CM Punk Compares Triple H And Vince McMahon’s Leadership Styles

CM Punk appeared on Friday’s edition of The Pat McAfee Show, where he discussed a range of topics, including the differences between working under Triple H and Vince McMahon.

Punk highlighted Triple H’s openness to feedback and willingness to consider other people’s ideas—something he believes was less common under McMahon. However, he also acknowledged the importance of having a definitive leader in charge.

“I think he’s receptive to other people’s ideas, whereas maybe Vince wasn’t. He was like, ‘I’m the boss. We’re doing this, and this is how we’re doing it.’ And that’s great. If you run a company, you need somebody who is the yes and no man and [has] the final say.”

Punk continued, emphasizing Triple H’s collaborative approach:

“But I think Triple H thinks he’s surrounded, and oftentimes is, by a lot of really, really genius wrestling minds. If he has an idea or see something one way, he’ll look at Michael Hayes and be like, ‘What do you think?’ He’ll turn and look at Paul Heyman. These are people who have Bonafide resumes. They have literally done everything you possibly could do in the sport. I think their voices should be heard. Not all the time everybody’s going to have this dynamite idea. But I think the best idea always wins in today’s WWE.”

WWE legend's name added to Janel Grant's blockbuster lawsuit against Vince McMahon

The blockbuster lawsuit being brought against Vince McMahon and the WWE by former employee Janel Grant has been ammended to include the name of WWE and UFC legend.

In the 104-page lawsuit, Grant now alleges that she was offered to Brock Lesnar “for a sexual encounter” during his contract negotiations with the WWE. In addition, Grant allleges that she was told to sent sexual content to the former WWE champion. It was reported earlier this month that Grant was planning to alter the suit.

The new allegations involving Lesnar come alongside further accusations that McMahon was active in trafficking Grant during her time working at the WWE.

“Ms. Grant's amended complaint reveals new details. That further demonstrates the sexual abuse Janel Grant suffered at the hands of Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis and pulls back the curtain on the dangerous workplace culture McMahon created at WWE. Ms. Grant looks forward to holding her abusers accountable in a court of law,” Grant’s lawyer Ann Callis said in a statement.

The lawsuit was submitted to the U.S. District Court in Connecticut. Grant alleges that the WWE was negligent in allowing McMahon’s behavior to go on unchecked. One of the men previously name in the lawsuit, John Laurinaitis, claims that he too was a victim of McMahon.

Another WWE legend, Michael Hayes, is also named in the new filing with Grant alleging that McMahon told her to make pornographic content for him. At the time, Hayes worked as part of the wrestling company’s creative team.

Other names in the new complaint include Vince McMahon’s daughter and former co-CEO Stephanie McMahon, WWE President Nick Khan, former COO Brad Blum and former legal executive Brian Nurse.

In another section, Grant accuses McMahon of sending her nude photos to others without her consent. At one point, Grant also says that McMahon recorded her naked while he was on a video call with Laurinaitis.

Grant originally accused McMahon and Laurinaitis of sexually assaulting her inside of WWE’s office.

Text messages in the new filing detail McMahon discussing his authority in arranging her sexual encounters and discussing his fantasies involving her. In a voice message, McMahon allegedly pressed Grant to sign an NDA “really f*****g fast.”

In another message, he allegedly wrote: “I’m the only one who owns U and controls who I want to f*** you.”

Vince McMahon’s representatives have responded to the new allegations.

“As expected, the proposed amended complaint is nothing more than the latest publicity stunt in an ongoing smear campaign. It is filled with desperate falsehoods from a team that continues to disregard the law and the truth,” the statement, given to reporter BJ Bethel.

Stephanie McMahon to helm new show on ESPN+

Former WWE exec Stephanie McMahon appeared on the " Pat McAfee Show" on Thursday to announce a new WWE-centric show in partnership with Pro Football HOFer Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions, ESPN and WWE. The new show, titled “Stephanie's Places,” will be “a part of” Manning’s “Peyton Places” that currently airs on ESPN+ and will see McMahon travel around the country to “to really find out the stories behind the biggest stars in WWE.” The show will air in March and will include appearances from former and current WWE stars including Stone Cold Steve Austin, Charlotte Flair and Roman Reigns.

McMahon, who will host the show, said the goal of “Stephanie's Places” is to “really tell the stories that haven't been told, and to find out more about the people behind the characters.” She said, “These people are all hugely successful, but like most people, they've been knocked around a lot. So how did they overcome the challenges that were put in front of them?” McMahon said she was “really nervous” to be a part of the show as it was her “first step back” into WWE.

McMahon stepped down as WWE co-CEO in January 2023 after her father, Vince, had forced a return the company. “I never stopped being proud, ever," she told McAfee. "I do think I wanted to disappear for a little while, and I kind of did. It was good for me. I needed it, and now I’m back.”

Paul Levesque To Headline WWE Hall Of Fame Class Of 2025

Insider reports that WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque, aka Triple H, will headline the 2025 WWE Hall of Fame class. Despite his position of being in charge of the promotion, Levesque was said to be caught off guard by the decision, which was revealed to him today in a meeting by his wife, Stephanie McMahon, and fellow Hall of Famers Undertaker and Shawn Michaels.

Levesque has largely sat atop the WWE pyramid since the initial retirement of his father-in-law, Vince McMahon, in 2022, and has been credited for revitalizing WWE under his direction. However, his Hall of Fame induction has less to do with his executive career and more with his in-ring accolades. 

Levesque first gained notoriety in WCW from 1993 to 1994, before joining WWE and assuming his Triple H moniker. When he ended his in-ring career in 2022, he had wracked up 14 World Title reigns, as well as runs with the WWE Intercontinental, European, and Tag Team Championships. He also won the 1997 King of the Ring, the 2002 and 2016 Royal Rumbles, and along with Michaels was a founding member of the popular stable, D-Generation X.

Major League Soccer to Move Production Studio to WWE Headquarters

Major League Soccer will move its production arm to new studios at the headquarters of WWE in Stamford, Conn., as part of a renewal of a pact with IMG.

Under terms of the new multi-year partnership, MLS and IMG, the latter will continue to produce live match and studio productions and programming for more than 600 annual games on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. MLS Productions will move to the Studios at WWE in Stamford, Conn. The new facility will serve as the hub for popular MLS live studio programming and content in English and Spanish. The new location for MLS Season Pass will enable MLS Productions to add programming in the new season.

source: variety.com

WWE's old Stamford HQ could become apartments after $3.75M sale

For more than 30 years, the six-story building at 1241 E. Main St., on Stamford’s east side, housed the headquarters of one of Connecticut’s best-known companies. Now, it is poised for a transformation under new ownership.

WWE, which is now headquartered in downtown Stamford, last month sold 1241 E. Main for $3.75 million to real estate firm MB Financial Group, which has offices in Branford and Boston. Reflecting its experience with redevelopment, MB Financial wants to convert the property into an apartment complex.

“The location is superb,” Michael Massimino, CEO and managing partner of MB Financial, said Friday. “It’s on the Stamford-Darien line, and it overlooks Long Island Sound and the Noroton River. The views of Long Island Sound really make this property unique.”

A message left for WWE was not immediately returned in time for this story.

MB Financial’s plans for the redeveloped 1241 E. Main, which they expect will have more than 80 units, will be reviewed by local zoning officials. Assuming the project navigates that process, the redevelopment could be completed by the first half of 2027, according to Massimino.

“Our intention is definitely to do this within the existing building,” Massimino said. “Right now, we’re in our conceptual phase, as far as laying out density and common-area amenities.”

Redevelopment of 1241 E. Main would be part of a local trend. In recent years, a number of office complexes in Stamford have been approved or proposed for redevelopment.

Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons said in her State of the City speech last April that conversion of empty commercial buildings into residential properties is one way to address the need for more affordable housing. It could also grow the grand list and bolster local home values, she said at the time.

MB Financial has experience with redevelopment. In Clinton, several buildings are being repurposed through its Station at Clinton project. When completed, it will have about 200 units across apartments and town homes. The first component, a 45-unit apartment complex known as The Grand, opened in 2023.

“It was formerly a 40,000-square-foot data center. We did a third-floor addition on top of it. The floor plates are very similar to the WWE building,” Massimino said of The Grand.

MB Financial’s portfolio also includes The Lofts at 250 Greene in New Haven. The 23-unit apartment complex, which opened in 2020, repurposed former convent and school buildings of St. Michael’s Church.

As for WWE, its decision to sell 1241 E. Main was not surprising. When the company announced in March 2019 that it would relocate its headquarters to downtown Stamford, it said that it expected to sell 1241 E. Main. The building was also known as Titan Towers when the company was based there, from the early 1990s until 2023.

Among other deals related to its headquarters relocation, WWE recently sold for nearly $7.5 million the site of its former production studio on Hamilton Avenue in Stamford, a property that stands a few blocks from 1241 E. Main.

Meanwhile, WWE has settled in at its current headquarters at 677-707 Washington Blvd. Company officials have said that the hub covers about 400,000 square feet, including offices in the property’s 13-story tower and production space in the adjacent seven-story pavilion. WWE officials have also said that the company would have more than 800 people working at the new base, after the company had opened all of its space there.

Last April, WWE announced the opening of an approximately 30,000-square-foot production facility, with five studios, at the current headquarters.

source: ctinsider.com

Morgan Stanley Says Bankrupt EV Firm Owes $10 Million Deal Fee; Shane McMahon Exec Chairman

Morgan Stanley claims it wasn’t paid most of a $12 million fee for advising now-bankrupt electric-vehicle technology firm Ideanomics Inc. on its acquisition of VIA Motors years earlier.

The transaction fee was described in a claim Morgan Stanley filed the day after Christmas in Ideanomics’ Chapter 11 case. The firm says it’s still owed more than $10 million for advisory work on the VIA Motors acquisition, which closed in January 2023.

Morgan Stanley acted as an exclusive financial adviser to Ideanomics on the acquisition, which — at the time it was announced in 2021 — valued electric-vehicle maker VIA at as much as $630 million, according to a press release.

The acquisition was part of a broader strategy to acquire electric-vehicle assets and technology between 2021 and 2023. But most of Ideanomics’ investments from that time “were unsuccessful, or continue to remain a substantial liquidity drain,” the company’s Chief Restructuring Officer Alpesh Amin said in a December bankruptcy filing. Ideanomics spent about $320 million to fund the acquisitions, he added.

A representative for Morgan Stanley declined to comment. Lawyers for Ideanomics didn’t immediately return messages sent Monday seeking comment.

Ideanomics paid a $2 million “announcement fee”, which Morgan Stanley said it credited the company for. The unpaid portion of the fee will be treated in bankruptcy court as unsecured debt, which is usually repaid in Chapter 11 for pennies on the dollar.

An entity linked to Shane McMahon, the company’s executive chairman, is funding the bankruptcy and has also offered to acquire the firm’s assets, according to court documents. McMahon is the son of Linda McMahon, who is expected to be nominated as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for education secretary, and Vince McMahon, the former chief executive officer of World Wrestling Entertainment.

The case is Ideanomics Inc., number 24-12728, in the US Bankruptcy Court in the District of Delaware.

source: BNNBloomberg

WWE & TNA Wrestling announce multi-year partnership

WWE part of TKO Group Holdings and TNA Wrestling, one of the world’s top wrestling brands and a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, today announced a multi-year partnership aimed at creating unprecedented crossover opportunities within WWE and TNA programming for NXT Superstars and TNA Wrestling Stars.

The agreement will enable talent to garner additional exposure across key WWE and TNA programming, including weekly flagship shows such as NXT – which airs live on The CW – and TNA iMPACT!, select WWE Premium Live Events and TNA pay-per-views, in turn bolstering their in-ring development with exposure to world-class talent and coaching.

“This historic relationship demonstrates that collaboration and competition do not have to be mutually exclusive,” said Ariel Shnerer, Senior Vice President of Content & Distribution for TNA Wrestling and Anthem Sports & Entertainment. “Our partnership allows the TNA Wrestling brand and its incredible athletes to reach a significantly wider audience, while giving WWE and NXT stars an opportunity to cross the line and gain valuable experience, as they join forces with one of the most talented rosters in professional wrestling today. The response to our collaboration over the past year has been tremendous and both companies have benefited, but the fans have reaped the greatest rewards from this talent crossover and working relationship.”

“We look forward to growing and evolving our partnership with TNA Wrestling and its outstanding group of athletes by creating new opportunities to further the development of our talent and to elevate the viewer experience at home,” said WWE Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels.

Former TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace and Joe Hendry frequently appeared on NXT programming in 2024, highlighted by an NXT Championship match featuring Hendry and Ethan Page at No Mercy, and an NXT Women’s Championship match featuring Grace and Roxanne Perez at Battleground.

Many NXT Superstars also crossed the line into TNA Wrestling, including Wes Lee’s short-lived reunion with The Rascalz, Charlie Dempsey and the No Quarter Catch Crew, Riley Osbourne, Dante Chen, Gallus, Arianna Grace, Tatum Paxley, Izzi Dame, Wendy Choo, Brinley Reece and more.

TNA iMPACT! airs on AXS TV and TNA+ in the U.S., in addition to being distributed internationally on TNA+ and other leading broadcast platforms, including Sportsnet 360 across Canada.

In November 2023, WWE and The CW announced a five-year agreement to bring NXT to broadcast television for the first time in its 13-year history.

Corey Graves throws shade after being demoted on WWE commentary team: 'Not famous enough'

There appears to be some drama generating at the WWE commentary table.

With Monday Night Raw now on Netflix, WWE welcomed back former NFL punter and sports media giant Pat McAfee to the commentary booth for the show alongside Michael Cole. As a result, there was some reshuffling in the commentators for the company's show.

Joe Tessitore, who joined in July, was originally part of the Raw team but was moved to Friday Night SmackDown, alongside Wade Barrett. That left out Corey Graves, who has been a broadcaster since 2016 after he was forced to medically retire from in-ring competition. Graves has been widely praised for his work on the headset, but he was pushed to WWE's development brand NXT, joining Vic Joseph and Booker T, in a move that could be seen as a demotion.

Graves didn't seem to take the move well. In a now-deleted post on social media, he shaded the move and appeared to take a shot at McAfee.

WWE commentator Corey Graves makes his entrance at WrestleMania 40 night two at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 7, 2024. "Imagine chasing your dream. Then being TOLD (not deciding) that you’re no longer physically able to pursue your dream,” Graves wrote Monday night. "Then you dedicate your life to something 'dream adjacent' and being pretty (expletive) awesome at it. And then, when it’s time to enjoy the fruits of your labor, being told you’re not famous enough for your own job. Just in case you’ve wondered where I’ve been."

Graves followed up the post on Tuesday morning with another now-deleted one that said "I’ve got a lot to say. Don’t miss WWE NXT tonight on The CW." Strange enough, Graves was not present for the NXT show on Tuesday night.

Former WWE commentator Jonathan Coachman offered some perspective on the situation, noting that moving the commentary both has been a normal thing for decades.

"So Corey is upset for being bumped from the main announce roster. Happened to JR 5 times. Happened to Cole multiple times. Happened to me multiple times," Coachman wrote. "He is right he is really good at his job. But playing in the sandbox a little bit better might not hurt next time. Embrace whatever role you have and understand that you are lucky to have it. There are only 3-5 of these jobs at the highest level. Who knows maybe they asked him to be a part of a 3 man booth. We know he doesn’t like that. lol. Sorry had to. Last line a joke. The rest it’s the wrestling business. It happens."

As is the case with wrestling, it's unclear if this frustration is legitimate or a work toward something in the future. Graves could be working toward actually being cleared to compete in the ring, in which case would likely lead to a match against McAfee, who has plenty of in-ring experience and has been an on-screen rival of Graves for some time.

Michael Cole Explains What Makes The Triple H Era Better

The differences between the Paul "Triple H" Levesque "era" of WWE and that of Vince McMahon are noticeable to fans of the product, but it's also being felt backstage.

Veteran WWE commentator Michael Cole discussed the changes on "The Pat McAfee Show" ahead of the Netflix debut of "WWE Raw" on Monday. Cole said he believes everyone, from the talent in the ring to the production crew, is reinvigorated by the lightened schedule with fewer live events, as well as the new regime. He said Levesque takes a step back himself, and lets the talent across the board do what they do best.

"I think that freedom has really allowed the superstars, and I know for me and I know for Pat as well, has allowed us to be more entertaining, to be more relaxed, to be able to sit back and enjoy this product as a fan," he said. "Also, who knows characters better than the character? Seth Rollins knows his character better than anyone on the planet, so why not allow him to be able to bring that character forward."

Cole said that Levesque understands he has an "all-star team" in the company, from the talent to the announcers to camera and audio people, and those who handle props. He agreed with McAfee that Levesque has "empowered" everyone behind the scenes as they put all their energy into WWE's television products.

"I've seen everything in this business for nearly 30 years," Cole said. "I have never had as much fun as I've had the last couple of years. Not only working with you, but working with Paul [Levesque]."

credit "The Pat McAfee Show" Wrestling Inc.

Former WWE CEO Vince McMahon, SEC reach deal over settlements

The Securities and Exchange Commission says it has settled charges against former WWE CEO Vince McMahon over his failure to disclose to the sports entertainment company's board and others that he signed two settlement agreements worth $10.5 million with two women in order for them not to reveal potential claims against himself and WWE.

The SEC said McMahon, without admitting or denying its findings, agreed to cease-and-desist from violating certain provisions, pay a $400,000 civil penalty and reimburse WWE approximately $1.3 million.

"Today ends nearly three years of investigation by different governmental agencies. There has been a great deal of speculation about what exactly the government was investigating and what the outcome would be. As today's resolution shows, much of that speculation was misguided and misleading," McMahon said in a statement. "In the end, there was never anything more to this than minor accounting errors with regard to some personal payments that I made several years ago while I was CEO of WWE. I'm thrilled that I can now put all this behind me."

Manhattan federal prosecutors declined to comment.

McMahon resigned from WWE's parent company in January 2024 after a former employee filed a federal lawsuit accusing him and another former executive of serious sexual misconduct. At the time, McMahon stepped down from his position as executive chairman of the board of directors at WWE's parent company, TKO Group Holdings. He continued to deny wrongdoing following the filing of the lawsuit.

The SEC said Friday that one agreement was signed in 2019 and the other in 2022. One agreement required McMahon to pay a former employee $3 million in exchange for the former worker's agreement to not disclose her relationship with McMahon and her release of potential claims against WWE and McMahon.

The other agreement obligated McMahon to pay a former WWE independent contractor $7.5 million in exchange for the independent contractor's agreement to not disclose her allegations against McMahon and her release of potential claims against WWE and McMahon, the SEC said.

Ann Callis, a lawyer for Janel Grant, who is a former WWE employee who filed a lawsuit against the company and McMahon, accusing him of sexual battery and trafficking, said in a statement that the SEC's charges are confirmation that McMahon broke the law to cover up his behavior.

"The SEC's charges prove that the NDA Vince McMahon coerced Ms. Grant into signing violates the law, and therefore her case must be heard in court," Callis said. "While prosecutors for the Southern District of New York continue their criminal investigation, we look forward to bringing forward new evidence in our civil case."

The Associated Press does not normally name people who make sexual assault allegations unless they come forward publicly, which Grant did.

McMahon has denied Grant's allegations.

By McMahon not disclosing the agreements to WWE's board, legal department, accountants, financial reporting personnel or auditor, it circumvented the company's system of internal accounting controls and caused material misstatements in its 2018 and 2021 financial statements, the commission said.

The SEC's order found that, because the payments required by the 2019 and 2022 agreements were not recorded, WWE overstated its 2018 net income by approximately 8% and its 2021 net income by about 1.7%.

Once WWE learned of the settlement agreements, it issued a restatement of its financial statements in August 2022.

"Company executives cannot enter into material agreements on behalf of the company they serve and withhold that information from the company's control functions and auditor," Thomas P. Smith Jr., associate regional director in the New York Regional Office, said in a statement.

McMahon was the leader and most recognizable face at WWE for decades. When he purchased what was then the World Wrestling Federation from his father in 1982, wrestling matches took place at small venues and appeared on local cable channels. WWE matches are now held in professional sports stadiums, and the company's weekly live television program, "Raw," made its debut on Netflix on Monday, where it had 4.9 million views globally and averaged 2.6 million households in the U.S., according to VideoAmp.

WWE’s ‘Monday Night Raw’ Netflix Debut Draws 4.9 Million Views

The first episode of WWE‘s “Monday Night Raw” to stream live on Netflix pulled in 4.9 million views globally.

That is according to Live+1 data provided by Netflix, with a view defined as total hours viewed for the program divided by its runtime. The 4.9 million views came from countries like the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Latin America, but did not include 92 countries/territories where Netflix doesn’t yet distribute WWE, including France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Philippines and South Korea.

The Netflix debut of “Raw” was also viewed by 2.6 million households in the U.S. according to VideoAmp, compared to the 1.2 million households “Raw” was averaging in 2024.

It is difficult to make a direct comparison between the Netflix and USA Network viewership for “Raw,” as linear channels measure their viewership differently than Netflix does. For the sake of some comparison, however, the final episode of “Raw” on USA Network averaged approximately 1.596 million viewers across its two-hour runtime, according to Nielsen Live + Same Day data. From the beginning of October through the end of December, “Raw” averaged approximately 1.65 million viewers per week on USA Network.

During the first “Raw” on Netflix, Roman Reigns defeated his cousin Solo Sikoa in a Tribal Combat match for the sacred ula fala and the title of Tribal Chief. Later, Rhea Ripley defeated Liv Morgan to regain the women’s world championship title, Jey Uso defeated Drew McIntyre, and CM Punk won a brutal main event match against Seth Rollins.

The night also saw John Cena kick off his 2025 retirement tour, while Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson opened the show and later appeared alongside Reigns. WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan made an appearance toward the end of the show, but was met with a barrage of boos from the crowd.

This is the latest in push by Netflix into live streaming. Previously, the streamer aired a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul that drew an estimated average minute audience (AMA) of 108 million live viewers globally. The event peaked at 65 million concurrent streams, with 38 million concurrent streams in the US. Over Christmas, the NFL matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans averaged 24.3 million viewers on Netflix, while the earlier Chiefs-Steelers bout brought in 24.1 million viewers.

source: variety.com