WWE To Restate Financial Statements Due To Vince McMahon's "Unrecorded Expenses"

Could there be further legal ramifications on the way for Vince McMahon and WWE?

by Andrew Pollard
WWE HQ
WWE

With the WWE Board of Directors currently investigating Vince McMahon for alleged misconduct, the latest SEC filing from the company suggests that there could be more potential payouts from McMahon about to be unearthed, in addition to legal ramifications for both Vince and WWE.

This filing reveals how WWE has made a "preliminary determination" that payments made by McMahon between 2006 and 2022 were not recorded as expenses during the quarters they took place. In turn, these payments have been listed as "Unrecorded Expenses", which means WWE is now revising prior financial statements with the aim of issuing new statements on 9 August.

The total for these "Unrecorded Expenses" amounts to $14.6 million that McMahon had either personally paid or was due to pay. WWE is now continuing to "evaluate the impact on previously reported financial statements" by all of this.

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Previously, we've heard how Vince McMahon had paid a total of $12.5 million in non-disclosure agreements. Of that, one payout is believed to have been for $7.5 million to a former female member of the WWE roster. There are also separate arrangements for other individuals that are for $3 million and two $1 million amounts.

Interestingly, if this $12.5 million total is part of the aforementioned $14.6 million of "Unrecorded Expenses", that leaves a further $2.1 million unaccounted for right now.

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Whether this unaccounted for figure pertains to any other payouts from McMahon remains to be seen, although this latest filing does included the following sentences that would suggest the company is not ruling out further legal ramifications for the now-former WWE CEO and the organisation.

As previously announced, a special committee of independent members of the Board is conducting an investigation into alleged misconduct by Vince McMahon, which investigation remains ongoing.

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The Company has also received, and may receive in the future, regulatory, investigative and enforcement inquiries, subpoenas or demands arising from, related to, or in connection with these matters.

Of course, Vince McMahon retired from all WWE duties on Friday, citing how, at nearing 77 years of age, he "feels it's time for me to retire".

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.