WWE has spent $19.4 million to investigate ousted former CEO Vince McMahon after he resigned as CEO for allegedly paying $3 million in hush money to a paralegal he had sex with .
The wrestling giant, now run by McMahon’s daughter Stephanie and Nick Khan, claims to have spent $17.7 million on costs related to the investigation in the third quarter of 2022 alone.
The company said in its quarterly earnings report that the investigation into McMahon, who remains the company’s majority shareholder, was “now closed” and the “special committee” that had been formed was “dissolved.”
They added, “Management is working with the Board to implement the Special Committee’s recommendations regarding the investigation.”
McMahon, 77, has since been ousted from the company he ran and built for more than four decades to become wrestling’s biggest company amid a Securities and Exchange Commission and federal investigation into his undisclosed payments.
WWE has spent $19.4 million to investigate ousted former CEO Vince McMahon after he resigned as CEO over allegations that he paid $3 million in hush money to a paralegal with whom he had sex
The wrestling giant, now run by McMahon’s daughter Stephanie and Nick Khan (pictured), claims to have spent $17.7 million on costs related to the investigation in the third quarter of 2022 alone
The company said in its quarterly earnings report that the investigation into McMahon, who remains the company’s controlling shareholder, was “now closed” and the “special committee” that had been formed was “dissolved.”
McMahon, 77, has since been ousted from the company he ran and built for more than four decades to become wrestling’s biggest company amid a Securities and Exchange Commission and federal investigation into his undisclosed payments
Overall, according to The Hollywood Reporter, WWE claimed to have had a positive quarter with net income of $304.6 million and operating income of $58.9 million.
The numbers, which WWE says exceeded Wall Street expectations, came from “an increase in domestic and international media rights fees associated with the company’s flagship programs, Raw and SmackDown.”
A large portion of the revenue, $233 million, came from foreign and domestic media rights, another $35.2 million from live events, and the rest from consumer products.
McMahon was under investigation by the company’s board of directors over agreements to pay $12 million over the past 16 years to quash allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity, the Wall Street Journal had previously reported.
WWE has hinted that it may need to publicly restate its finances after learning an eight-figure sum was paid to alleged McMahon victims.
An old allegation that he raped a referee in his limousine has also resurfaced as a result of the new scandal.
Despite paying out $14.6 million in “unrecorded expenses” over multiple sexual misconduct allegations, Vince McMahon is leaving his beloved WWE with a lot of cash
Daughter Stephanie McMahon has taken his place as Chair and Co-CEO
Stephanie’s husband Paul Levesque — aka former WWE star Triple H (pictured right) — is also on the board
McMahon, who will make the payments, announced his resignation as CEO and chairman last week, about a month after he resigned from those roles following an investigation into his alleged misconduct.
“Time for me to retire,” McMahon wrote on Twitter on July 22. “Thank you, WWE Universe.”
It’s unclear how McMahon’s resignation will affect the investigation into his alleged wrongdoing.
“He loved the business,” veteran wrestler Ric Flair told YouTube channel CCV Clips. “He made us all what we are.”
According to Bloomberg, many have speculated that McMahon could stay in business, while others have wondered if WWE is for sale.
McMahon, who will make the payments, announced his resignation as CEO and chairman on Friday, about a month after he resigned from those roles following an investigation into his alleged misconduct
It’s unclear how McMahon’s resignation will affect the investigation into his alleged wrongdoing
According to Bloomberg, many have speculated that McMahon could stay in business, while others have wondered if WWE is for sale
“It’s the first time one could realistically believe that WWE could be for sale,” said media analyst Alan Gould of Loop Capital Markets.
Shares in the company, owned by the McMahon family — which includes Vince, Stephanie and Vince’s wife, former Trump administration executive Linda McMahon — are worth a combined $1.9 billion.
He reportedly had an affair with a paralegal and doubled the wife’s salary from $100,000 to $200,000 when it started.
After the couple settled down, he handed her a $3 million payout, according to The Wall Street Journal.
As a result of that investigation, a decades-old claim resurfaced that McMahon raped a woman in his limousine in 1992.
Rita Chatterton, now 64, WWE’s first female referee, came forward to accuse McMahon of raping her in his limousine in 1986.
Her claim was recently corroborated by former wrestler Leonard Inzitari, who says he saw Chatterton after the alleged attack.
He said he kept it a secret for decades for fear of being marginalized by McMahon and his family, who control the industry.
Inzitari, who went by the wrestling alias Mario Mancini, told Intelligencer: “I remember it like it was yesterday. She was a wreck. she was shaking. She cried.
McMahon is married to Trump assistant Linda McMahon, who served as head of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s presidency
McMahon’s wife Linda with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in 2019. She now works at the America First Institute
In 1992, Rita Chatterton, now 64, WWE’s first female referee, came forward and accused McMahon of raping her in his limousine in 1986. She appeared on Geraldo Rivera’s TV show
“He’s dug such a deep hole that I’m just fed up with it.”
Inzitari said Chatterton sobbing told him how McMahon “took out his penis,” forced her to perform oral sex on him, then forced himself “inside her.”
He recalled telling her, “Just shut up because it’s Vince McMahon. What are you going to do, henchman of Vince McMahon? You’re going to be kicked out of the wrestling business!’
Chatterton did not make her claim public for several years, and in 1992 made the claim on Geraldo Rivera’s television show.
McMahon gave her first major refereeing job in 1975 and then, she claims, offered her a $500,000-a-year contract as an onscreen referee.
During her interview, Rira said, “I knew at the time that that was a lot of money, but I didn’t know what the wrestlers were making.
She told Intelligencer McMahon told her not to fraternize with any of the wrestlers and warned her, “Stay clean. I don’t want you messing around with any of the wrestlers. You keep it professional.’
McMahon has remained silent on the allegations and is suing her and Rivera for trying to bring him down and being spurred on by his enemies.
The lawsuit was dropped with neither side winning.