Vince McMahon, the longtime chairman and chief executive of World Wrestling Entertainment, announced Friday that he had retired a month after leaving both positions while the company’s board of directors investigated allegations of misconduct against him.
Mr. McMahon’s daughter, Stephanie McMahon, who was named interim chairman and chief executive last month, will continue to serve as chairman and co-chief executive with Nick Khan, who most recently served as WWE’s president and chief revenue officer. Company. in a statement.
Mr. McMahon is leaving after The Wall Street Journal reported in June that the WWE board had been seeking a $3 million settlement since April that he would pay to an employee with whom he was allegedly having an affair.
The Journal also reported that the board’s investigation had uncovered older nondisclosure agreements with claims of misconduct against Mr. McMahon and another executive. An attorney for Mr McMahon told The Journal that the former employee had not made any allegations of harassment against him, saying that “WWE did not pay any money” to the former employee “on her departure.”
In a Twitter post on Friday, Mr. McMahon wrote“At age 77, time for me to retire.”
“As a majority shareholder, I will continue to support WWE in any way I can,” he said in a statement posted on WWE’s website.
A WWE representative, who asked why Mr. McMahon was retiring, provided a link to Mr. McMahon’s statement, in which he mentioned his age.
Mr. McMahon took over the company, then called Capitol Wrestling Corporation, from his father, Vince Sr., in 1982 and expanded it into a television and live events company while starring in entertainment. In 2008, The New York Times said many knew him as “a broad-shouldered, abusive storyteller in the ring.” Mr. McMahon received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame that same year.
The company, based in Stamford, Conn., reported revenue of more than $1 billion for 2021. WWE says it hosts about 500 live events a year, and its programs are broadcast in 30 languages and distributed via: more NBCUniversal and Fox Sports.
