the surprise that the man would step down from his position so willingly (or perhaps not) and some thoughts on what a WWE without Vince McMahon would be like. At the end of the piece, I added a number of postscript notes, written in a sort of humorous or non-serious fashion, but I want to highlight two of these post-scripts here if you don’t mind.
“P.P.S. Can we start digging up some shit on Kevin Dunn so he can step down and we can have a show that doesn’t look like shit? You can have anybody behind the wheel on creative, but if the camera work and production looks like amateur hour, what does it matter?”
And also, this other one…
“P.P.P.P.S. Don’t be surprised if this whole thing ultimately blows over and Vince comes back better than ever or however that goes. It’s wrestling, after all. Retirement is another word for extended sabbatical.”
Going back and reading that post… oh boy, how little did I know of what would follow…
Let’s start with the last point… how many people were actually surprised by the news that Vince used his majority stock voting power on the board of directors to force himself back into the company early-2023. I bet a bunch of you were surprised. I wish I could say that I was surprised, but this is wrestling. Retirement in wrestling is like death in comic books; it’s only a temporary rest period before the eventual return. And once the noise with the investigations over the initial allegations concluded and after laying low for some time, Vince made his big comeback with the intent to initiate proceedings to sell off the company. That’s it, that’s all, right? He’s not going to weed his way back into the day-to-day creative, right?
Yeah, well, not quite. Oh sure, he wasn’t totally involved, but he still had a hand in the creative product. Not THAT big of a hand; after all, WWE was on a roll largely thanks to the sustained efforts of Paul “HHH” Levesque in creative and Nick Khan in the business side of things. After years of mediocre product, WWE was starting to become the hip cool thing again. That momentum was going to build as the months went on… and now here comes the old man to creep his way back in and potentially ruin the whole thing. And while he may facilitated some questionable creative bumps, for the most part, he had been largely hands-off and by year’s end, would be kept off by his later boss, Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel.
Oh, wait… we’re jumping ahead here.
So, the morning after Wrestlemania 39 weekend, news broke that Endeavor had reached a deal to acquire and merge WWE with its own UFC promotion to form the new TKO Holdings Group. For the first time in its storied history, WWE would no longer be under the control and ownership of the McMahon family. Vince was named Executive Chairman of the TKO board, but no longer held majority voting power. In fact, his influence was reduced quite considerably to the point where he would no longer be allowed to micromanage every detail in his former creation; he has assigned duties and he’s to perform those and let others do their jobs.
And this is where we bring up the first point, where I jokingly call for shit to be dug up on Kevin Dunn so that he’d step down from his longtime position as executive producer… well, the good news (for now, at least) is that nobody dug up any shit on Kevin Dunn other than the usual creative differences, but in what would end up being a surprising piece of news, Dunn did indeed resigned from his position in late-2023 and is gone from WWE. And that raised an eyebrow because Dunn had been around since 1984 and had been a vital component of the WWE machine. To see him step away from a position that he held for a majortiy of his life was a sign that WWE was truly heading into a new era.
New television deals were inked up. Smackdown, after five years on the FOX Network, would make its return to the USA Network later this year. NXT, originally exclusive to the WWE Network before making its move to USA in 2019 to counter the debuting All Elite Wrestling promotion’s weekly show, would also see itself move to another channel: the CW. The CW, in a past life, was the original home to Smackdown when that show debuted (well, kinda – it’s a merging of the old UPN and WB channels)… and also the CW had a deal to air Billy Corgan’s NWA show on their network until it blew up in smoke and now it’s relegated to the CW App… and the big blockbuster deal hit early 2024, with the announcement of Netflix acquiring the rights to air Monday Night RAW as well as the WWE Network archives and premium live events package starting in 2025. It looked to be the start of a bold new prosperous era in WWE.
And then the Vince McMahon/Janeel Grant sex trafficking lawsuit hit.
And the details… the details weren’t pretty.
Word quickly spread. News outlets covered the story. Endeavor made statements clarifying that “Mr. McMahon was not in control of WWE” and that they were taking the allegations seriously. Representatives of McMahon denied the allegations and stated his intentions to vigorously defend against these falsehoods. And then one day before the Royal Rumble premium live event, Slim Jim – one of WWE’s biggest sponsors who just so happened to be sponsoring the event in question – paused their partnership with WWE. Fearing a potential domino effect of further sponsors dropping support for WWE, the decision was made for Vince McMahon to resign from his duties as chairman of the TKO board. Soon afterwards, Slim Jim resumed their sponsorship and the Royal Rumble took place.
After the show ended, WWE held their customary Royal Rumble press conference. Typically a fluff piece of sorts to promote and flaunt the company’s fortunes,
Behind the scenes, changes were made. Vince McMahon’s profile was scrubbed from the WWE and TKO corporate websites. Plans were implemented to weed out associates of McMahon who may have known about his alleged activities and remove them from the company, with the intent of a purge that would result in what was hoped to be a clean slate for WWE going forward. Brock Lesnar, not mentioned by name in the lawsuit but eluded to under the descriptor of a “former UFC World Heavyweight Champion”, was removed from all WWE creative plans, which included a suprise Rumble return and several appearances including the annual Wrestlemania match.
There were other names that have come out… corporate officers identified, other potential victims, and associates. There’s no doubt that more names will come out and be identified. This is a systemic problem that has persisted for as long as there have been Wrestlemanias… which really paints a grim picture that while we’re all celebrating the showcase of the immortals and enjoying timeless moments etched into our memories, there was another side that is far less glamorous and much more gruesome than anyone could imagine.
Well… in fairness, it’s not that hard to imagine these sorts of acts behind the scenes, especially when you watch McMahon on screen and his interactions with the various Divas and women talent who have come along over the decades. And when you watch that stuff on television and then think back to the lawsuit, it makes you wonder if the depiction of the Mr. McMahon character is truly an essentuation of the real person behind the role or rather is it a tamed version of what the man is really like behind closed doors.
Let’s not forget that McMahon is not the only party… yes, there are others involved… but this is not about them… this is about one man… one man whose actions have ruined many lives – both those we know of and those we don’t. That list will grow over time as more details and names come out… but this piece is not about them.
So here we are… Wrestlemania weekend… The 40th edition of the showcase of the immortals, the show of show, the greatest continuous spectacle in all of sports and entertainment… and the visionary who is responsible for its conception, ascension, and evolution into the extravaganza that is today will not be around to celebrate this milestone event. He will not be able bask in the thrill and excitement of seeing how far we’ve come since that initial event from Madison Square Garden in 1985. He will not be able to oversee the operations and creative process of that event or any others to follow.
Vincent Kennedy McMahon’s time in WWE – for all intents and purposes – has come to a miserable, disgraceful end. All of it his own doing.
And you know what? It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.
What happens next is anybody’s guess… but one thing is for sure; this is my final word on McMahon. Whatever comes out of this case is something that is out of my range; there are others more knowledgeable and well-informed in the proceedings who can cover this case with greater ferocity than I ever could. If he gets jailed, great. If not, then we’ll see what happens. But this story is far from finished. Who knows if it’ll ever be finished? Because, again, it’s not just one man; it’s an systemic problem going back years… and who knows what else will be creeping up?
This is the last word on McMahon regarding this business. After that, the only mentions of him going forward will be in the past tense. Whatever happens going forward is outside this realm of this blog. I can only offer hope that whatever comes of this case, everyone gets what they deserve; whether it’d be justice and peace of mind for the victims involved or the gravest penances for the guilty.
I consider this commentary over… but the case… the case could very well be just beginning.
dtm666 