Search Results: "affair"

NEWS

Major Update On WWE Investigation Into Vince McMahon, Staggering Cost Revealed

November 3, 2022

And that’s that. There have been all kinds of wrestling changes taking place throughout the year but nothing has come close to the retirement of Vince McMahon from WWE. McMahon officially retired from WWE in July, with the announcement coming during an official internal WWE investigation into McMahon’s reported affair with a WWE employee. The investigation continued after McMahon’s retirement and now we have quite the development. WWE held its Q3 earnings call on Wednesday, where they officially announced that the investigation into McMahon was finished. The investigation came with an $18 million expense, though McMahon had agreed to pay “reasonable” costs for the investigation which was not covered by insurance. The report also says that McMahon can “effectively exercise control over our affairs”, meaning he could run WWE again, but according to Fightful Select, there is no chance that this will happen. McMahon is described as being “done, done” with WWE. Opinion: This isn’t a major..

NEWS

Major Updates On Vince McMahon Affair Scandal, May Have Used WWE Money

July 25, 2022

That isn’t good. The biggest wrestling story of the year has been Vince McMahon leaving WWE as he announced his retirement from the company last week. This comes amid an internal investigation into McMahon allegedly paying women to stay silent about relationships with him, with millions of dollars being spent. Now things might be getting even worse as a new detail has emerged. WWE has made a new 8K filing with the SEC, announcing that $14.6 million in payments from Vince McMahon were not recorded as company expenses. According to PWInsider.com, if this means that McMahon used company money to pay the women, which could lead to legal actions against him from shareholders in the company. In addition, WWE is planning to release revised financial statements from 2006- 2022, the years the payments were made, by August 9. Opinion: The more you look at something like this, the more clear it is that this was a lot more than McMahon retiring. It is hard to imagine that he would have been allo..

NEWS

BREAKING: Vince McMahon Officially Retires From WWE

July 22, 2022

It actually happened. There is no one in the history of wrestling as powerful as Vince McMahon. Whether you like him or not, McMahon has been the force in wrestling for well over twenty years now and anything he says or does can change the industry as a whole. No one has ever had his kind of power or influence, but now two people are going to have to try. On Friday afternoon, McMahon announced that he is officially retiring as Chairman and CEO of WWE. McMahon said that at 77 years old, it was time for him to go. He also announced that Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan will be co-CEO, with Stephanie serving as Chairwoman. Vince will still be the majority stockholder in WWE, though there is no word on what this means for his status as head of creative. This comes amid an investigation into Vince over hush money payments for a series of alleged affairs with various women in WWE. At 77, time for me to retire. Thank you, WWE Universe. Then. Now. Forever. Together. #WWE #thankful — Vince ..

NEWS

Backstage Update On What Vince McMahon Allegations Currently Mean For WWE

July 10, 2022

He’s still the boss. There have been a lot of changes backstage in WWE in recent months and a lot of them have been centered around Vince McMahon. The company’s owner is facing serious allegations of sexual misconduct amid an internal investigation into his affairs with various women. The latest batch came out this week, and now we know a bit more about their immediate impact. According to PWInsider.com, McMahon was present at this week’s SmackDown and in charge of the entire show. McMahon held full creative control of the show and the night was described as “The Vince McMahon Show”. McMahon was said to not bring any attention to the allegations against him. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon were not backstage for the show. Opinion: Is this really a surprise? Vince is going to be in charge of pretty much anything WWE related for as long as he is allowed to and that has been the case for as long as anyone can remember. While he is under investigation, he is still going to be the boss no ..

NEWS

Vince McMahon Has Already Lost Something Due To Recent Allegations Against Him

July 9, 2022

So much for that. There are a lot of powerful and influential people in the wrestling world and then there is Vince McMahon. No one in the history of wrestling has come close to his level of authority and it is likely no one will ever get close again. That is the kind of status that can change the industry and now something McMahon has been accused of doing is changing something in another company. According to Denise Salcedo of Instinct Culture, the McMahon Netflix documentary series has been pulled and will not be airing. The documentary was in post production with interviews filmed several months ago and millions of dollars spent. This comes after new allegations of hush payments made by McMahon to various female WWE employees over affairs with McMahon over the years. Sources tell me that the Vince McMahon Netflix documentary has been pulled & is off the programming spreadsheet at Netflix. A source at Netflix confirmed it no longer being listed on their spreadsheet, another source..

NEWS

WRESTLING RUMORS: WWE Trying To Mend Fences With Sasha Banks

June 30, 2022

Call it a hope spot. There are a lot of people in WWE and several of them have been around the company for a long time. At some point though, everyone is going to have to leave for one reason or another, with some of them not getting to leave on their own terms. Unfortunately some of these splits can be a bit nasty, but WWE seems to want to fix up a recent issue. Last month, Naomi and Sasha Banks walked out on WWE, taking the Women’s Tag Team Titles with them. As a result, the titles have been vacated and neither Banks nor Naomi have been seen since. However, according to Wrestlinginc.com’s Raj Giri, while Banks was released on June 10, it has not been announced by WWE. The release was handled by the Vice President of Business And Legal Affairs for Talent rather than then Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis. The company is also said to be trying to smooth things over, but it is not clear what this would mean for either Banks or Naomi. I deleted the original tweet since there wa..

NEWS

Details On Backstage WWE Meeting Over Vince McMahon Situation

June 25, 2022

You have to cover it. The biggest wrestling story of the year has been the investigation into Vince McMahon’s alleged affair and the resulting payment to cover it up. McMahon has stepped back from his role as WWE CEO and Chairman of the Board, with his daughter Stephanie taking his place. That puts Stephanie in charge and now she has had to cover a big part of her new job. According to PWInsider.com, WWE held an all hands on deck meeting earlier this week to address the Vince ordeal. Stephanie talked about the investigation, saying she loved Vince and would be doing everything she could for WWE going forward. This is one of several meetings that Stephanie has been a part of in Vince’s place since she took over his role with the company. Opinion: This is something that Stephanie was going to have to do but it still feels so strange. While I don’t entirely buy the idea that Vince is no longer in charge of everything behind the scenes, having Stephanie as the official voice backstage is..

NEWS

Negative Backstage Reaction To Major WWE Shakeup

June 25, 2022

Talent doesn’t relate well to him. WWE has been shaken up in a lot of ways in recent weeks and there is a chance that several of those changes are going to continue. This includes several backstage moves related to the Vince McMahon affair scandal. One of the moves involved a new boss in charge of a pretty important department and some wrestlers are not happy about the change. As a result of his involvement in the McMahon investigation, John Laurinaitis has been placed on administrative leave from his role as Head of Talent Relations and Bruce Prichard has taken the position According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the backstage reaction to the change has been mostly negative, as Prichard is seen as a quiet person who does not interact with the wrestlers. Laurinaitis was seen as more approachable and willing to talk. Opinion: The more I hear about all of these changes, the more worried I am about how the whole thing is going to do. At the end of the day, it seems there are peo..

NEWS

KB’s Review: Nothing Changes

June 24, 2022

I picked a heck of a week to do a column in advance last week because everything went haywire. Ignoring the whole Jeff Hardy fiasco (which seems like something that is far from over), there was the crazy shakeup at WWE. There were changed made in the last week or so that would have seemed unthinkable not so long ago but now have come to be a reality. That’s what we are going to be looking at this week (shocking I know), plus one bit of fallout that might make things all the worse, at least for fans. So as you probably know, WWE is officially investigating Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis for an affair with a WWE employee. McMahon reportedly paid to keep her quiet, as well as raised her salary when the affair began before passing her to Laurinaitis “like a toy”. I’ll let your skin crawl for a bit after that thought before moving on to what this has already meant. The initial fallout from these shenanigans has already started, with McMahon taking a step back from his roles as CEO and..

NEWS

Backstage Reaction To John Laurinaitis’ Removal As Head Of WWE Talent Relations

June 21, 2022

He might not be back. WWE has a lot of people who come together to make the promotion work. This includes the wrestlers in front of the camera, but also several people who stay backstage. There are a lot of names that fans might recognize for their previous or current efforts, but now one of those names very well might not be around any longer after a scandal has taken place. Earlier this week, John Laurinaitis was placed on administrative leave from his role as heat of talent relations in WWE due to his investigation in a scandal involving an affair with a WWE employee. Bruce Prichard has taken Laurinaitis’ place while still being part of WWE creative. According to Fightful Select, several backstage in WWE believe that Laurinaitis is “as good as gone”, with many of them being happy that Laurinaitis is gone. There is however a worry about Prichard holding both roles, as it could become an issue in regards to working with the two departments. Opinion: This whole ordeal has turned into..

NEWS

Uh Oh: WWE May Be Facing Another Lawsuit Soon

June 21, 2022

That’s an important part. WWE has long since taken over the wrestling industry and no other promotion really comes close to what they are doing. That puts them in a unique place, which is helped by the fact that they have more money than any other promotion. Part of that comes from being a publicly traded company, but now the negative side of that could be coming through. According to Businesswire.com, the Schall Law Firm is asking for WWE investors to contact their office over possible violations of security laws. This comes after WWE announced that they are investigating Vince McMahon allegedly paying a WWE employee $3 million to hide an affair between the two. Schall is looking into whether or not WWE violated security laws by possibly issuing false or misleading statements or failed to disclose pertinent information. WWE has not commented on the announcement. Opinion: I have no idea where this is going, but there is a very good chance that this winds up being something else WWE h..

NEWS

RUMOR KILLER On Triple H And Stephanie McMahon’s Issues

June 20, 2022

Not so fast? To say that WWE is in a state of flux backstage would be a huge understatement. There have been all kinds of changes with a lot of people, including those who help run the company. As usual, a lot of those changes involve the McMahons, including Stephanie McMahon and her husband Triple H. It turns out that those things might not be as bad as they seem. In recent days, rumors have started to appear online suggesting that McMahon and Triple H are separating. This was due to McMahon appearing without her wedding ring and stepping away from her role in WWE. According to Wade Keller on PWTorch VIP Audio, there is no truth to the rumors and the two are not separated. The two have been reducing their hours in WWE due to a combination of the age of their daughters, Triple H’s health and wanting to be at work less often. Earlier this week, McMahon took over as temporary CEO and Chairman of WWE while her father Vince is under investigation for an alleged affair with an employee. O..

NEWS

Several More Details On Vince McMahon’s WWE SmackDown Appearance

June 19, 2022

It was a big week. There have been a lot of changes in WWE in recent weeks but nothing has come close to the Vince McMahon situation. Earlier this week, news broke of an investigation into an alleged affair McMahon had with a WWE employee. McMahon has since stepped back from his role as WWE CEO and Chairman of the Board, but he was still on SmackDown this week. It was a bit of a surprising night. Fightful Select has several more details on the show, which started with a short McMahon speech about the WWE “Then, Now, Forever, Together” slogan. The segment was not included in the format of the show that Fightful saw at 7:50pm, ten minutes before the show aired. The backstage atmosphere during the show was said to be looser than usual, with McMahon said to be more hands on than usual. Opinion: This is a situation where the details make things all the more interesting and that is the case again here. McMahon does not seem to be acting like this is that big of a deal and I’m not sure how ..

NEWS

Update On John Laurinaitis’ Status During WWE Scandal

June 19, 2022

What about him? The biggest wrestling story of the year, and also perhaps the biggest in several years, has been that of Vince McMahon stepping back from his role as WWE CEO and Chairman of the Board. This comes after McMahon was investigated for an alleged affair with a WWE employee, but McMahon was not the only name mentioned. So what about the other person? The story on the investigation into McMahon included a statement saying that he passed the employee over to John Laurinaitis “like a toy”. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, Laurinaitis was not present at this week’s SmackDown, but he was never scheduled to be in the first place. Should he not appear as scheduled next week on Monday Night Raw, it would be seen as a very bad sign for his future. Opinion: Laurinaitis has been a bit of a wild card in this whole thing as McMahon has gotten the attention, as he should have. However, Laurinaitis is likely going to be in some very hot water of his own and I’m really not sure if he..

NEWS

WATCH: Vince McMahon’s Odd Appearance On SmackDown

June 18, 2022

He didn’t have much to say. The biggest wrestling story of the week has been the issue of an investigation into an alleged affair with McMahon paying $3 million to buy the woman’s silence. As a result, McMahon has stepped back from his role as WWE CEO and Chairman of the Board, but that is just on the business side of things. There was also a storyline issue to deal with, and WWE did that…kind of. McMahon opened this week’s edition of SmackDown in an appearance that had announced before the show went on the air. During his appearance, McMahon talked about how great it was to be in Minneapolis for the show before talking about how the WWE motto is “Then, Now, Forever, Together.” McMahon then welcomed us to SmackDown without saying anything else. He did not appear again for the rest of the night. The Boss speaks. Check out what McMahon had to say: [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: Well ok then. McMahon had almost nothing to say here, and that makes me wonder how lon..

NEWS

SmackDown Results – June 17, 2022

June 18, 2022

Smackdown Date: June 17, 2022 Location: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee Say it with me: and then everything changed. Vince McMahon has stepped back as WWE CEO and Chairman of the Board due to his affair but he is still going to show up this week for…something. I have no idea what that means but we also have Riddle challenging Roman Reigns for the Universal Title. Let’s get to it. Here is Vince McMahon to open things up. He is glad to be here in Minnesota and talks about the Then, Now, Forever and Together WWE signature. Welcome to Smackdown. Then he leaves. Opening sequence. Here is Riddle to talk about his history with Roman Reigns. We get a highlight package on RKBro vs. the Bloodline and Riddle talks about how much he misses Randy Orton. Riddle dedicates the match to Orton and wants him back, even playing Voices. Happy Corbin vs. Madcap Moss This is the Last Laugh match, which doesn’t seem to be a stipulation. Corbin knocks him into ..

NEWS

BREAKING: Vince McMahon Steps Back As WWE CEO And Chairman, Stephanie McMahon Replacing Him

June 17, 2022

There’s the fallout. There is no one as powerful in the wrestling world as Vince McMahon. He has run the largest wrestling promotion in the world for about forty years now and no one is close to his level of influence. However, there are some things that can slow McMahon down and now we are one of the biggest imaginable, as McMahon has lost quite a bit of power. Earlier this week, WWE announced that McMahon was under an internal investigation for an alleged affair with a WWE employee. The affair saw McMahon pay the woman $3 million to keep the story quiet, along with possibly doubling her salary once the affair began. On Friday, WWE announced that McMahon will be stepping away from his duties as CEO and Chairman of the Board, with his daughter Stephanie taking over until the end of the investigation. Vince will still maintain his creative duties with WWE. Opinion: That’s about as big of a bombshell as you could get, as the idea of Vince not being in charge is one of the most hard to ..

NEWS

Vince McMahon Scandal Already Impacting Outside Projects

June 17, 2022

The extra fallout. One of the biggest wrestling stories of the week has been allegations against Vince McMahon of an extramarital affair with a WWE employee. The WWE Board Of Directors is investigating the matter but it is not clear what will happen to McMahon in the long run. However, there might be some issues with some upcoming McMahon side projects due next year. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, a pair of McMahon related projects may be undergoing major changes due to the scandal. One would be the McMahon biography due out next spring, as the book is mostly done but will now need to have a new section written. The other issue is the upcoming Netflix biography series, which Nextflix may now not want to air due to the allegations against McMahon. Neither the book’s author or Netflix has commented on their product’s future. Opinion: The McMahon scandal is only just starting and it could be a long time before we know where everything is going to fall. It certainly shows just ho..

NEWS

Vince McMahon Accused Of Affair With And Payment To WWE Employee, Investigation Underway

June 16, 2022

This could be big. There is no one in the wrestling world more powerful than Vince McMahon. The owner and Chairman of the Board of WWE, McMahon is able to change the wrestling industry in the blink of an eye. A decision made by McMahon can shake things up in a huge way, but now a decision being made about McMahon might be making quite the wave of its own. According to the Wall Street Journal, the WWE Board Of Directors is investigating an alleged $3 million payment from McMahon to a WWE employee due to a sexual relationship between the two. The investigation also includes a variety of other possible claims of misconduct against McMahon and John Laurinaitis. McMahon is said to have used his own personal money to make the payments. The woman was hired as a paralegal in WWE at a salary of $100,000 a year, which was reportedly doubled when her relationship with McMahon began. McMahon then was said to have given her to Laurinaitis “like a toy”. There is no word on what could happen to McM..

NEWS

AEW’s Miro Says WWE Promised Him A WrestleMania Main Event

February 17, 2022

What could have been. One of the biggest wrestling stories in recent years has been the massive amount of WWE releases. It is almost hard to fathom that many people being let go over the years but that is what we have been seeing over and over. Some of those prominently released WWE names have popped up elsewhere, but now one of them has revealed something that happened to him when he was still in WWE. Back in April 2020, WWE released Rusev, who has since moved over to AEW, where he wrestles under the name of Miro. One of his last stories in WWE was a feud with Bobby Lashley, who had a storyline affair with Miro’s wife Lana. Miro appeared as a guest on the Kurt Angle Show and revealed that he had been promised a WrestleMania main event for working through the story. He also said that he did not believe that the story was real, saying that he felt it was a rib. The WrestleMania main events in 2020 were AJ Styles vs. Undertaker in a Boneyard match and Drew McIntyre defeating Brock Lesna..