The mood within WWE quickly changed 24 hours after its biggest show of the year, but fans should not be shocked at reported behind-the-scenes developments.
Endeavor completed its purchase of WWE and announced Monday plans to create a new company with UFC. Vince McMahon claimed in an interview with CNBC on Monday he would not interfere with creative decisions and let Paul Levesque, aka Triple H, continue to run creative.
McMahon also claimed he would not be “in the weeds” in behind-the-scenes decisions. But he invoked a similar message sent to Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman when they took over creative in 2019, until McMahon was back in the driver’s seat, per Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp.
McMahon swiftly turned back on his word later Monday night when he was back in control of “RAW,” according to PWInsider’s Mike Johnson and the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer.
“He was running TV (Monday),” Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio on Tuesday. “He’s back. It’s what it was. It will be what it was before. And if people think that was bad, it will be bad. And that’s just the way it is.”
Meltzer added: “Levesque will be head of creative and will be doing the busywork and all that stuff. Vince is going to have the final say in everything.”
The status quo is back, and morale backstage is low, according to Johnson, because multiple talents grew comfortable with Levesque in charge and preferred working with him.
McMahon constantly was changing things on the fly Monday, according to Johnson and Meltzer, which is the chaos WWE talents must be accustomed to in risk of losing their spot on the show.
Fans are not thrilled about the prospect of McMahon returning, but why are they surprised? This is a person who desires control so much that he hates it when people sneeze, an involuntary action.
This also is a person who views himself as untouchable. He was taken to court by the federal government in 1994 and walked off scot-free. Owen Hart died in the ring during the Over the Edge pay-per-view in 1999, but WWE and McMahon faced zero repercussion.
McMahon resigned in July 2022 due to a hush-money scandal, which brought back to light his multiple sexual misconduct and harassment allegations that have been ignored by mainstream press because he does so many wacky things, like recently growing a mustache, that brush his alleged actions under the rug.
He has settled recent civil lawsuits against him, which likely allowed him to say this Monday, per the Wrestling Observer:
“I have made mistakes obviously personally and professionally throughout my 50-year career,” he acknowledged Monday. “I have owned up to every single one of them and then moved on.”
For those wondering what the next plans are after WrestleMania 39, don’t be shocked if there is no plan, which is a line Levesque has kept. WWE has its hand-picked talent, and that’s all that matters.
Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar are the real stars in WWE’s mind, and they got the spotlight Monday. Fan favorites like Sami Zayn and Cody Rhodes will get their moments but will never be seen as top stars by the current regime — an attitude the company has kept for over a decade.
McMahon is back to maintain the status quo. How long will he retain control entirely is up in the air.
