Happy Birthday Triple H

Paul Michael Levesque
July 27, 1969

Triple H Promises WWE Talent A "More Transparent Creative Process"

WWE announced yesterday, before WWE Monday Night RAW, that Paul "Triple H" Levesque will lead the creative team effective immediately, essentially replacing Vince McMahon as the person who has to give his approval on anything related to storylines and character development.

According to a report from Fightful Select, Triple H spoke to talent in an internal meeting before RAW went on the air last night.

In the meeting, Triple H (who also is the new EVP of Talent Relations) promised greater transparency when it comes to creative, something that was said to be severely lacking under Vince McMahon's leadership. HHH emphasized that he wants an "open line of communication" between him and the wrestlers, something that was nearly non-existent with Vince as some wrestlers waited hours and hours to speak to him if they were lucky to even get that face-to-face time. Triple H also stressed that he wants work to be fun.

Some wrestlers who spoke of this meeting said that it went "really well", leaving many with a sense of optimism that there will be positive changes when it comes to creative. The USA Network, one of WWE's biggest partners, appears to be pleased with the move to appoint Levesque as the top dog for creative as they posted the following on Facebook and on their website.

Source: FightfulSelect.com

WWE’s Latest SEC Filing Includes Legally Foreboding Language

WWE released their latest SEC filing, which revealed that the company had made “a preliminary determination” that payments McMahon made from 2006 to 2022 were not recorded as expenses in the quarters they occurred in, thus making them “Unrecorded Expenses.” As such, WWE announced they are revising previous financial statements to record these “Expenses” for the end of 2019, 2020, 2021 and Q1 of 2022, with the goal of issuing new statements by August 9.

WWE also revealed that the total of “Unrecorded Expenses” was around $14.6 million, and that McMahon had paid or would pay the amount personally. The $14.6 million, which WWE claims “was not material to any individual time period in which the Unrecorded Expenses arose,” has been determined to be an aggregate amount, and WWE is continuing to evaluate “the impact on previously reported on previously reported financial statements.”

It had been previously reported that McMahon had paid $12.5 million to keep quiet numerous potential scandals, with the individual payouts ranging from $7.5 million to $3 million to two $1 million payouts. If those payments are part of the $14.6 million, that would leave approximately $2.1 million unaccounted for. It’s unknown if this will lead to more payouts related to McMahon being revealed going forward.

The WWE closed out this section of their filing with a brief statement that suggested that the actions of McMahon may lead to more controversy for the promotion in the days to come:

“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.”

WWE and Board of Directors Announce New Co-CEOs Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan; Paul Levesque to Assume Control of Creative

WWE and its Board of Directors today announced the appointment of Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan as co-Chief Executive Officers. Ms. McMahon has also been appointed Chairwoman of the Board, and Mr. Khan will continue to serve as a member of the Board. These appointments follow Vince McMahon’s retirement announcement on Friday, July 22.

"We are grateful for the opportunity to lead WWE together with our unmatched management team," said Ms. McMahon and Mr. Khan. "We recognize this is a tremendous opportunity and responsibility, and we look forward to serving the WWE Universe." 

Additionally, WWE executive Paul Levesque will assume all responsibilities related to WWE’s creative, in addition to his regular duties.

Vince McMahon Retires

Vince McMahon today released the following statement:

“As I approach 77 years old, I feel it’s time for me to retire as Chairman and CEO of WWE. Throughout the years, it’s been a privilege to help WWE bring you joy, inspire you, thrill you, surprise you, and always entertain you. I would like to thank my family for mightily contributing to our success, and I would also like to thank all of our past and present Superstars and employees for their dedication and passion for our brand. Most importantly, I would like to thank our fans for allowing us into your homes every week and being your choice of entertainment. I hold the deepest appreciation and admiration for our generations of fans all over the world who have liked, currently like, and sometimes even love our form of Sports Entertainment.

“Our global audience can take comfort in knowing WWE will continue to entertain you with the same fervor, dedication, and passion as always. I am extremely confident in the continued success of WWE, and I leave our company in the capable hands of an extraordinary group of Superstars, employees, and executives – in particular, both Chairwoman and Co-CEO Stephanie McMahon and Co-CEO Nick Khan. As the majority shareholder, I will continue to support WWE in any way I can. My personal thanks to our community and business partners, shareholders, and Board of Directors for their guidance and support through the years. Then. Now. Forever. Together.”

Paul "Triple H" Levesque is back

WWE today announced that effective immediately, Paul Levesque will resume his executive position as EVP, Talent Relations. 

“I look forward to returning to my prior position as head of Talent Relations. I’m healthy, fired up, and ready to take charge,” said Levesque.

WrestleMania Generates $206 Million For Dallas/Arlington Region

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and Arlington Mayor Jim Ross today announced that WrestleMania generated $206.5 million in economic impact for the Dallas/Arlington region this past April, according to a study conducted by the Enigma Research Corporation. This marks a new company record and the first time in history that WrestleMania has generated more than $200 million in economic impact.

Over the past 12 years, WrestleManiahas generated more than $1 billion in cumulative economic impact for the cities that have hosted the event. WrestleMania also generated approximately $24.8 million in federal, state and local taxes.

“On behalf of the Jones family and the entire Dallas Cowboys organization, we congratulate WWE on their milestone success of WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium,” said Dallas Cowboys Chief Brand Officer Charlotte Jones. “We were honored to partner with WWE and their Superstars to give back to the community in a multitude of ways during WrestleMania Week.”

“On behalf of the city of Arlington, we congratulate WWE and their fans for surpassing $200 million in economic impact for the first time in WrestleMania history,” said Arlington Mayor Jim Ross. “We are glad to have shared this success and look forward to the opportunity for AT&T Stadium to host a future WrestleMania.”

“We are thrilled that WrestleMania’s return to full capacity generated stupendous record results for our partners in Dallas and Arlington, showcasing the continued growth for WWE’s largest annual celebration,” said WWE Executive Vice President of Special Events John P. Saboor. “This success would not have been possible without the tireless support of Mayor Johnson, Mayor Ross, Charlotte Jones and the entire Jones family, the Dallas Cowboys organization, Dallas Sports Commission, American Airlines Center and the rest of our public and private sector partners throughout the region. We now turn our focus to next year’s WrestleMania in Hollywood.”

A capacity crowd of 156,352 fans from all 50 states and 53 countries attended WWE’s pop-culture extravaganza over the course of two nights this past April, making it the highest-grossing and most-attended event in WWE history. Key highlights from the study include:

$206.5 million in direct, indirect and induced impact derived from spending by visitors to the Dallas/Arlington region for WrestleMania.

67% of fans that attended WrestleMania were from outside the Dallas/Arlington region and stayed an average of 3.5 nights.

$25.4 million was spent on hotels and accommodations within the Dallas/Arlington region.

The economic impact derived from WrestleMania Week was equal to the creation of 1,777 full-time jobs for the area.

Netflix Pulls Vince McMahon Docuseries

It appears that the planned Netflix docuseries about Vince McMahon has been pulled, following today’s report from the Wall Street Journal about McMahon allegedly paying $12 million combined to keep various affairs and accusations of sexual misconduct quiet.

According to F4Wonline’s Denise Salcedo, she was told by sources that the series was pulled and is off Netflix’s programming spreadsheet.

A source from Netflix reportedly confirmed to Salcedo that it was no longer listed on the company’s spreadsheet, while another source at Netflix said “That s--t’s out of here.”

It was also noted in the report that the project was already deep in post-production. Several talent interviews had been done months ago and millions were already spent.

WWE’s message to employees after the latest Vince McMahon bombshell

There’s been no public acknowledgement as of yet, but PWInsider has posted an internal memorandum WWE reportedly sent out today (July 8) after The Wall Street Journal’s latest story on Vince McMahon and hush money payments he made to employees and contractors to cover up sexual misconduct and infidelity.

The Wall Street Journal has published a second story with expanded details on its initial WWE report last month. We want to reiterate that we and our Board of Directors take these allegations seriously.

We’ve been cooperating fully with the investigation led by our Board of Directors and will continue to do so until its conclusion. Please note that upon its conclusion, WWE leadership will make itself available to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you.

WWE Board spokespeople didn’t respond to the Wall Street Journal’s questions about whether the three new NDAs it reported on where part of the ongoing investigation against McMahon. This statement could be read as an indication they are (referring to the instances in today’s report as “expanded details” as opposed to new allegations), but beyond that, it’s essentially a condensed version of the statement they issued when Vince stepped down from his CEO & Chairman roles.

He remains the head of creative, and has made multiple public appearances representing WWE since the investigation was launch in June.

source: cagesideseats.com

Vince McMahon Agreed to Pay $12 Million in Hush Money to Four Women

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.’s longtime leader, agreed to pay more than $12 million over the past 16 years to suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity, an amount far larger than previously known. The payouts went to four women, all formerly affiliated with WWE who signed agreements with Mr. McMahon that prohibit them from discussing potential legal claims against or their relationships with the 76-year-old executive, according to people familiar with the deals as well as documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. 

The previously unreported settlements include a $7.5 million pact with a former wrestler who alleged that Mr. McMahon coerced her into giving him oral sex and then demoted her and, ultimately, declined to renew her contract in 2005 after she resisted further sexual encounters, according to people familiar with the matter. The wrestler and her attorney approached Mr. McMahon in 2018 and negotiated the payment in return for her silence, the people said. 

In another previously unreported deal, a WWE contractor presented the company with unsolicited nude photos of Mr. McMahon she reported receiving from him and alleged that he had sexually harassed her on the job, according to people familiar with the woman’s 2008 nondisclosure agreement. Mr. McMahon agreed to pay her roughly $1 million, these people said. And in a 2006 agreement, a former manager who had worked 10 years for Mr. McMahon before he allegedly initiated a sexual relationship with her was paid $1 million to keep quiet about it, according to people familiar with the deal. The Journal previously reported about a $3 million hush pact reached in January between Mr. McMahon and a former WWE paralegal with whom he allegedly had an affair, citing documents and the people familiar with the matter. WWE’s board is investigating Mr. McMahon’s agreement with the former paralegal, and the 2018 deal with the former wrestler, people familiar with the inquiry said. 

The board also is investigating allegations that WWE executive John Laurinaitis had a sexual relationship with the same former paralegal, according to people familiar with the inquiry. Additionally, the board is looking at a $1.5 million nondisclosure agreement reached in 2012 with an employee involving misconduct claims against Mr. Laurinaitis, these people said. Mr. Laurinaitis, a former wrestler known as Johnny Ace, had been head of WWE talent relations for eight years when he was forced to step down in 2012 and take a smaller role at the company. His demotion came around the same time as the $1.5 million deal with the employee, who alleged she had an affair with Mr. Laurinaitis and that he demoted her after she broke it off, people familiar with the nondisclosure agreement said. 

Mr. McMahon had restored Mr. Laurinaitis as head of talent relations last year. WWE has since placed Mr. Laurinaitis on administrative leave, a person familiar with the matter said. The Journal couldn’t determine whether the board probe includes the nondisclosure agreements involving the contractor and the former manager, or how far back the investigation will go. A spokesman for the board’s independent directors declined to comment. Neither Mr. Laurinaitis nor an attorney for Mr. McMahon responded to requests for comment. The company is cooperating with the board inquiry, a WWE spokesman said. Mr. McMahon’s relationship with the former paralegal was consensual, the spokesman said, adding that the company is taking the allegations seriously. 

In a June 8 letter to the Journal, Mr. McMahon’s attorney, Jerry McDevitt, said that the former paralegal hadn’t made any claims of harassment against Mr. McMahon and that “WWE did not pay any monies” to the ex-employee “on her departure.” The investigation by the board’s outside counsel at Simpson Thacher and Bartlett LLP was triggered by a series of anonymous emails that directors received earlier this year, the Journal reported. The emails, reviewed by the Journal, described Mr. McMahon’s deal with the former paralegal and alleged that he and Mr. Laurinaitis took advantage of her. Mr. McMahon temporarily stepped aside as the chief executive and chairman of WWE on June 17, following the Journal report on the $3 million agreement with the former paralegal. Mr. McMahon has pledged to cooperate with investigators. 

His daughter, Stephanie McMahon, replaced him pending the outcome of the investigation, though Mr. McMahon still oversees WWE’s creative side, the company said. WWE shares closed at $62.51 on the day Mr. McMahon stepped aside and slid below $60 over the following days. Shares closed Thursday at $65.07. WWE describes Mr. McMahon as critical to the success of the company, which runs the world’s most famous wrestling business and reported record revenue of $1.1 billion last year. WWE said in regulatory filings that losing Mr. McMahon would put its entire business at risk. WWE’s revenue includes a five-year exclusive agreement with NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming platform struck in 2021 and valued at $1 billion. The company also has TV licensing agreements with Fox Corp. and NBCUniversal, and recently secured its first stand-alone international distribution deal with Disney Plus Hotstar in Indonesia. Fox Corp. and Journal parent News Corp share common ownership. 

Mr. McMahon owns a majority of WWE’s Class B shares, giving him the bulk of shareholders’ voting power, securities filings show. The Class B shares have 10 times the voting power of the Class A shares available to regular investors and are owned exclusively by Mr. McMahon, his family and trusts benefiting individual family members, the filings show. “The bar is going to be reasonably high to wrestle the business from family control,” said Brandon Ross, a research analyst at LightShed Partners who follows WWE. But he added that any outcome that would strip Mr. McMahon’s creative responsibilities would materially change the company. 

In 2006, Mr. McMahon made news after an employee at a Boca Raton, Fla., tanning salon accused him of groping her, according to a police report. The employee told police that Mr. McMahon showed her nude photos of himself on his phone and later tried to kiss her, the police report said. Mr. McMahon said “he was only trying to have a little fun,” according to the woman’s account in the police report. Mr. McMahon’s lawyer told police he denied any wrongdoing, the report said. Prosecutors declined to file charges, citing a lack of independent evidence, records show. Mr. McMahon’s wife, Linda McMahon, helped build the company and was WWE’s chief executive until she stepped down in 2009 for the first of two unsuccessful campaigns for the Senate. She served as head of the Small Business Administration under former President Donald Trump. Mrs. McMahon didn’t respond to requests for comment. Mr. McMahon said in an interview with Playboy magazine published in 2001 that he had been unfaithful to Mrs. McMahon with multiple women in prior years but had put a stop to the affairs after realizing “the havoc you create in others’ lives, just from wanting to have a good time.” 

Mr. McMahon’s affairs at the company were common knowledge, according to former WWE employees. The former paralegal to whom Mr. McMahon agreed to pay $3 million was brought into the company as a legal assistant in 2019, according to people familiar with the matter. She never applied for the job, these people said. Mr. McMahon had met her at his Stamford, Conn., condo building, where both were living, the people said. WWE placed her in the legal department because the woman’s resume said she had attended law school, the people said. The woman often talked with colleagues in the department about her close relationship with Mr. McMahon, the people familiar with the matter said. The talk about Mr. McMahon was so frequent that her boss asked her to stop, saying she was making other employees uncomfortable, according to one of the people. In 2021, the woman transferred from the legal department to talent relations under Mr. Laurinaitis, who returned to the role he had held a decade earlier. WWE considered raising the woman’s annual salary from $100,000 to around $300,000, at Mr. McMahon’s request, according to people familiar with the matter. The company settled on a base salary of $200,000 and a director-level position. An anonymous email sent to the board on March 30 this year, and viewed by the Journal, alleged that Mr. McMahon increased the woman’s salary after he began a sexual relationship with her. The email alleged that Mr. McMahon “gave her like a toy” to Mr. Laurinaitis. 

By Joe Palazzolo Ted Mann and Joe Flint at WSJ.com

WWE's Connor Schell Resigns From Board Of Directors

Connor Schell resigned from WWE’s board of directors yesterday. Schell, a film and television producer, cited “an increased slate of responsibilities resulting from his new, expanded role at the newly formed The North Road Company” in the filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. According to the filing, Schell’s exit from the board of directors “was not due to any dispute or disagreement with the Company, its management or the Board on any matter relating to the Company’s operations, policies or practices.”

Schell’s resignation came in tandem with the news of North Road Company’s formation, and its purchase of Red Arrow Studios, as well as Schell’s Words + Pictures production company. The move puts North Road in control of such popular properties as the reality show “Say Yes To The Dress.” North Road Company was founded by former-News Corp. executive Peter Chernin. Schell will oversee North Road’s non-scripted business.

The news comes as WWE’s board of directors is in the middle of investigating WWE chairman & CEO Vince McMahon over a series of hush money payments made to former female employees alleging misconduct against McMahon and WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis. According to the Wall Street Journal, the investigation began in April, after a Non-Disclosure Agreement between McMahon and a former WWE paralegal led to the discovery of numerous other NDAs. McMahon has since stepped down from his corporate duties, with his daughter Stephanie stepping in as Interim Chairwoman & CEO, though McMahon remains a presence on TV and at the helm of WWE’s creative direction. Laurinaitis has been placed on administrative leave, with Bruce Prichard taking over his duties for the time being.

Schell is a former Executive Vice President at ESPN and was a co-creator of the popular “30 for 30” series, as well as a producer on the Academy Award-winning documentary “OJ: Made In America.”

Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Triple H And Pat McAfee Make Appearance At UFC 276

The McMahon family and company made an appearance tonight at UFC 276 following their own PPV.

The WWE held Money In The Bank on the same night as UFC 276, which is taking place at the nearby T-Mobile Arena during its 10th International Fight Week, just as was the case with Manny Pacquiao vs. Yordenis Ugás that took place on the same night as the previous year’s SummerSlam event.

Following the end of their PPV, Vince McMahon, his daughter Stephanie McMahon, her husband the legendary Triple H and Pat McAfee made an appearance, sitting by the octagon watching the fights.

source: bodyslam.net