Wrestling fans fearing Vince McMahon could sweep back into WWE on the back of Donald Trump’s election win might not have to worry just yet.
Trump secured a decisive victory at the polls in the US this week and will be sworn in for his second stretch as President in the New Year.
With the top job comes incredible influence and, in the wrestling world, some have been questioning what the victory means for former WWE chief McMahon.
The billionaire promoter stepped down as a Director of TKO – effectively WWE’s parent company – early in 2024 in the wake of serious sexual assault allegations that surfaced in the New York Post.
The 79-year-old’s move essentially severed almost all ties between him and the empire he built over decades, turning WWE into a global powerhouse and making household names out of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Hulk Hogan, John Cena and others.
In Trump, however, McMahon has a major ally – the American tycoon hosted the fourth and fifth instalments of WrestleMania in the 1980s and, in 2007, defeated McMahon in a match by proxy. He also closely courted some top wrestling names during the election build-up.
There remains, however, quite the leap between Trump’s impending Presidency and McMahon’s predicament – the former couldn’t issue a presidential pardon, for instance, as the latter has yet to actually be charged with any offence, though a Federal investigation is currently in process around the allegations.
Even away from Trump, it seems WWE has moved on from McMahon, who was the subject of a dark and damning Netflix documentary series, Mr McMahon, earlier this year.
That was the impression given by TKO Chief Operating Officer and President, Mark Shapiro, in a new interview.
Shapiro revealed he’d recently had breakfast with McMahon and, while saying he was a ‘total pro, appeared to firmly shut the idea on the suggestion the veteran still is involved with the company.
“I had breakfast with him a few weeks ago, just to check in,” commented the executive to CBS.
“It’s been a long time. Haven’t heard from him at all. Obviously, the series on Netflix came out and I wanted to see where he was.
“By the way, he couldn’t have been more cooperative. He couldn’t have been nicer. He was a total pro at breakfast, if you would. It was a one-on-one get together.
“He’s out of the business entirely. He doesn’t make decisions. He’s not on the Board. He doesn’t opine. We don’t consult him. He’s got some litigation that he’s working through and frankly, he wants the time and privacy to work through it, which is great because in the meantime we’re going to keep building TKO and WWE and expand the horizon and opportunities.”
While Shapiro was clear enough in spelling out the former Royal Rumble winner’s lack of activity in their business, he gave an even firmer reply when asking whether McMahon was supportive of their current direction.
He added that Vince: “Couldn’t have been more positive, but I wasn’t asking for his opinion.”
McMahon has always denied any wrongdoing in relation to the allegations made against him by a former WWE employer.
