Backstage update on Vince McMahon’s part in Stephanie McMahon’s WWE hiatus

The news surrounding Stephanie McMahon's leave of absence from WWE appears to be getting stranger by the day.

On May 19, Stephanie took to social media to announce that she was taking a leave of absence from the majority of her responsibilities at WWE. It was an announcement that shocked many fans and people within the industry alike.

Initial reports indicated that it was her decision to step away from WWE for the time being. But according to Business Insider's Claire Atkinson, Stephanie's leave of absence from WWE was executed by none other than her father, Vince McMahon.

”It was executed by her father, Vince McMahon, the organization’s 76-year-old CEO,” Claire Atkinson wrote.

While this remains Business Insider's report, Dave Meltzer has since come out and claimed that it was solely Stephanie's decision to take a leave of absence.

People within WWE were reportedly burying Stephanie McMahon on her way out of the company

While the Business Insider story is getting a lot of attention today, Dave Meltzer took to the Wrestling Observer message board to dispute her claims and stated that Stephanie McMahon leaving was 100% her choice.

However, he has also heard that several key people within WWE were trying to bury her on her way out:

"Her leaving was 100% her choice," Dave Meltzer wrote. "She had been talking about to close friends from when Paul had his heart issues. That said, key people in the company once she was gone did want to bury her on the way out. That shocked a lot of people including me and those close to her. When I noted to someone very high in the food chain about the burial starting, they told me that if they did that publicly it would be career suicide, only to find out they had already started and the burial was going to come from the top. There is a much bigger story here."

It is very interesting to see all of these conflicting stories when it comes to the absence of Stephanie McMahon in WWE right now. If and when she'll be back is anybody's guess, but hopefully we'll get more answers to these questions sooner rather than later.