Did Vince McMahon Play A Role In Stephanie McMahon's WWE Exit?
Backstage latest on Vince McMahon's disputed role in his own daughter's WWE hiatus.
Stephanie McMahon's hiatus from WWE appears to be a deeper story than had previously been reported.
WWE's Chief Brand Officer announced a temporary sabbatical from the promotion on 19 May, stating that she was taking time away to focus on her family. That Stephanie mentioned she was looking forward to returning to her position suggested impermanence.
Multiple reports have since revealed new details on the situation, including high-level doubts about McMahon's ability in her role, though much has been kept private.
Business Insider recently published a new report on the matter suggesting that Stephanie's own father, Vince, was responsible for removing her from her position. The story states that the 76-year-old WWE Chairman executed the move himself, and contains the following quote from a company source:-
"Family or not family, we’ve got to get the right people in place. We weren’t seeing that growth. When someone is moved out of a company, it’s usually the result of something not working. We took stronger control of that a few months ago.”
The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer has since moved to deny that despite Business Insider's report, Vince was not the driving force behind his daughter's leave of absence. The move was, as originally claimed, of her own volition.
This isn't the end of the matter, though. On Monday, Meltzer wrote the following on the Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online message board, stating that the company was attempting to bury Stephanie with the quotes and information contained in the Business Insider writeup:-
There is a much bigger story here. The company outright wanted to bury her here. Something happened after she left clearly. The company did a total 180 on her about two weeks after she left. They never even did that for Barrios & Wilson.
WWE is currently advertising an open position for Director, Brand and Marketing within the company, seemingly assuming many of Stephanie's old responsibilities.