Could Vince McMahon return to WWE?

It was announced Tuesday that the WWE Board of Directors has officially closed its investigation into Vince McMahon for alleged misconduct. This has led to questions about what happens next.

According to a report from Fightful, Vince McMahon will not be returning to the company in any of his previous roles.

In their latest SEC filing, WWE stated as much “Mr. McMahon can effectively control our affairs.” Multiple WWE sources have said that won’t happen, with a WWE spokesperson saying McMahon is “done, done” and will not be returning.

Another senior member of WWE management said that behind-the-scenes morale at the company is at its highest in over a decade. Another longtime collaborator noted that while there were initial concerns that Vince would not be able to stay away, that is no longer the case and no one is expecting him back.

Finally, just about everyone you ask is aware that WWE would take a big step backwards if the former chairman returns, and Wednesday’s financial results have left people feeling more confident about the future of the company without Vince at the helm.

ORIGINAL: The special investigation into Vince McMahon is complete.

Ahead of today’s release of third-quarter results, WWE filed an update with the SEC noting that the investigation is now complete.

On the call itself, Frank Riddick said the company is working with a committee to implement its recommendations to prevent a situation like this from happening again. In addition, it was determined that there were $18 million in costs associated with the investigation. Vince McMahon has agreed to pay “reasonable costs” for the investigation that are not covered by insurance.

You can check out the official announcement below:

The recent investigation by the Company’s Special Committee could have a material adverse impact on our financial performance.

On June 17, 2022, the Company and its Board of Directors announced that a Special Committee composed of independent members of our Board of Directors (the “Select Committee”) had been formed to investigate alleged wrongdoing by the Company’s former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Vincent examine K. McMahon. Mr. McMahon resigned from all positions at the Company on July 22, 2022 but remains a controlling shareholder. On July 25, 2022, based on the findings of the Special Committee’s investigation, the Company announced that it had determined that certain payments approved by Mr. McMahon during the period from 2006 to 2022 (including future paid and payable amounts totaling $14.6 million) was improperly expensed in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. The Company subsequently identified two additional payments totaling $5.0 million unrelated to Mr. McMahon’s alleged misconduct that led to the Special Committee investigation Mr. McMahon made in 2007 and 2009 and the not properly recognized as an expense in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. Collectively, these unrecognized expenses total $19.6 million (the “Unrecognized Expenses”). All payments underlying the unrecognized expenses were or will be personally paid by Mr. McMahon. The Company determined that although the amount of unrecognized expense was not material in any single period in which the unrecognized expense was incurred, the total amount of unrecognized expense would be material if fully recognized in the second quarter of 2022 . Accordingly, the Company has revised its previously published financial statements to recognize unrecognized expenses in the applicable periods for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2020 and 2021 and the first quarters of 2021 and 2022. Given the unrecognized expenses and related facts, the Company has concluded that its internal control over financial reporting was not effective due to one or more material weaknesses. Although the Special Committee’s investigation is now complete, the Company has also received, and may in the future receive, governmental, investigative and enforcement requests, subpoenas or demands arising out of, relating to or related to these matters. The professional costs resulting from the Special Committee’s investigation have been significant and are expected to continue to be significant as we continue to incur legal costs associated with these regulatory, investigative and enforcement investigations, subpoenas and claims. While we believe no significant business has been lost to date, it is possible that our business partners’ perceptions may change as a result of the investigation. In addition, as a result of the investigation, certain operational changes, including but not limited to personnel changes, have occurred and may occur in the future. Any or all of these impacts, based on the findings of the investigation and related matters and the surrounding circumstances, could aggravate the other risks described herein and have a material, direct or indirect adverse effect on our business and/or financial performance.

The resignation of Vincent K. McMahon could adversely affect our ability to create popular characters and creative storylines, or otherwise affect our results of operations.

Until his retirement from all positions at the Company on July 22, 2022, in addition to serving as Chairman of our Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. McMahon led the creative team that develops the storylines and characters for our programming (including our television, WWE Network and other programs) and live events. On July 22, 2022, the board appointed Stephanie McMahon, then chief brand officer, interim CEO, interim chairman and director of the company, and Nick Khan, then president, chief revenue officer and director of the company, to serve as co-chief executive officers of the to function in the company. The Board has also appointed Stephanie McMahon as President of the Company. Additionally, following Mr. McMahon’s departure, our creative endeavors will be led by Paul Levesque, the company’s Executive Vice President, Talent Relations and Creative, and Mrs. McMahon’s husband, who has decades of experience at our company and has been a key player in all aspects of our creative process, including television, talent and live events. Although Mr. Levesque has extensive hands-on experience with many of our revenue streams and, together with Ms. McMahon, has been instrumental in our business transformation as well as our ongoing brand development over the past several years, these collective changes at the helm of our organization are significant.

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