Federal Investigation Could Force Vince McMahon Out As WWE Chairman

WWE seemed ready to move into a new era after its merger with UFC’s parent company Endeavor, but Vince McMahon’s federal investigation could change things dramatically.

McMahon is executive chairman of WWE and the new publicly traded company TKO Group Holdings. The merger was announced in April and was finalized last Tuesday, and it came after McMahon resigned the previous year only to return months later following sexual misconduct allegations.

The hush money payments allegedly used to silence his accusers are the subject of an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice. WWE has been public in its financial filings about the payments, and it revealed McMahon was served a search warrant with a federal grand jury subpoena in July.

The LA Times on Wednesday published a feature that looked into the allegations and the ramifications it could have from a business perspective.

“McMahon was not going to stand in the way of whatever the company thought the best course of action was,” the LA Times reported, per Haus of Wrestling. “When they requested he step down, he was not happy but went along with the decision.

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“It was also noted that on a phone call with the board, McMahon adamantly denied the allegations against him and said that any sexual relationships he had were consensual. He also explained that he had entered into settlements with his accusers in order to protect the company from any future litigation.”

The LA Times admitted the breadth of the investigation was unknown, but it noted the ramifications it could have for WWE and TKO Group Holdings.

“Depending on the potential findings,” attorney Jacob Frenkel told the LA Times, per Haus of Wrestling. “McMahon could face criminal and/or civil liabilities that could prevent him from serving as an officer or director of a public company, as well as a clawback of any ‘ill-gotten gains.'”

WWE continues to grow its revenue every year, and it has not announced a renewal of its media rights deals for “RAW” or “SmackDown.” It’s unclear how the result of the federal investigation would affect WWE’s business.