WWE representatives conducted a Zoom meeting with performers at 5 p.m. ET, although it wasn’t quite “all hands on deck” as was first reported.
According to PWInsider, Vince McMahon was referred to as “irreplaceable” during the brief “rah rah meeting.” Additionally, it was stated that the new WWE Chairwoman & Co-CEO Stephanie McMahon and Co-CEO Nick Khan will be planning the company’s future. It was previously reported that Stephanie and Khan were also in attendance at SmackDown alongside Paul “Triple H” Levesque, the new WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations.
The virtual gathering was “simply a quick goodbye to those that were there,” says Fightful Select, adding that several RAW superstars were not needed to attend. Vince’s participation in the meeting has not been confirmed, although Fightful called it a “quick goodbye.”
It was also mentioned that no one at WWE has been informed of who would be in charge of either show’s creative team going forward, but it was confirmed that Vince has left all of his active positions with the company and that this is not a storyline.
There were “rampant and unconfirmed rumors” circulating among the talent today that Kevin Dunn, the executive producer and chief of global television distribution for WWE, would be the next to depart from the company. Dunn has supported Vince for a long time, longer than Laurinaitis and other company executives combined. The same talent had earlier predicted that Laurinaitis would be ousted for the company, and that is exactly what happened. The points of contact for arranging tonight’s SmackDown were previously mentioned as being Dunn and Senior Vice President & RAW/SmackDown Executive Vice President Bruce Prichard.
According to PWInsider, Vince’s retirement has generated a “pretty positive reaction” in the locker rooms, which is relevant to the atmosphere backstage for tonight’s SmackDown. While there is some surprise considering that it was Vince and some believed he would always be present in some manner, many talents are now anticipating what comes next with some excitement. Some people also think that the WWE creative team will have a fresh “energy.”
The initial internal word received by staff today was that Vince is retiring, but he wants everyone to continue carrying the WWE flag. This is intriguing because talent were informed in a meeting a few weeks ago that Vince was staying put and wouldn’t be leaving. Numerous mainstream media sites, including HBO’s Real Sports, are working on stories about the charges against Vince and John Laurinaitis, although there have been no confirmations of those reports as of the time of this writing.
Many people within WWE have questioned what Vince’s departure means for the other executives in addition to Stephanie, Triple H, and Khan. Some people have also expressed their desire to have at least said goodbye to Vince in person and expressed the hope that he would attend SummerSlam so they could do so.
The WWE Board of Directors recently started looking into charges of misconduct against Vince and the former head of talent relations, John Laurinaitis, which led to today’s major shake-up. As we’ve mentioned, the “secret $3 million settlement” that Vince made to the former paralegal who was recruited in 2019 was the subject of an inquiry by the WWE Board of Directors, which was first made public on Wednesday, June 15. Laurinaitis’s role in the incident was also under investigation, and it was made known that the Board had been looking into more incidents involving former female employees. Vince voluntarily stepped down from his Chairman & CEO corporate duties, while still continuing his creative responsibilities, at least for the time being, on Friday, June 17. It was then announced that Stephanie returned from her leave of absence to serve as the Interim CEO & Interim Chairwoman after Vince voluntarily stepped away. On Monday, June 20, it was made public that Bruce Prichard, Senior Vice President of WWE and Executive Producer of RAW/SmackDown, had been acting in Laurinaitis’ place as Interim Senior Vice President of Talent Relations while the inquiry was ongoing. On Friday, July 8, as further allegations came to light, it was made public that McMahon had agreed to pay more than $12 million in “hush money” to four women, among them a former wrestler. Since Triple H was named the new WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations today, July 22, Prichard is no longer filling the interim position. Vince was the first to confirm that Stephanie is the new Chairwoman & Co-CEO, along with Co-CEO Khan, while Vince’s resignation was announced hours after Triple H’s new position was made public.
Stay tuned to PWMania.com for the very latest on this story.
