It’s been almost two weeks since Vince McMahon officially resigned from his role as Executive Chairman of TKO Group Holdings. The move came as a direct result of a lawsuit filed against McMahon from former WWE employee Janel Grant in which it’s alleged McMahon sexually abused, exploited, and trafficked Grant to other employees within WWE, amongst several other horrific allegations. WWE President Nick Khan announced the news internally via an email to employees, adding that McMahon would “no longer be involved in WWE whatsoever.”
However, according to new details that emerged earlier today, that may not be entirely true. The Hollywood Reporter reports that while any official comeback to TKO and WWE is unlikely as he is no longer the controlling shareholder of WWE following the Endeavor acquisition, the outlet suggests that McMahon may still be able to “carry influence” within the company. He’d be able to do this through the sizeable amount of TKO stock he still holds, which accounts for around 10% of all outstanding shares.
The report goes on to refer to a report from Robert Fishman of Wall Street research firm MoffettNathanson, who noted back on January 29th that should McMahon have to sell more stock to cover his legal costs, the price of TKO stock could be negatively impacted as a direct result. As such, McMahon still has influence on the company in this regard and potentially others as well.
The possibility wouldn’t be the first time McMahon has wielded influence behind the scenes despite officially stepping away from the company. The report also notes that during his brief retirement during the latter half of 2022, McMahon still weighed in on creative decisions within the company and even communicated suggestions to employees through email and text.
Despite his resignation, McMahon has continued to deny any wrongdoing across multiple statements since the lawsuit emerged. However, former WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinatis, who is also named as a defendant in the suit, appeared to verify the allegations when he broke his silence on the matter through his attorney last week.