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Dutch Mantell believes Nick Khan might have played a significant role in Vince McMahon's retirement decision.
The 77-year-old stepped away from all of his WWE roles on July 22 after multiple sexual misconduct allegations against him emerged in recent weeks.
McMahon's retirement was a prominent topic during this week's Smack Talk, and Dutch Mantell questioned whether the leaks regarding the former's non-disclosure agreements emanated from WWE's office.
Mantell also speculated that Nick Khan might have been brought into the company to get Vince McMahon out specifically:
"Well, I think that Nick Khan was inserted into the company, and I said this a long time ago. I think he was inserted there to get Vince out," said Dutch Mantell. "Now, somehow, all these NDAs leaked from Titan Towers to the Wall Street Journal. Now, how did they get leaked? They had to leak from the inside, and I'm not accusing anybody; I want to make that clear. But how did they leak it out from Stamford?" [10:10 - 10:52]
Most fans and pundits feel the former chairman's untimely WWE departure stems from the ongoing investigation overseen by the company's board of directors.
Mantell noted that McMahon might have been under tremendous backstage pressure due to the severe accusations, leading the latter to take the unforeseen decision to give up his power in WWE.
"They leaked out, and all of a sudden, the Wall Street Journal got invested in this story; more leaked out and more leaked out till the pressure became too great for Vince to withstand, so he resigned. Like you said, the investigation is not complete at all," noted the former WWE manager. [10:53 - 11:18]
Dutch Mantell comments on the timing of Vince McMahon's announcement
Vince McMahon allegedly paid "hush money" to several women throughout his lengthy career as a WWE executive. The explosive Wall Street Journal reports disclosed details of many NDAs that were seemingly signed to keep his affairs a secret.
Dutch Mantell stated that McMahon might have more deals in place that aren't known to the public just yet.
The legendary manager explained that Vince probably announced his retirement to prevent WWE from dealing with an embarrassing situation in the near future. Mantell also felt that more allegations against the former WWE CEO could be on the way:
"So, my question is, how did they leak? It had to leak from the inside, so draw your own conclusion," continued the wrestling veteran. "How did they leak out? I'm saying Nick Khan may have had something to do with it. I don't know. Nobody knows. But I think Vince does know how many NDAs are in that file, and it may be a lot more than what's been released. So, if they release that, it's either now he resigns or later, but later might be more of an embarrassment for the company." [11:19 - 12:00]
What are your thoughts on Dutch Mantell's conspiracy theory regarding Vince McMahon's retirement? Sound off in the comments section below.
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