As WWE prepares for WrestleMania, its biggest show of the year, the company and its former leader, Vince McMahon, are still grappling with scandal, highlighted by a January lawsuit alleging sex trafficking, physical and emotional abuse , sexual assault and neglect.
McMahon is no longer part of the company he helped found and then led for more than four decades. This will be the first WrestleMania without him running the show.
To catch you up, here’s a look at the situation and how it got here.
Property of Vince McMahon
After spending years in the business, McMahon purchased the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1982 from his father, Vincent J. (it was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2002) and grew it from a regional New York territory to a global force. The younger McMahon created the first WrestleMania in 1985, took the WWF into a public company in 1999 and led the promotion until 2023.
McMahon helped facilitate the sale of a majority stake to Endeavor last year, which merged WWE with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) into TKO. McMahon was chairman of the board of directors of TKO, with Hollywood mogul Ari Emanuel as CEO and executive chairman, and media executive Mark Shapiro as president and COO.
Why are McMahon and WWE being sued?
The Wall Street Journal reported in 2022 that the WWE board of directors had been alerted to a secret payment from McMahon to a woman to cover up an alleged affair. A board investigation has expanded to uncover at least $12 million in payments to at least four women, according to the news outlet. McMahon stepped down as CEO and chairman in June 2022 and retired the following month, but remained a majority shareholder. He returned to the company six months later for the sale.
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In January, a woman named Janel Grant filed a lawsuit against McMahon, former WWE executive John Laurinaitis and WWE, alleging abuse, sex trafficking and more. Grant claims McMahon offered her a job with WWE, which she says quickly became dependent on a sexual relationship with him, and Grant says she felt trapped out of fear of repercussions. The relationship, which allegedly lasted from 2019 to January 2022, allegedly subjected her to sexual acts of “extreme cruelty and degradation,” including injuries, the complaint details. The suit claims that McMahon then implicated others in their sexual acts – including Laurinaitis – and that McMahon shared photos, videos and details with other WWE employees. He also claims that McMahon used Grant to lure an unnamed WWE wrestler to re-sign with the company.
The lawsuit further claims that McMahon pressured Grant to sign a nondisclosure agreement in early 2022 and leave the company. She ultimately signed an NDA for $3 million and received a $1 million payment in February 2022, but claims in the lawsuit that she did not receive the remaining balance. The lawsuit also claims that the initial anonymous tip to the WWE Board of Directors regarding the payments was about this relationship with Grant.
McMahon denies the allegations, while his spokesperson called the trial “filled with lies” and said in a statement that he would defend himself against the accusations. He resigned from his position within the TKO group one day after the complaint was filed.
A lawyer for Laurinaitis also denied his allegations to Vice and also claimed that Laurinaitis was a victim of McMahon.
How did the TKO group respond to the lawsuit?
Following the filing of the suit, TKO Group said the matter predated its ownership and that McMahon had no day-to-day control over the company since the sale and merger. TKO Group also said via a spokesperson that it had taken “horrible allegations very seriously.”
Is anyone else involved?
In March, Front Office Sports reported the names of four key figures in the trial. The lawsuit does not allege that they had knowledge of sexual violence, but it claims that at least two of them (WWE Chairman Nick Khan and WWE Chief Operating Officer Brad Blum) knew about it. ‘a relationship between Grant and Vince McMahon. Referred to only as numbered “Corporate Officers” in the lawsuit they also include Stephanie McMahon, former executive and daughter of Vince, and Brian Nurse, former general counsel. Grant’s lawyer confirmed these four names Athleticism through a spokesperson.
The lawsuit also claims that McMahon told Grant that Khan and Blum were the two people she should contact in the future about the NDA. WWE said in a statement that Khan and Blum were unaware of Grant’s specific allegations until the lawsuit was filed.
What is the status of the trial?
This is ongoing and nothing notable has happened yet. Regardless of the lawsuit, McMahon was served with a grand jury subpoena and federal search warrant in July 2023, the company disclosed last year, noting that this posed a risk to the business.
The Wall Street Journal reported in February on the subpoena asked McMahon to hand over the documents related to prior allegations of sexual misconduct made by current or former WWE employees, as well as communications between McMahon and alleged victims, including Grant. McMahon has denied any wrongdoing on that front.
According to the Wall Street Journal, McMahon also in 2023 agreed to a settlement with Rita Chatterton, a former referee who accused him of rape in 1986.
What have people around WWE said about the situation?
WWE star Becky Lynch said AthleticismLast week, Richard Deitsch said she had a hard time absorbing what she called “horrible allegations” against McMahon.
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WWE manager Paul “Triple H” Levesque, McMahon’s son-in-law, largely dodged questions about the lawsuit during a press conference after January’s Royal Rumble premium live event, saying: “J I chose to focus on the positive. Yes, there is a negative, but I want to focus on that and leave it at that. When asked what WWE is doing to ensure that those in power can’t exploit those below them, Lévesque replied: “I’ll give you the most general answer possible: anything is possible . This is a very important thing for us. It’s as simple as it gets.
WWE star Cody Rhodes said during the Royal Rumble that it was a “dark cloud” over the company, but added that the TKO group “clearly took it very seriously.” serious” and “acted immediately”. In her upcoming memoir, former UFC fighter and WWE wrestler Ronda Rousey targets WWE and McMahon, writing: “It’s sometimes difficult to know where the evil, unethical character of Vince McMahon played on camera ends and the real, ethically questionable character, repeatedly sued and repeatedly accused of sexual misconduct. This blurred line between character and reality is a recurring theme in the WWE Universe.
(Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)