WWE SmackDown commentator Pat McAfee discussed the allegations against WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon and the Senior Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis on The Pat McAfee Show earlier today.
As noted on Wednesday, it was revealed that WWE’s Board of Directors are investigating McMahon over a “secret $3 million settlement” he made to a former WWE paralegal that was hired in 2019. Laurinaitis is also being investigated for his involvement, and the Board is looking into other instances with former female employees as well. You can click here for the full original report with details on who the woman is, the anonymous e-mails that led to the investigation, comments from Vince’s lawyer Jerry McDevitt, and more. You can also click here for more backstage notes and talk from within WWE on the matter, including WWE’s internal statement to staff, and click here for an update on McMahon and Laurinaitis for Friday’s SmackDown.
In an update, McAfee discussed the situation surrounding McMahon and Laurinaitis during Thursday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show. He said he doesn’t really know anything about the situation, but he’s “excited to hear the chatter” at Friday’s SmackDown in Minneapolis. McAfee did say the allegations are terrible, and not fantastic at all.
“I don’t know, I know less than everybody else,” McAfee said, adding that he’s not really in a position where he would have additional information. “I don’t know shit about fuck, okay? I don’t know shit about fuck over there. I go in, do my thing, say hello to everybody, I’m out. I’m in maybe the most awesome situation in the history of WWE for anybody. I’m a longtime fan, lifelong fan of the company, but I’m not a part of any of the anything, really. I’m part of no groups, I have no locker room when I go there. I literally just kind of bounce around, do my thing, and I’m out.”
UPDATE 6/17/2022: Vince McMahon is stepping down from his Chairman & CEO duties, and Stephanie McMahon is returning from her leave of absence. Find full details at this link, or in the box of links below.
McAfee, who was granted a rare McMahon interview back in March and then took a loss against McMahon at WrestleMania 38 in April, then offered his thoughts on the situation as someone looking in from the outside, and commented on working SmackDown this week.
“I’m going there tomorrow,” he said. “I’m excited to hear the chatter. Now, obviously, what is being alleged is not fantastic at all, it’s terrible. There will be full investigations. I’m watching along with everybody else in the middle of Indianapolis but that came out of nowhere yesterday. What will happen? TBD. There’s going to be a lot of investigations.”
McAfee commented on what kinds of investigations he thinks there will be, and said we likely will never get the actual truth.
“There will be an investigation about the investigations too and then those investigations will somehow contradict other investigations,” he said. “Will we ever get the truth? No, hopefully, we get part of it though and I think that’s what everybody is hoping for. So, who knows how that whole thing will go? It sounds incredibly problematic.”
“I don’t know how that’s going to go,” McAfee added about Friday’s SmackDown.
It’s been reported that McMahon and Laurinaitis are still attending Friday’s show and that it will be “business as usual” for the taping.
Stay tuned to WrestlingHeadlines.com for more on McMahon and Laurinaitis. You can find our various reports on the situation above.
FULL COVERAGE OF THE VINCE MCMAHON – JOHN LAURINAITIS ALLEGATIONS:
– Stephanie McMahon Sends Message to WWE Staff After Today’s Huge Announcement
– Vince McMahon Announced for WWE SmackDown
– Pat McAfee Reacts to Vince McMahon Allegations, Thinks We Will Never Get the Truth
(H/T to F4Wonline for the quotes)
Follow Marc on Twitter at @this_is_marc. Send any news, tips or corrections to us by clicking here.