It’s over.
After over 50 years as the boss/owner/main creative force of World Wrestling Entertainment Vince McMahon is retiring.
When the original allegations news broke we had a detailed report (read below) explaining how this would be the end of Vince McMahon in WWE. Vince was playing puppet master with Stephanie McMahon being a interim CEO as they were hoping all of this would blow over, be forgotten and eventually Vince was hoping to return to WWE in his original position.
There was no coming back from these allegations and the board had no other choice then to have Vince McMahon retire, there is word coming from Slice Wrestling WWE sources that there will be more allegations coming out shortly that could be even more damaging to WWE as a whole.
The question now becomes “What now?”, “Will there still be a WWE?”, “Who will run WWE?”, “Will WWE be sold?”. We will get into these questions and break down each of these concerns as now a new era in WWE is here. We will take a deep look into what this means for the WWE company itself, the employees, the superstars and most importantly you the fans.
Why did Vince McMahon retire?:
After the WSJ article surfaced WWE went into panic mode. Vince McMahon tried to put up a solid front appearing on Monday Night RAW and SmackDown greeting the WWE Universe with his signature phrase “Then, Now, Forever, Together” and also appearing at a UFC event in Las Vegas with his daughter Stephanie and son in law Triple H. But behind the scenes at WWE Headquarters in Connecticut the board and shareholders were trying to determine how to move forward. First Vince McMahon “temporarily” stepped down as CEO while maintaining full creative control and Stephanie became interim CEO. WWE was doing this optics maneuver in the hopes that the public would see these changes and thus help their public image. WWE did some research to see how much dirt was actually going to come out or if the WSJ article was it. What they found out was that was that this was just the tip of the ice berg and more damaging reports will soon follow which will have a negative impact on WWE the image of WWE and also the stock price of WWE. It was all of this that prompted the WWE board and shareholders to force Vince McMahon to retire. We have been sent inquires asking if this is really it for Vince McMahon or if he will return ? and the answer is he will not be returning to WWE he is gone for good.
Who will take over?:
In the immediate it will be Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan as CO-CEO’s and Triple H was put in his previous role as EVP and head of talent relations. As far as who will be in charge of the creative decisions sources tell SW that Triple H and Bruce Prichard will be making the final calls on the WWE booking of matches and storylines. Shawn Michaels will continue to run NXT and Triple H will become more hands on with NXT and the main roster shows. Vince McMahon will no longer be part of any WWE creative decisions. It should be noted that this is all fluid as WWE gets ready to be sold (read next section).
WWE being sold:
it has been no secret that WWE is being set up to be sold. Nick Khan was brought in for the sole purpose to sale WWE and now him being CO-CEO expect the sale to be fast tracked forward. As this being a business and publicly traded companies such as WWE dependent on their image and publicity it is imperative for WWE to get a sale finalized before even more bad publicity and allegations surface. WWE has lost over $500,000.00 dollars in value since the WSJ reports were published and with even more set to come out WWE is now more than ever preparing to be sold. A few months ago Disney was the top contender to buy WWE but all this may change moving forward. There is also the possibility that depending on the company that buys WWE they may only be interested in the WWE video library thus eliminating any WWE live shows or events. There is also a possibility that WWE may become a pre taped product filmed in a smaller studio set similar to NXT and IMPACT. Early indicators are that NBC Universal, FOX, NETFLIX along with Disney are all still in the discussion to possibly buy WWE.
How this affects WWE SuperStars:
Many WWE SuperStars and their characters will mainly remain the same but what will change is some of their positions and pushes within the company. You see Vince McMahon always had his favorites, wether it was Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, John Cena or Roman Reigns. Vince McMahon always pushed who he thought could be the face of WWE. With Nick Khan, Stephanie, Triple H, Bruce Prichard and possibly Paul Heyman at the helm we may start to see superstars rise to the top, get pushed and win WWE championships who previously might of never succeeded. These changes will open up new opportunities for WWE SuperStars while at the same time may change things for some in a negative way. We have already seen Brock Lesnar walk out and return of this weeks SmackDown due to Vince McMahon leaving and many old school wrestlers and WWE legends may no longer appear due to Vince McMahon no longer being there. Roman Reigns who is slowly transitioning into a full time HollyWood actor may leave WWE even sooner and we previously reported that the planned Rock vs Roman match at WrestleMania 39 may no longer take place due to The Rock possibly skipping the show due to the bad WWE publicity. All of this will have huge rippling effects on the WWE Universe and new opportunities will open or close for certain WWE SuperStars depending on where they are standing.
What’s all this means to you, the fans:
Vince McMahon officially retiring has and will change WWE forever and the WWE you know is no more. The product will change, the style will change and when WWE is sold and if the buyer has interest in running the company as a live touring televised show than changes to the product will for sure be made.
To us WWE has not been the same since WrestleMania 29-32 I believe it was there that WWE shifted into much more different product. We will always have the video library to cherish but the truth is if you are a true wrestling fan AEW, NJPW along with PROGRESS and IMPACT are all companies that will make sure wrestling lives on in the event that WWE completely goes and/or changes. The survival of professional wrestling is imperative at this point and we must support that idea wether it’s by watching/attending different company shows or simply by being open to giving other companies a chance. Stay tuned to Slice Wrestling for the latest updates and long live wrestling.
