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When news broke that Vince McMahon had paid out hush money to former employees due to reportedly consensual adult relationships with a former employee roughly one month ago, it felt like WWE was approaching an inflection point the likes of which the company hasn't been rocked with since the double-murder-suicide of Chris Benoit or the steroid trials of the early 1990s.
McMahon was removed from his positions both as CEO and Chairman of the Board in favor of his daughter Stephanie, and, in an official statement published on his company's website, declared that he would accept the findings of the Board's independent counsel, even if it meant stepping down from the company.
And yet, in the weeks since, McMahon has been as present as ever on WWE television, taking the ring while his song, “No Chance in Hell,” played throughout the arena on no less than four occasions. He gave a bizarre speech the night the initial reports of his impropriety were reported, again on that week's SmackDown, and notably again at the “Cena Celebration,” where an entire episode of RAW broadcast live from Laredo, Texas was dedicated to the man, the myth, “The Champ” himself, John Cena.
Every appearance was weird, the first two specifically were in poor taste, and every subsequent appearance proved without a shadow of a doubt that the once-ever-present heel who held court over the WWE Universe as the on-screen foil to anti-hero extraordinaire “Stone Cold” Steve Austin is still in control.
What gives? Surely McMahon understood that even if he retained the ability to book WWE's weekly programming, it would be in poor taste to “rub it in” to the fans watching at home who like Roman Reigns, Riddle, and Theory – okay, maybe not Theory – but aren't particularly fond of Billionaire CEOs using their power to abuse their subordinates, even if everything was reportedly consensual at the time.
Fast forward to Friday, June 8th, and any arguments that McMahon's actions were appropriate have been thoroughly debunked, as a second record, again by the Wall Street Journal, has disclosed that the money paid out to former employees actually clocks in at $12 million and counting, with more reported interactions that were both non-consensual and resulted in the sort of retaliation that isn't supposed to be tolerated in 2022.
And yet – tell me if you've heard this one before – in the hours since, McMahon has remained gainfully employed by the organization and is probably putting the finishing touches on the next SmackDown, RAW, and NXT script as we speak. He's reportedly heading to Vancouver in the not-too-distant future to talk to John Cena about SummerSlam, booked a contenders match that will see Sheamus and Drew McIntyre duke it out for a title shot at Clash at the Castle, and very well may end up on SmackDown tonight to say a few words into a microphone while being cheered on by his adoring fans.
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Needless to say, if McMahon does step away from WWE once and for all, it won't be willingly.
Will Mr. McMahon really survive another WWE scandal?
From the steroid trials, to the death of Owen Hart, “The Plainride from Hell,” double-murder-suicide of Chris Benoit, and even their war with the World Wildlife Foundation over the acronym WWF – which, interestingly enough, is the only one of those scandals that didn't have a Darkside of the Ring episode – McMahon has been untouchable in his role as both the creative and business leader of the WWE. He's survived the company going public, wrestlers threatening to unionize, and legitimate challengers popping up for a shot at his crown, and, through it all, has been viewed externally as one of the few men who can make millions off of professional wrestling.
But none of his previous scandals, well, minus maybe the Rita Chatterton incident of the mid-1980s, featured the same level of abuse of power and abuse of women that the current situation McMahon finds himself in. He used his power to manipulate the people he employed, potentially paid out company money to keep folks quiet, and ruined more than a few lives along the way in the hopes of maintaining his power both over the on-television product – which many fans have been complaining about for years – and over the people he employs. Numerous people have seen their careers altered in a negative way by the 76-year-old promoter and even if he were to go away forever, it's unlikely their personal affairs will ever be the same.
In an ironic way, the success of WWE may ultimately prove McMahon's downfall, as the company's all-time great financial returns have turned the company, which some previously described as being a “mom and pop shop” into a multi-national organization that is much bigger than one man, even the man who merged the territories together and turned wrestling into something millions of fans watch each week.
