Backstage Note About Vince McMahon During WWE Smackdown
The Vince McMahon scandal has taken the wrestling world by storm, and it seems that the man, himself, is trying to act as if everything is still normal within the company.
Dave Meltzer of the "Wrestling Observer" noted that everything was normal backstage during last night's edition of "SmackDown", with McMahon and all other employees acting as if "nothing happened." Earlier that day, the Wall Street Journal reported that McMahon paid off three other women that he supposedly had been sexually involved with. This includes a former wrestler who stated that he coerced her into having oral sex, and another employee who received unsolicited naked pictures of him.
Just a note from backstage at Smackdown. Business as usual. Everyone, especially Vince, acting like nothing happened.
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) July 9, 2022
The first allegations were reported on June 15, also by the WSJ, stating that the company's Board of Directors had launched an investigation into the CEO after he paid off a former paralegal to keep quiet about the affair between the two. Since then, McMahon has stepped down as CEO and chairman. His daughter, Stephanie McMahon has been named interim CEO for the time being.
WWE has reportedly issued an internal memo to talent regarding the situation where they assure everyone that the allegations are being taken seriously until a resolution is reached. Netflix has also decided to pull the plug on a docuseries set to come out next year about the former CEO.
McMahon is currently still involved with the creative process in his company and has been backstage at shows, still handling that aspect of his job. His wife, Linda McMahon, has been silent about the whole ordeal and has not issued a statement. It is believed that though they stayed legally married, Vince and Linda "hadn't been together for a long time", which was hinted at when Vince appeared on "The Pat McAfee Show" earlier this year. Vince briefly referred to Linda as "his wife at the time" while telling a story before quickly correcting himself. Though the comment caused much speculation, no further details emerged about the status of their marriage.