Marc Middleton in WWE News, WWE Rumors and Spoilers

Backstage News on Vince McMahon’s Retirement, Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan’s New WWE Roles, More

(Photo Credit: SBJ)

Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan have been named the new co-CEOs of WWE. Stephanie will also work as the Chairwoman of the company.

This news comes after Vince McMahon announced his retirement from the company at the age of 77. Vince is no longer the WWE Chairman & CEO of the company he built into a global entertainment juggernaut. You can click here for his full statement on retiring.

Khan previously worked as the WWE President & Chief Revenue Officer, while Stephanie had been working as the WWE Chief Brand Officer, but she was recently named the Interim CEO & Chairwoman while the WWE Board of Investigators investigated her father and Talent Relations head John Laurinaitis over allegations of misconduct.

As noted, it was announced earlier today that Paul “Triple H” Levesque is now leading the Talent Relations division. He was named the new WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations. Triple H previously worked as the Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development, but before taking that title, he worked as WWE’s Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events & Creative a few years back.

Vince reportedly made the decision to retire “about a week or so ago,” according to PWInsider. One source said the final decision was made privately around 10 days ago. The decision was then made to put Stephanie and Khan into the co-CEO role shortly after Vince’s retirement was decided on.

A very closed circle reportedly knew of the retirement ahead of time, and shockwaves are still registering within WWE HQ and beyond, according to PWInsider. There is a lot of shock within the company, especially among long-time employees as they truly never believed there would be a day where they worked for the company without Vince at the helm.

Stephanie and Triple H are backstage for tonight’s SmackDown in Boston, and it was reportedly earlier that Khan would also be there. A meeting was scheduled with talent for 5pm ET, and we will have details from the meeting later on. WWE’s Executive Producer & Chief of Global Television Distribution Kevin Dunn and Senior Vice President & RAW/SmackDown Executive Vice President Bruce Prichard will be running tonight’s taping. Vince was not present in Boston at all today, and will not be officially involved in the creative process moving forward.

Today’s massive shake-up comes after the WWE Board of Directors recently began investigation McMahon and Laurinaitis over allegations of misconduct. It’s been reported that more allegations are expected, but not confirmed as of this writing, and that mainstream media outlets are working on new pieces about the allegations, including HBO’s Real Sports.

As we’ve noted, it was initially revealed on Wednesday, June 15 that WWE’s Board of Directors has been investigating Vince over the “secret $3 million settlement” he made to the former paralegal that was hired in 2019. Laurinaitis was also being investigated for his involvement, and it was revealed that the Board has been looking into other instances with former female employees as well. It was then announced on Friday, June 17 that McMahon returned from her leave of absence to act as the Interim CEO & Interim Chairwoman after Vince voluntarily stepped away from his Chairman & CEO corporate duties, while still continuing his creative responsibilities. It was then revealed on Monday, June 20 that Prichard, WWE’s Senior Vice President and RAW/SmackDown Executive Producer, was working as the Interim Senior Vice President of Talent Relations, filling in for Laurinaitis during the investigation. It was then revealed on Friday, July 8, that McMahon agreed to pay more than $12 million in “hush money” to four women, including a former wrestler. Prichard is no longer working the interim role as WWE announced today, July 22, that Paul “Triple H” Levesque is the new WWE Executive Vice President of Talent Relations. Vince’s retirement was announced hours after Triple H’s new role was revealed, and Vince was the first to confirm that Stephanie is the new Chairwoman & Co-CEO, along with Co-CEO Khan. You can find full details at the links below, including statements from Vince and Stephanie, full details on the anonymous e-mails that led to the announcements, the “hush money” pacts, and more.

Stay tuned to WrestlingHeadlines.com for more. Below are links to our various reports on the McMahon – Laurinaitis situation, and Triple H’s new role, along with Vince’s retirement tweet.

FULL COVERAGE OF THE VINCE MCMAHON – JOHN LAURINAITIS ALLEGATIONS AND FALLOUT:

– Read Vince McMahon’s Full Retirement Letter Sent to WWE Employees

– WWE SmackDown Backstage Mood, Rumor on Another Departure, Meeting Held After Vince McMahon’s Retirement Announcement, More

– Tony Khan Jokingly Reacts To Vince McMahon’s Retirement: “I’m Grateful To Now Be The Longest-Tenured CEO In Pro Wrestling”

– WWE to Replace Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam?, More on Lesnar’s Reaction to Vince McMahon’s Retirement

– Backstage News on Vince McMahon’s Retirement, Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan’s New WWE Roles, More

– Brock Lesnar Reportedly Leaves SmackDown, Upset Over Vince McMahon’s WWE Retirement

– Vince McMahon Retires from WWE

– Triple H at WWE SmackDown, Backstage Talk on Triple H’s New Role, Bruce Prichard Update, More

– WWE Announces Triple H’s New Executive Role, Triple H Comments

– More Vince McMahon Allegations To Be Revealed?, Possible Reasons Mainstream Media Didn’t Give Significant Attention to Recent WSJ Report–

– Netflix Reportedly Pulls Vince McMahon Project, Millions of Dollars Spent