WWE Former CEO Vince McMahon stepped down from all of his power positions recently after a series of sexual misconduct rose and his name was involved in various hush money payments
When Vince McMahon resigned from his position as the CEO, it was publicly presented as a retirement. But as things slowly started to develop, his cases of hush money payments start to seem like the real reason. For, the last couple of months, McMahon has been the target of several ongoing investigations related to hush money payments to former female employees.
The ongoing investigations revolve around paying millions of dollars to ex-employees to silence the allegations against him of sexual misconduct, sexual abuse, and harassment. These payments came to light after they were reported by the Wall Street Journal in June 2022. WWE’s board of directors had launched an investigation for the $3 million payment McMahon had made to a former employee.
This initial investigation paved the way for several other cases, where Vince McMahon was involved in several other cases of money payment. The Wall Street Journal revealed that he also made a payment of $7.5 million to a former employee, whom he had forced in having sex with him. When his further advances were refused, he had her demoted and then sacked.
Recently Dave Meltzer of WON, revealed that all of these payments ended up costing Vince McMahon 8x more than what he bought WCW for and 12x more than the total cost of ECW IP in bankruptcy court. Vince McMahon’s troublesome behavior ended up as a heavy dent in his pocket and a massive dip in his career.
Although the former CEO is now out of the company, his actions are still hovering above the organization as a dark cloud. Further investigations have revealed several such more payments he had made. WWE’s latest SEC filing revealed another $5 million McMahon had paid to two other individuals. Although, the company has stated that these payments are not related to the former allegations.
The total expenses now stand at a whopping $19.6 million with more being investigated into. All of these unrecorded expenses have shaken the company’s finances to the core. And as the result, WWE’s second-quarter financial report is now delayed. SEC and other federal legal representatives are now investigating Vince McMahon’s payments and if the company is in illegal business practices.