Vince McMahon opened “SmackDown Live” on Friday night with a brief appearance in the ring.
McMahon entered the ring with a smile on his face as his themed music, No Chance in Hell, sounded through the speakers. He kept his remarks short, saying: “As always, it is a privilege to stand before you here tonight, the WWE universe … I am here simply to remind you of the four words we have just seen in what we call our WWE signature. These four words are: then, now, forever, and the most important word is together. Welcome to SmackDown!
With that, he left the ring.
The “SmackDown” segment came just hours after WWE announced that McMahon was stepping down as chairman and CEO of the sports entertainment giant. McMahon is currently being investigated by WWE’s board of directors following a report in the Wall Street Journal on allegations that McMahon agreed to pay a company employee $ 3 million to remain silent about the affair. McMahon’s daughter and WWE CEO Stephanie McMahon has been appointed interim CEO and chair while the investigation continues.
Vince McMahon will retain his role and responsibilities for WWE’s creative content during the investigation and remains “committed to collaborating with the ongoing review,” the company said Friday. The board is also investigating alleged violations by John Laurinatis, head of WWE’s talent department.
The on-board investigation revealed other dispute settlement agreements, including McMahon and Laurinitis, the Journal reported. A WWE spokesman told the Journal that McMahon’s relationship with the woman, who was hired as an assistant lawyer in 2019, was by mutual consent and that the executive used its personal funds to pay for agreements, including those involving Laurinaitis.
WWE is the most famous professional wrestling brand in the world. The publicly traded company reported record revenue of $ 1.1 billion last year, which includes a five-year exclusive streaming agreement with Peacock at NBCUniversal in the US “SmackDown Live” began airing on Fox in 2018 under a five-year deal for 1 billion dollars.
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