Wrestling boss Vince McMahon retires from WWE amid misconduct investigation

The move comes after reporting broke in June that the WWE board was investigating a secret $3 million settlement allegedly given by McMahon to a former WWE paralegal.

Wrestling boss Vince McMahon announced he’s retiring from the WWE amid an investigation into whether multi-million-dollar payments were made to female members of his staff to cover up his alleged misconduct.

In a statement released on Thursday both on WWE’s website and Twitter, McMahon said: “As I approach 77 years old, I feel it’s time for me to retire as Chairman and CEO of WWE. Throughout the years, it’s been a privilege to help WWE bring you joy, inspire you, thrill you, surprise you, and always entertain you.

“I would like to thank my family for mightily contributing to our success, and I would also like to thank all of our past and present Superstars and employees for their dedication and passion for our brand. Most importantly, I would like to thank our fans for allowing us into your homes every week and being your choice of entertainment. I hold the deepest appreciation and admiration for our generations of fans all over the world who have liked, currently like, and sometimes even love our form of Sports Entertainment.”

The retirement comes in the wake of the WWE’s board launching an investigation into Mr McMahon for making a secret $3m hush money payment to one former employee, The Wall Street Journal reported last month.

Earlier this month, the newspaper reported that the 77-year-old Mr McMahon allegedly paid more than $12m to four other women.

Mr McMahon stepped down from his role as chairman and CEO back in June 17 and his daughter Stephanie subsequently took over as interim CEO. While McMahon was still head of WWE creative since then, sources told ESPN this week that his “stepping down was done for optics.” Current WWE president Nick Khan will join Stephanie as co-CEO and Stephanie will also take over as chairwoman, as per McMahon’s statement.

The WWE’s revenue exceeded $1bn in 2021 for the first time and the company has television deals with Fox and NBCUniversal.