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UPDATED: More On Vince McMahon’s WWE Retirement, When Decision Was Made, Internal Memo To Roster

July 22, 2022 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
Vince McMahon WWE Smackdown Image Credit: WWE

UPDATE 2: WWE reportedly sent an internal memo to the talent roster following Vince McMahon’s retirement from the company. Wrestling Inc reports that the following memo was sent to the wrestling talent, which has been verified by one of the roster members:

“To all WWE Superstars: as I approach 77 years old (OMG am I really that old?), I feel it’s time for me to retire. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my passion, wisdom, and love of the business with you. No longer will you see the smiling, docile, level-headed, calm presence at Gorilla every week.

Your dedication to WWE will ensure that our company will continue to grow and prosper. Our organization is nothing without you. You are WWE’s only natural resource, chosen to perform in front of a global audience.

You are all WWE Global Ambassadors. Carry the WWE flag wherever you go. Wave it high and proud. And bust your ass to be all you can be as a pers0n and as a performer.

One other thing — I won’t be with you, but I’ll be watching. Remember to keep your hands up, grab hold, and sell. Btw, SmackDown airs live tonight at 8pm Eastern/7pm Central on FOX.

Vince”

UPDATE: More details have been reported regarding the WWE-shaking announcement on Friday that Vince McMahon has retired from the company. PWInsider reports that the decision was made privately about a week ago, with one source saying the final decision was made “around ten days ago.” Once it was clear Vince was exiting, the decision was made to appoint Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan as co-CEOs.

The report notes that McMahon will not be officially involved in creative moving forward and that Kevin Dunn and Bruce Prichard are running point on tonight’s Smackdown, though Stephanie and Triple H are both backstage as well and will be deferred to.

The site reports that the decision was known only to a very small circle and the announcement is sending “shockwaves” through WWE HQ and outside of it, with many long-time employees stunned as they never truly believed they’d work for WWE without Vince in charge.

The site also notes that the decision to release the news on Friday was, has you might expect, in order to dull any negative fallout in terms of stockholder response of media coverage.

ORIGINAL: In a major moment in wrestling history on Friday, Vince McMahon announced that he is retiring from WWE. The man whose name is synonymous with WWE (and perhaps wrestling itself) made the announcement in a statement released by WWE on Friday. PWInsider reports that Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan are now officially co-CEOs of World Wrestling Entertainment, effective immediately.

The statement from McMahon reads:

“As I approach 77 years old, I feel it’s time for me to retire as Chairman and CEO of WWE. Throughout the years, it’s been a privilege to help WWE bring you joy, inspire you, thrill you, surprise you, and always entertain you. I would like to thank my family for mightily contributing to our success, and I would also like to thank all of our past and present Superstars and employees for their dedication and passion for our brand. Most importantly, I would like to thank our fans for allowing us into your homes every week and being your choice of entertainment. I hold the deepest appreciation and admiration for our generations of fans all over the world who have liked, currently like, and sometimes even love our form of Sports Entertainment.

“Our global audience can take comfort in knowing WWE will continue to entertain you with the same fervor, dedication, and passion as always. I am extremely confident in the continued success of WWE, and I leave our company in the capable hands of an extraordinary group of Superstars, employees, and executives – in particular, both Chairwoman and Co-CEO Stephanie McMahon and Co-CEO Nick Khan. As the majority shareholder, I will continue to support WWE in any way I can. My personal thanks to our community and business partners, shareholders, and Board of Directors for their guidance and support through the years. Then. Now. Forever. Together.”

McMahon’s retirement comes after he stepped back from his roles as chairman and CEO in the midst of an investigation by the WWE Board of Directors over a “hush money” payment that he made to a woman he was allegedly having an affair with. It was reported in early July that additional alleged hush payments had been made totalling $16 million to four women over 12 years.

McMahon has been the guiding force behind WWE for forty years and built it into the biggest wrestling company in the world, heading both through heights like the “Hulkamania” era of the late 1980s and the “Attitude Era” of the late 1990s as well as several tumultuous times such as the “Monday Night War” with WCW and his own steroid trial. He took the company public in 1999.

article topics :

Vince McMahon, WWE, Jeremy Thomas