Since WSJ broke the news of a board investigation into Vince McMahon, the Internet has been running wild with speculation about the future of WWE.
Like all the other wrestling journalists who had no idea this was happening, we, too, are in the dark. But we can use some common sense and what we already know to extrapolate what the future could look like for Vince and WWE.
An independent board investigation of the Chairman is never a good thing. They’ve already uncovered that this wasn’t the first NDA pay-off from Vince. And with John Laurenitis being involved as well, it could point to a failure on multiple levels of the company.
The board will release a final report that details its findings, probably available to the public. It will likely include a list of changes and if certain heads need to roll.
The board’s demands could range from Johnny Ace being let go to Vince losing his position on the board.
But I don’t expect this incident to go away just like that. This has the potential to be the most impactful WWE event in decades and could very well shake up the company behind all recognition.
Probably not. The board can remove Vince McMahon as Chairman, but it would be difficult to compel him to share his stocks. Unless the investigation turns up more NDAs and proves Vince’s behavior is a continued detriment to the company, Vince will remain as Chairman and the chief stockholder with the largest voting share.
Vince has reportedly ceded many of the significant business operations to new President Nick Khan. Business-wise, the WWE is doing well. If anything, this incident might entice Vince to go ahead with a long-awaited sale of the company.
But that decision won’t be so easy. Vince and his family still hold a lock on the company via their voting shares.
If Vince is out of the picture, then someone will need to be running the shows and making major booking decisions. This might be the most straightforward transition.
Bruce Pritchard and the various producers at the TV tapings every week are well-equipped to book feuds. Jeff Jarrett, who has experience running TNA, was recently hired as an executive. There are few people with expertise in booking wrestling on the scale of WWE, and Jarrett is one of them.
Jarrett is currently running live events, which could be a precursor to him taking over the booking decisions.
This transition is similar to the Steroid Trial era when speculation was that Jerry Jarrett, Jeff’s father, would take over WWF in the event Vince had to go to prison.
No. Whether he likes it or not, WWE is not just Vince. Yes, he is almost singularly responsible for its massive growth and the current state of wrestling, but it is a brand that can, will, and must outlive him.
If WWE goes under, then we have a lot bigger problems going on.
Next, Read This: Report: Vince McMahon Paid $3 Million Hush Payment To Ex-Employee
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