If you don’t regularly involve yourself in the business of professional wrestling or subscribe to The Wall Street Journal (lots of overlap here), you likely missed much of the chaotic upheaval of the WWE. Basically, the largest wrestling company in the history of the world has turned into the show Succession. Here is a brief timeline of how we got here.
As a bit of background, WWE CEO Vince McMahon purchased the company from his father and revolutionized the industry of professional wrestling — for better and worse. Previously professional wrestling had operated on a territory-based system. These regions would trade talent, but ultimately you stayed in your own yard. That was until the McMahon-owned New York promotion began poaching talent and gaining footholds in television time slots in various local markets. McMahon was able to corner the market on professional wrestling in the United States.
Fast forward to 2018, and WWE has become too big to fail. A massive lengthy TV deal means that quality week to week doesn’t matter and a 10-year deal with Saudi Arabia for live events ensures heavy income in a way that really raises questions about the company’s stance on human rights. It’s basically this.
But the product is in disarray. McMahon regularly shows up hours before a live taping, tears up the script, and forces his talent to come up with storylines on the fly. Company satisfaction is in the toilet.
Meanwhile, WWE’s first true competition in years forms as AEW is founded at the start of 2019. Amid ongoing layoffs during the pandemic, WWE loses some substantial talent to AEW. Paul Lavesque, better known as professional wrestler HHH and McMahon’s son-in-law, is tasked with defeating AEW’s Wednesday night show Dynamite.
WWE’s powers-that-be wanted a rivalry. They wanted it to be between the upstart promotion and WWE’s developmental brand NXT. And they lost the Wednesday Night Wars. This caused HHH to lose control of the NXT promotion, as NXT fell behind in ratings.
Things continued to shift for the McMahons. Vince McMahon’s son, Shane McMahon, was released from the company in early 2022 after booking himself strongly against the company’s best talent in the Royal Rumble, which received a critical lambasting.
In May 2022, McMahon’s daughter, Stephanie, announced she was stepping away from the company to “focus on her family.” Oddly, information leaked that Stephanie was forced out because of her own incompetence, despite her being well regarded by the talent. It was suggested that her performance was buried to preserve stock prices and comfort shareholders who might be wary of such internal turmoil. We should have seen this coming.
On June 15, 2022, The Wall Street Journal breaks the story that the WWE board is probing an alleged $3 million in hush money that McMahon had possibly given to a former employee following an affair. His standing tested in his own company, McMahon begins appearing on live TV. He speaks from the ring if only to state, “I’m here. What are you going to do about it.”
On June 17, McMahon steps down as CEO of the company, but maintains creative control of how wrestlers are booked. The Wall Street Journal follows up on July 8 with another story revealing an additional $12 million in hush money to other women with allegations against McMahon. Among all the reported claims and payouts, company money is said to be involved.
Then, on July 22, the unthinkable happened. At the age of 77, McMahon retired from the WWE. It was later revealed that the former CEO was under federal investigation for millions of dollars in payouts.
With her father out of the picture, Stephanie McMahon returned to WWE as co-CEO. Her husband, HHH, gained creative control of the company, and the landscape of professional wrestling completely changed.
WWE’s stale product improved dramatically. Reports began to emerge of talents’ morale skyrocketing, while previously laid-off stars were brought back into the company. Wrestlers were no longer bound by the whims of a 77-year-old billionaire. They were allowed to be themselves — or at least the version of themselves they wished to play in the ring.
It felt as if the WWE had been completely rejuvenated, just as internal strife had left the company’s main competitor wobbling. Then the unthinkable happened — again.
On January 5, 2023, The Wall Street Journal broke the news that Vince McMahon — still the majority shareholder in the company — contacted the WWE board with his plans to return to the company to oversee its sale. Although the board, including Stephanie and HHH, unanimously informed McMahon that his return while still under internal and federal investigations would not be appropriate, he would not be stopped.
McMahon made clear that as primary stockholder he could kill any deal made without him. He then removed three board members and replaced their seats with himself and two former executives whom he had fired just the previous year. Two additional board members stepped down, including the man leading the internal investigation on McMahon. Soon Stephanie’s departure from the company was announced.
McMahon had cleaned house, and rumors began to spread about a potential deal with Saudi Arabia. Taking the company private with the right buyer could save McMahon from a lot of the oversight required for a publicly traded company, as well as allow McMahon to carve out his own position as he sees fit. While HHH remains in creative control of WWE, there’s nothing stopping McMahon from continuing his takeover by ousting his son-in-law. In other words…
