Hardly few words spew out of my mouth before I am astonished at the sight of Vince McMahon. Now, before you take me for an obsessive deviant, hear me out. The man’s not only the founder of WWE but is also an athletic guu of pure business. After his retirement last year, no one expected the 77-year-old to run back in. So why is Vince McMahon back in WWE?Â
On July 22, 2022, Vince McMahon announced his retirement on Twitter. The Tweet came at the fans who have hated him miserably and life-holding.
His tweet said, “At 77, time for me to retire. Thank you, WWE Universe. Then. Now. Forever. Together.” He previously held the Chairman and CEO positions at WWE.Â
After McMahon announced his retirement, the ones to take over were his direct successor. And I mean genetic successor. His daughter Stephanie and her husband Triple H along with Nick Khan took over the company. But in the recent strings of changes, the audiences are baffled to see the 77-year-old who’s soon to be 78, return.Â
Is Vince McMahon Back in WWE?
Vince McMahon is officially confirmed to now have returned to the executive board. Although it still isn’t clear if he will be replacing his daughter as the chairperson. He also utilized his majority voting power.
- For the uninitiated child, it is a simple term referring to the occurrence in which a person owns 51% of the company (or more). Such shareholding gives the person a majority voting power, a sort of veto. Vince currently has one of the highest shares in the company.
- Vince has already removed and replaced three names from the executive board. The names are Ignace Lahoud and Man Jit Singh. Joining Vince on the board of directors of WWE now are George Barrios and Michelle Wilson.
Why is he back in WWE?
The reason is more business than it is shown. Vince has a great deal of influence on the company as its founder and originator. That aside, the company is now putting this entire event of his joining back as a strategic necessity.
What is that? In a joint press release by Stephanie, Nick, and Triple H, they mention that Vince’s return is done for the purpose of maximizing value for all shareholders.Â
Board of Directors
A report from The Wall Street Journal indicated that Vince McMahon was negotiating with the company to return as the executive chairman. This was primarily because the media rights of WWE Monday Night Raw and Friday Night Smackdown were nearing their end.
- Hence, a renewal/renegotiation of the media rights was necessary. This meant that for networks, channels, and streaming platforms to continue providing WWE content, the media rights had to be reworked.
But that required exclusive permission from Vince. What Vince did was a strategic ploy. He refused to approve or support any media distribution negotiation if he himself did not get direct power over these as the executive chairman.Â
Board of Directors vs Founder of WWE
The board of directors was not very supportive of Vince returning as the chairperson. The board first asked Vince to reimburse monetarily to WWE any charges they incurred.
Vince paid back the charges WWE incurred due to allegations against him
Vince McMahon is back on WWE’s board of directors.
A new filing says effective immediately Vince puts himself, Michelle Wilson, and George Barrios on the board and removes independent directors Alan Wexler, JoEllen Lyons Dillon, and Jeffrey Speed.https://t.co/HGzFZNvaXM pic.twitter.com/Y3HIRGearx
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) January 6, 2023
The charges were due to an investigation laid against Vince. The board then asked Vince not to return out of the blow the company took because of the allegations against him.
Although Vince agreed to the monetary reimbursement to the company, he outright disagreed to not return.
So Why did Vince McMahon return to WWE? Because he wants to take over as the Executive Chairman of the company. But to do that he first needs the board’s approval.
But the board will require his approval before distribution of Raw and Smackdown’s intellectual property distribution. So he pulled a chess move and voyaged his way back into the company on the board of directors.
Vince McMahon knowing he's gonna get this reaction from the crowd anyway when he returns 😂pic.twitter.com/XQVmV06zOZ
— Wrestlelamia.com (@wrestlelamia) January 6, 2023
