Vince McMahon’s Power Part II
Another editorial look at Vince in the face of his (possible?) demise.
(photo courtesy of WWE.com)
Whoa—so NOW what the fuck is Vince gonna do tonight?
The last time a bombshell report came from the Wall Street Journal, Vince McMahon found it appropriate to start a television tour of aggressively selling he’s no-selling. He was on SmackDown and then Raw, before finally making an uncharacteristic appearance outside his self-induced bubble by attending UFC 276.
This time, he had the sense to not introduce something innocuously just for the sake of visibility on his television. But apparently, not enough sense to totally recuse himself from WWE day-to-day operations in creative.
The latest from the Wall Street Journal—the second in a series of damning exposes—uncovered that McMahon paid $12 million in hush money to suppress sexual misconduct claims from past employees, one of which, was a wrestler. The most disturbing of allegations, is that Vince paid $7.5 million to a wrestler who claimed Vince coerced her into performing oral sex on him, only to lose her push when further encounters were denied. Even if all these allegations are entirely untrue, until the outside investigation is complete, how can WWE allow Vince to be on the premises, much less run creative? If he’s alleged to be running essentially a casting couch, how is this man still deciding which wrestlers are advancing and being promoted within the company? That alone is evidence enough that their human resources and compliance departments are entirely a sham and out of touch with what’s acceptable in the workforce culture of today. It’s unfathomable that he should continue to stay in any position, even an unpaid internship, and the only blowback we know of so far is one member of the Board of Directors, coincidentally enough, resigning.
But where is the blowback from the industry itself? You haven’t heard a fucking peep on Twitter. Major media outlets are covering it, but it will fade after the news cycle passes next week. The fans aren’t helping, either. All that’s been going on this weekend are attempts to dox whatever Diva Search Era female they think it is and if Eddie Kingston’s belly is too doughy for their aesthetics. Unbelievable.
I don’t understand the utter silence from non-WWE wrestlers. I understand if you’re currently employed, sure, fine, it’s wise to not disparage the company paying your bills. But so far from past performers or those even on the margins of the industry it’s been, what, Gail Kim and Mickie James that have said only said something? You’re not even reading performative, vague, blanket-y, support-ish social media posts in any direction. Are they just saving it for their podcasts? Is the lure of one last run brother, too strong? Do they think all the claims are bullshit and a money grab? Wouldn’t know it either way.
Also distressing, are wrestling journalists that are reacting to this story, as opposed to revealing it. If you knew the story, why did it take the WSJ to tell it now? Or are the risk of lawsuits and being bled dry by WWE’s legal team the reason? Wouldn’t know it either way, either.
The temperature in the room I’m reading is that regardless of the veracity of the allegations and if payments were paid because of genuine gross misconduct by Vince, is that Vince is not going anywhere and there’s no use in even thinking things can or will change from major repercussions.
What kind of industry are people supporting by silence? Are they just waiting for more drops by the WSJ to form an opinion? Or do we view WWE with the same lens of variable nihilism that we do towards all major sports, resigning to ourselves that it’s a dirty world just like football and you can’t be surprised by any amount of heinousness?
More to come.
(photo courtesy of WWE.com)
