WWE Chairman Vince McMahon could be in hot water after details of an affair with a former WWE paralegal, which led to a $3 million pay out, were leaked by a former employee.
Vince McMahon could risk being fired from his position as Chairman of WWE now that WWE board are investigating his part in a huge settlement with a former employee which he was reportedly in a sexual relationship with.
According to the Wall Street Journal‘s Joe Palazzolo and Ted Mann, McMahon had an affair with a former paralegal in WWE who received a pay bump from $100k to $200k after entering into an entanglement with the former WWE Champion. The investigation is also looking into John Laurinaitis, who McMahon was said to “gave her like a toy” to Laurinaitis.
“The board’s investigation, which began in April, has unearthed other, older nondisclosure agreements involving claims by former female WWE employees of misconduct by Mr. McMahon and one of his top executives, John Laurinaitis, the head of talent relations at WWE, the people said. The Journal couldn’t determine how many previous agreements were being scrutinized.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, Vince McMahon “gave her like a toy” to John Laurinaitis, the current WWE head of talent relations. Laurinaitis has previously been the subject of rumours featuing affairs with WWE talent, with reports of him sharing a hot tub with his now-daughters in law Brie and Nikki Bella.
The emails regarding the information were leaked by a friend of the alleged victim, who said that said the woman was first hired and given a $100,000 salary before doubling it to $200,000 after the sexual relationship between herself and McMahon began.
Vince McMahon fired
With his children Shane and Stephanie now gone from the company, Vince remains the last McMahon with any power in the company. If WWE see any misconduct about how he conducted himself, we could see Vince McMahon fired from WWE in what would be one of the biggest moments in wrestling history.
With McMahon having previously been accused of sexual misconduct and even rape, the board cut could their ties with the long-time owner of the company despite record profits over the last few years. If Vince McMahon is fired, it is likely that WWE President Nick Khan will take over with the running of the company with someone like Triple H taking over the creative side of the company.
Firing Vince McMahon from the company he built from a regional promotion to a global giant would be huge. It could kill the company by letting him go without a plan to go forward with how much he micromanages his company.
It will be impossible to find someone with the same work ethic as McMahon, and there would certainly not be a like-for-like replacement anywhere in wrestling. It is more likely that WWE employ a team to run the company, or even sell it entirely with the likes of Disney interested in buying the company in a multi-billion dollar deal.
WWE have yet to release a statement on the matter regarding firing Vince McMahon.
Previous crimes
Vince McMahon has been in hot water many times before, so this will not be anything he hasn’t faced before.
He almost faced years in prison during the infamous Steroid Trial in 1993 which almost brought McMahon and WWE to it’s knees. Contingency plans were made in case he was sent down, but McMahon managed to win the case and avoid jail time for something he was absolutely guilty of.
Other instances include him being accused of sexual assault by former employees, in situations eerily similar to the one he is currently in. Based on his track record he will not be sent down, especially as a billionaire 76 year old who is best friends with former President of the United States Donald Trump.
He has also faced a host of controversies, like the Chris Benoit murders and the Saudi Arabia hostage situation, and got out of every one unscathed. There is no telling what will happen and if Vince McMahon will be fired by WWE, but one thing is for sure – he will go out swinging.