Vince McMahon back at WWE ahead of media rights negotiations - ESPN

Former WWE CEO Vince McMahon, who remains the controlling shareholder of the wrestling organization, plans to instrumentality to the institution to "fully capitalize" connected the upcoming media rights negotiations, helium announced Thursday.

McMahon, 77, retired implicit the summertime pursuing allegations of intersexual misconduct that included non-disclosure statement payments. Though McMahon utilized idiosyncratic funds for the NDA payments, helium failed to grounds those expenses, which totaled $19.6 million.

After McMahon stepped away, his daughter, Stephanie McMahon, and Nick Khan, a longtime cause astatine CAA, assumed the roles of co-CEO. In his announcement, Vince McMahon said helium is asking to beryllium reinstated arsenic enforcement president of the committee of the publically traded company, on with seat seats for erstwhile WWE co-presidents Michelle Wilson and George Barrios.

The moves would necessitate 3 existing members to vacate their committee seats. The committee antecedently rebuffed an effort from McMahon to instrumentality to the company, but helium retains the bulk of the voting power.

"WWE is entering a captious juncture successful its past with the upcoming media rights negotiations coinciding with accrued industry-wide request for prime contented and unrecorded events and with much companies seeking to ain the intelligence spot connected their platforms," McMahon said.

He added: "My instrumentality volition let WWE, arsenic good arsenic immoderate transaction counterparties, to prosecute successful these processes knowing they volition person the enactment of the controlling shareholder."

WWE's rights deals with Fox and USA expire adjacent year; negotiations are expected to statesman aboriginal successful 2023. WWE posted its archetypal billion-dollar gross twelvemonth successful 2022. McMahon bought the institution from his begetter successful 1982 and built the then-WWF into the preeminent wrestling institution successful the world.

When McMahon stepped down, his son-in-law, WWE Hall of Famer Paul "Triple H" Levesque, replaced him arsenic the idiosyncratic successful complaint of the originative absorption of the company's TV storylines.

"WWE has an exceptional absorption squad successful place," McMahon said, "and I bash not mean for my instrumentality to person immoderate interaction connected their roles, duties, oregon responsibilities."

Before McMahon delivered written consent of his plans to the board, helium sent 2 letters successful precocious December successful which helium expressed the urgency of his return, according to the property release.