Meanwhile, her daughter Stephanie McMahon will act as interim CEO and interim president, the WWE (WWE) said in a statement on Friday. McMahon will not disappear completely from the company. He will retain his role related to the creative content of the WWE while the investigation is ongoing, and will appear as a character during wrestling matches. The company tweeted Friday that McMahon would appear on the company’s Friday night wrestling showcase, “Smackdown,” which airs on Fox. A special committee on the company’s board has begun investigating McMahon. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that McMahon paid a $ 3 million secret settlement to a former employee with whom he allegedly had an affair. The separation deal, which was made in January, prevents the former, unnamed employee from “splitting or disparaging her relationship with Mr. McMahon,” according to the Journal.
“I have committed my full cooperation to the special committee’s investigation and will do my utmost to support the investigation,” McMahon said in a statement. “I am also committed to accepting the findings and the outcome of the investigation, whatever they may be.”
The investigation reportedly began in April and “has uncovered other older confidentiality agreements involving claims by former WWE workers for Mr. McMahon’s misconduct,” the Journal reported. Other allegations of misconduct were found against John Laurinaitis, the company’s head of talent relations.
The WWE said on Friday that it takes “all allegations of misconduct very seriously” and has hired independent legal services to help with the review. A third will also “conduct a comprehensive review of the company’s compliance program, human resources function and general culture.”
The company’s board is made up of McMahon-dependent executives and even members of McMahon’s own family. This includes Stephanie McMahon as well as Paul Levesque, her husband and former wrestler who goes by the stage name, Triple H. Vince McMahon controls most of the voting power.
McMahon has been an integral part of the WWE (WWE) for decades, both behind the scenes and in the ring.
The CEO helped turn the company into a media powerhouse, which currently has agreements with Fox and NBCUniversal. McMahon has also helped create many famous fighters, such as The Rock, John Cena and Stone Cold Steve Austin, who have grown up bigger than WWE itself.
WWE shares have risen more than 30% so far, an atypical value in today’s bear market.
– Frank Pallotta of CNN Business contributed to this report.