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WWE's Vince McMahon has consistently made the news over the past several weeks. The cycle kicked off when affair and hush money allegations began making the rounds.
McMahon is arguably the most influential name in professional wrestling history, so he isn't new to the headlines. Still, there seems to be more bad news and engagement regarding the billionaire than ever before.
This Sportskeeda Rumor Roundup will cover several key stories related to McMahon over the past week. These headlines include more hush money allegations, a potentially major change from Netflix, an AEW star speaking out about Vince McMahon, and more.
Below are some of the many news stories on Vince McMahon over the past week.
#5. Vince McMahon reportedly paid $12 million in hush money
The allegations against Vince McMahon have multiplied in the last few days. Initially, McMahon was under investigation over an alleged affair he had with an employee. He reportedly paid $3 million to keep the affair under wrap.
It has since been reported by the Wall Street Journal that Vince has other deals in place with former employees and even a former wrestler. In total, McMahon has allegedly paid $12 million in hush money to four different women.
The alleged incidents include Vince McMahon initiating sexual interactions with one woman, engaging in oral sex with another, and one incident featured McMahon sending explicit, unsolicited images to a contractor.
As a reminder, WWE and Vince McMahon are being investigated for these alleged incidents and nothing has been officially confirmed as of yet.
#4. McMahon is reportedly defiant over recent allegations
With such serious allegations being levied against Vincent K. McMahon, many wonder how he's reacting to the situation. According to Fightful Select, McMahon is taking these accusations head on.
According to the report, Vince has been described to be "no-selling the whole thing" and "being defiant". Following the initial news of the allegations, McMahon appeared on both SmackDown and RAW. He certainly isn't shying away from the public.
His most notable appearance may have been on the June 17th edition of Friday Night SmackDown. This appearance was his first following the public learning of his alleged affair. Reports claim that McMahon shouted "F*** 'em!" after returning backstage. His exclamation was supposedly in reference to the allegations against him.
#3. Netflix allegedly pulled their upcoming documentary on McMahon
The bad news keeps coming for the long-time promoter. According to Denise Salcedo, Netflix has pulled their Vince McMahon docuseries, which has been in production for quite some time. Below is what Denise said on the matter:
"Sources tell me that the Vince McMahon Netflix documentary has been pulled & is off the programming spreadsheet at Netflix. A source at Netflix confirmed it no longer being listed on their spreadsheet, another source at Netflix said 'that s***’s out of here.'"
While the docuseries is no longer on the spreadsheet, that doesn't mean it won't ever air. However, it does appear to be off the table for the time being. Denise followed up her comment with another:
"Another source indicated that the project was already “deep” in post-production & that several talent interviews had been done months ago & that millions were spent. I spoke to one of the producers on the project, however they declined to confirm nor deny this story to me."
Netflix hasn't confirmed this rumor at this time. Still, after reportedly spending millions of dollars on the docuseries, the project being pulled will likely frustrate all involved.
McMahon's life story is more intriguing than most. Regardless of how this investigation goes, there will likely be many more authorized and unauthorized documentaries on the promoter in the future.
#2. WWE sent out a memo regarding the latest allegations
After reports of more allegations facing Vince McMahon hit, WWE put out an internal memo to employees to make it clear they were cooperating with the ongoing investigation. Below is the internal memo from WWE courtesy of PWInsider:
"The Wall Street Journal published a second story with expanded details on its initial WWE report last month. We want to reiterate that we and our Board of Directors take these allegations seriously...We’ve been cooperating fully with the investigation led by our Board of Directors and will continue to do so until its conclusion. Please note that upon its conclusion, WWE leadership will make itself available to answer any questions you may have...Thank you." - WWE (H/T PWInsider)
The internal memo stated that WWE is cooperating with the investigation and that the company takes the allegations seriously. It also notes that any questions employees and contractors have will be answered following the conclusion of the investigation.
As a publicly traded company, it is important for WWE to keep an open line of communication with talent, staff, and stock holders.
#1. Chris Jericho comments on the McMahon scandal
Chris Jericho is currently contracted to AEW. Despite working for the competition, Jericho spent a long portion of his career performing in WWE. In World Wrestling Entertainment, he became a top star and a multi-time world champion.
The AEW wrestler and Fozzy frontman recently spoke to the True Geordie Podcast. During his interview, Jericho discussed the allegations against his former boss:
"When you look at it, it's really not illegal," Chris Jericho said. "He had an affair, paid the lady off to not say anything, and moved on. It's almost like, 'Okay, and?' People want to jump on it but there is still always an undertone of 'it's wrestling. Oh, it's just wrestling.' (...) It was a mutual acknowledgment of the affair, he paid the lady to say nothing, and she took the money. I really know Vince well and it sucks that happened, it sucks that he did it, but is anything really going to happen from it? I don't think so."
Chris Jericho made it clear that he doesn't approve of what Vince McMahon did, but he also doesn't believe it will change anything going forward. With that being said, the interview was seemingly recorded prior to the other three allegations against Vince McMahon being revealed.
With news seemingly breaking on a daily basis, there's a high likelihood that the McMahon story will continue to evolve.
