Vince McMahon opened “SmackDown Live” on Friday night with a brief appearance in the ring.
McMahon stepped into the ring with a smile on his face as his song, “No Chance in Hell” – played through the speakers. He kept his comments short and said, “It’s a privilege, as always, to be in front of you here tonight, the WWE universe … I’m just here to remind you of the four words we just saw in the “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 the WWE announced that McMahon was stepping down as president and CEO of the sports entertainment giant. McMahon is currently under investigation by the WWE Board of Directors following a Wall Street Journal report on allegations that McMahon agreed to pay a company employee a $ 3 million deal to keep quiet about an adventure. McMahon’s daughter and WWE executive Stephanie McMahon has been named CEO and acting president while the investigation is underway.
Vince McMahon will maintain his role and responsibilities related to WWE’s creative content during the investigation and remains “committed to cooperating with the ongoing review,” the company said Friday. The board is also investigating the alleged misconduct of John Laurinaitis, the WWE’s head of talent relations.
The board’s investigation uncovered other settlement agreements involving McMahon and Laurinaitis, the Journal reported. A WWE spokesman told the Journal that McMahon’s relationship with the woman, who was hired as a paralegal in 2019, was consensual and that the executive used his personal funds to pay for the deals, including those related with laurinaitis.
WWE is the world’s leading professional wrestling brand. The publicly traded company recorded a record $ 1.1 billion in revenue last year, which included a five-year exclusive broadcast deal with NBCUniversal’s Peacock in the United States. “SmackDown Live” began airing on Fox. in 2018 with a five-year, $ 1 billion deal.
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