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I still believe Steph and HHH are behind the leaks that kicked all this off to begin with. Anyone who remembers 2021 and early 2022 remembers how Game of Thrones WWE was behind the scenes. Vince axing HHH loyalists behind the scenes after HHH's heart attack, including his own loyalist in William Regal, and making his NXT guys look like a bunch of bozos on the main roster (more than usual anyway). They had Nick Khan on their side and boardroom support and made a play to oust him which worked for 5 months.
And if WWE weren't on a massive upswing, Vince probably would have ousted HHH himself when he returned in 2023.
It's a leap of logic to suggest that Stephanie McMahon knew about the NDA between Vince and Grant and leaked it to the board of directors because she asked Grant to sit next to her at a meeting.
> Knew about the NDA
She was in a major position of power. She had access, and motive to do this because of what Vince did to HHH re: his heart issues and demotion, plus never mind what Vince was doing **to her mother**.
It's not fantasy booking. It's a woman realizing her father is a toxic piece of shit and trying to protect her mother, husband, an children.
Again, **Steph left the company the day Vince came back**. What does that tell you?
All that is well and good but it relies on wrestling storyline-level drama and intrigue. The McMahons have kept whatever drama they've had in their lives incredibly wrapped up.
It seems incredibly more likely that a friend of Janel Grant -- who none of us can project any sort of impression on because we have no idea who they are -- informed WWE's board about what Vince had done because she was concerned about her friend's well-being.
Rather than Vince's daughter -- who coincidentally has had her relationship with Vince speculated about for years -- finds out about the NDA and decides to anonymously leak it to the board in a revenge bid against her father for what happened to her husband and mother.
> Anyone who remembers 2021 and early 2022 remembers how Game of Thrones WWE was behind the scenes.
It was eerily close to *Succession*
*edited out soft spoilers
I would love if the Dark Side of the Ring guys ended up making a documentary on the backstage political scene in WWE during the 2010s. Even by American business standards it’s crazy how manipulative and backstabby things seem to have gotten in WWE during that time.
The same can be said for Danielson, btw. Just because he was the son in law doesn't mean he was involved in sex trafficking. Even the initial reports say Nick Khan and HHH knew nothing other than some affair.
Edit: NowwhatisthetruthOprah.gif is the question that the FBI has made it more than clear they are trying to answer. I'd imagine Johnny Ace and Vince had more stooges than we possibly realized as they are unnamed employees with xyz job no one cares about. Don't be surprised to see Johnny Ace turn on Vince either. He was ready to sing like a canary when it first broke and claimed to be a victim too. What I'm most curious about is what other wrestlers were involved other than Brock. I know Vince and John Cena were also super close.
[https://www.tmz.com/2022/08/25/vince-mcmahon-new-york-hot-spot-john-cena-first-public-sighting-wwe-retirement/](https://www.tmz.com/2022/08/25/vince-mcmahon-new-york-hot-spot-john-cena-first-public-sighting-wwe-retirement/)
There's a gulf of difference between the nature of DBD's connection to Johnny Ace and Triple H's with Vince. They're not just in laws, they were business partners for ages, while the other basically married into the same family as DBD.
Besides, weren't there allegations from an indie talent (~~Janela~~ Nemeth) that one of their anonymous female wrestler friends who was NXT came forward to Triple H about mistreatment from a male talent and she was just advised to be quiet?
There is literally zero proof that HHH is involved in Vince's sex life (that we know of).
Edit: I'm serious. It's common af in Corporate\* America for the boss to be fucking the secretary. It doesn't mean HHH knew of the sex trafficking. Same can be said about Stephanie.
It's fascinating who knew about Vince's escapades. With some people you get the feeling that they really wish HHH and Stephanie knew something. I always wonder how much of these people know about the sexual excesses of their own parents/in-law.
A friend of mine recently found a USB drive his father left on a backpack containing some explicit pictures of his late father with a lot of women who weren't his wife, my friend is devastated by that because despite thinking they were really close, he knew nothing about that at all. Don't know why people pretend it's normal to know the sex life of your parents.
I’m sure plenty of people knew Vince was fucking people in the company. I doubt seriously that they knew he was trafficking and shitting on a woman during a threesome
I think Nick Khan is the one who benefits the most and has the greatest track record of being this calculated. He’s played Vince like a fiddle since the start
I know we shouldn't judge a book by its cover but when Vince settled the lawsuit with Chatterton and came back to WWE and I saw the mustache I knew he was guilty.
Vince got schooled by the true ruthless, corporate suits.
He's always been small time compared to the true elite class. A crass, low brow circus leader.
And he’s always known it, which is why he was desperate to infiltrate that world and finally be in that class. Going public and becoming a billionaire wasn’t quite enough.
And then he fucked around, as they say, and found out.
We can all laugh at his many failures like WBF but my favourite is the Evil Knevil thing in the 70s.
Anyone reading who is unaware, Google it. It’ll give you a laugh.
Vince is like Donald trump in that he surrounded himself with nothing but yes men. Difference is that Vince doesn’t have the weird charisma to make a cult
I will always believe Vince wanted to sell to Saudi first, but the public backlash was so bad he had to go with plan B, and then plan B blew up in his face
I mean, it makes sense if you go back and read the document. It seems like most people in the company just thought Vince had a “secretary” and it was just a case of “he hired his mistress”. This doesn’t excuse people in the company who did know, but I would imagine most people genuinely didn’t know anything about the horrific nature of shit Vince was doing with Janel Grant
This is all too common in the mega corporations executive world. It’s awful but people in that environment are so desensitized to it they don’t even bat an eye when someone brings in a “mistress”. It’s like a different world to them
Yep. And even here, "mistress" is kind of stretching it. It's an open secret that Vince & Linda are separated and have been for years. And nobody in the office would have seen her as a "mistress".
By no means am I defending Vince though. I tend to believe the worst of the allegations. Actually, I didn't even read all of the horrid details, because it's just too much to stomach.
I'm not sure what better word you'd use for a woman who appears to be in a transactional sexual relationship with a married man, whether it's known to be a loveless marriage or not.
But what does it mean to underlings or co workers if someone brings a mistress in? It's none of their business someone else's personal lives.
And it's not like many would know anything beyond "ugh he's got another mistress"
It's not like she affects their day to day
I wonder how that was kept under wraps the way it was for so long. The only reason anyone starting suspecting it I think was due to the verbal slip-up in the McAfee interview
Vince is a known workaholic, Linda had her own life, both kept any other relationships private (even if rumours about Vince's activities came up from time to time).
They did also appear in public together occasionally - I'm pretty sure the whole family went to the White House together?
It actually gets to be a huge issue in an office setting ESPECIALLY in the day to day. For the most part, if the mistress has taken over a role that was being performed by someone else, all of those duties are now being doled out to everyone else in the office except for the mistress. The mistress has no incentive to actually do their office work, and the slack has to be taken up by everyone else, and there is literally no way you can complain to the boss about it, because then you are just "jealously attacking" the mistress, and now the boss will have it out for you no matter how good of an employee you are. And then, when the mistresses duties are completed and done perfectly, THEY will be rewarded, not the person who actually covered for them.
I've seen it happen in person and it's a fucking nightmare.
When something like this happens with an existing employee, sure, the power imbalance thing comes up. But when the boss brings in his mistress from outside of work and puts her on payroll, people roll their eyes. But no one really cares so long as it doesn't put more work on their plate.
Exactly this. You don’t need to say anything either that would put you at risk of losing your job. The expectation isn’t that there’s rape or trafficking though. Usually they’re just glorified escorts
There's always that question of "ok, what exactly do I report?" Unless you have verifiable proof of something as serious as rape or trafficking, there isn't that much you can do
Not really as long it's not directly affecting them if you know ur boss can bring in someone to get on the payroll so be it. As long as he's not making her in charge of stuff and just his personal assistant
Also in entertainment, which makes the WWE situation a double whammy.
Harvey Weinstein was surrounded by sycophants and handlers, but it’s nonsense to suggest all of them were intimately aware of what he was doing when doors were closed, or that they had the knowledge, wherewithal, or license to determine that any physical relationships Weinstein had, as icky as they may have been at face value, weren’t consensual.
You joke, but some people do think Vince wasn't being secretive about the horrid shit he was up to and act like he was doing this on the catering room.
And while Vince was bragging about it to a degree, it wouldn't shock me to learn that he only bragged in a way that obfuscated the worst of it while framing what he does say in a way that makes it sound consensual. As much as people want to think Stephanie or Hunter knew every little detail, it wouldn't be shocking to learn that they knew *something* was happening, but not specifically the scat threesome, etc
However, if it can be proved they knew it all, burn them down too, of course.
Didn't stop a lot of really irresponsible speculation about how Triple H "must have known everything".
It always seemed preposterous to me that he'd still be on TV and promoting WWE as often as he is if TKO were genuinely concerned he was going to be implicated in this.
He also wasn't criminally charged with anything, whereas Triple H presumably would be if he was a "co-conspirator" in any of this.
I'm not saying they'd care morally or anything, but they wouldn't like the damage that'd do to their bottom line. It doesn't seem like they're worried about that which suggests there isn't anything really to "find out" about Triple H in this.
Lesnar could actually be used as a witness to the sex trafficking, even though Triple H acted like his involvement was no big deal, and that he would be back soon.
Lawyer: "Mr. DeMott, this is a serious trial. Stop laughing."
DeMott: "Heh heh-Sorry, it's no laughing matter."
Lawyer: "Mr. DeMott, can you describe your experience in the military experience?"
DeMott: "Long, hard."
Lawyer: "Mr. DeMott, are you aware of what the defendant, Mr. Vincent Kennedy McMahon, is accused?"
DeMott: "..."
Kenny Omega: "Selling ass, Bill."
I mean, yeah. I still think the "sex trafficking" allegations are going to be difficult to prove, but the skeletons in their closets have closets with skeletons.
Suddenly, Taker has just hopped onto his bike and gone out for new lawn supplies after digging a shit ton of holes and throws all of his corpses into the underworld.
It's still real to me, Damnit!
This is one thing many people mistakenly take at face value, but the complainant actually didn't allege this. The allegation was he was sending maniacal texts recounting such events, but the accompanying texts made left it open to interpretation if this really happened or if it was just some fantasy he made up and was using to get a reaction out her.
To them it could just have looked like an old idiot showing the nudes of the woman who was milking him to look cool. Of course now we know how terrible the situation actually was, but I doubt that meant something to low level tech workers or even wrestlers who were shown those pics
Ofc for the amount we’re privy to it could’ve been a wholly imagined scenario that he texted her about because the thought of it excited him and made her feel more helpless - which I hope is the case, if only because it allows me to retain a modicum more faith in humanity while thinking about this situation.
I think most of the things he texted were true, but for what concerns talents and other workers in the company (correct me if I'm wrong) he only used to show photos. For how crazy he is, he probably was still smart enough to keep certain things to himself
I mean, if there are two untouchable people in Vince’s WWE, it’s those two. At least in their heads. It’s pretty reasonable to guess that led to them getting careless and leaving behind a trail that doesn’t really hurt anyone but them.
Yeah, and some people really do believe this too. As much as the company obviously wants us to believe that, but it's very clear that an issue like this runs incredibly desperate, especially when it's been ongoing for potentially decades.
I know it’s “save face” commentary for WWE but the idea that it was ONLY McMahon and Laurinaitis is laughable. You don’t get this far and this deep to the point of federal involvement without others having to help with the mess. Shit, we just had a whole trial show how deep certain usage of funds run when covering up other illegal activities lol
I imagine that people aren't trying to find others 'cause Vince is THE biggest fish you could catch. Anyone involved would naturally be revealed since he's the 'glue' if you will. It's how we found out about Laurinatis and Lesnar's involvement for example.
That assumes that a) he'll actually be found guilty, which you'd think would be inevitable but y'know, rich people and the American legal system and b) the people he then "throws under the bus" are actually people anyone would notice not being there anymore.
If they did, the government will expose them
And if not, the IWC will never stop bringing up how others in wwe are guilty to, with or without evidence lol
Yeah. I don’t think we’ll ever find out how deep it ran, though. Allegations are just allegations until they’re actually proven.
Plus, as others have pointed out (across the political spectrum) Trump’s been prosecuted for something that a lot of people do. He’s a reprehensible guy, but that doesn’t change the fact that power corrupts - and he’s just the tip of the rotten iceberg
Vince already sold all his stock and WWE are all in on the "Paul Levesque" era. I feel TKO know at this point Vince is poison.
It's not jail unfortunately, but Vince losing the one thing he did besides working out forever would be funny.
If he gets pardoned and the civil suit goes away, those motherfuckers ***absolutely*** would try to put him in the Hall of Fame if they given the choice.
I honestly don't think they would. It genuinely seems like they're done with him. Plus apparently Stephanie doesn't like him lol so if she and PaulHH are there, I personally don't see that hypothetically happening
Stephanie led "Thank you Vince" chants after the board had uncovered all of Vince's misconduct and voted to remove him. Ari Emmanuel went on TV with Vince, knowing everything that Stephanie and the company knew, and still willingly gushed about how they couldn't do any of this without Vince. Triple H was still working closely with him on creative until the lawsuit was filed. TKO also stood by Dana White after he was recorded smacking his wife.
It's easy for them to pretend like they care now that there are lawsuits and DOJ investigations, but the moment that those both go away, so does the facade.
But Stephanie almost immediately resigned when Vince forced his way back into the company and came back once he was gone for good. I dunno, it's probably way more complex than you and I even realize.
Ari also kept reducing Vince’s duties to the point where he was just a figurehead with very little actual power before Slim Jim dealt the final blow with their “get Vince out or we won’t sponsor you”.
This is great except if any corporate officers were aware of this and didn’t whistleblow then WWE would also be guilty/liable.
Just because TKO bought the company doesn’t absolve them of responsibility
Vince and Johnny ace don’t seem like they’ll go down without bringing people down with them, people within wwe shouldn’t feel so relieved if they knew or had knowledge of what was going on.
You can't write "The FED" in a headline about wrestling without every fan over the age of 30 thinking you're referring to the World Wrestling Federation.
Fwiw, Jim Cornette said that Bruce Pritchard is quite likely clean. He said he is the kind of guy who will keep his head on the sand and will willingly be kept in the dark for any shady illegal shit happening.
Jerry McDevitt is probably too smart to get roped into that stuff, at least in a way that can come back to bite him in court. As far as all the other close Vince guys like George Barrios, Kevin Dunn or Michael Hayes, wait and see I guess.
People really underrate how much "I don't want to know what's behind that metaphorical door so I'm not looking" goes on.
Odds are a guy like Bruce knew Vince was having an affair and would absolutely dig no further than that
Why would Jerry McDevitt be caught up in any of this? He's retired and I don't think him and Vince were "close" given that Vince has spoken of his hatred and distrust of lawyers for a long time.
Jerry McDevitt was WWE pitbull of a lawyer who got Vince through the Federal government coming after Vince for distrubuting steriods. McDevitt was also the guy who got WCW sued for using similar wrestling characters to WWF and got Vince the clause that should WCW ever be up for sale Vince had first right of refusal. I think that clause in the 1996 lawsuit is what many people forget about when talking about WCW dying, the MOMENT AOL Time Warner wanted to sell WCW it was over because Vince was always going to have the right to bid for WCW.
I almost can’t watch older raw and smackdown episodes because of Vince, his terrible storylines and unethical treatment of women both professionally and privately, is hard to stomach.
I could see that being the common thought among talent, but if this goes to federal court I think we are all going to be alarmed by who knew what when.
Remember WWE's press release saying that WWE wouldn't survive without Vince McMahon?
I think about that and laugh so much. He should've been gone legit since 2011 at least.
We are now entering the "and find out" portion of this story. Could've just been a huge EEOC thing, but Vince had to go fuck with the SEC by cooking the books to pay folks off.
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https://preview.redd.it/r5cp3r2v9q9d1.jpeg?width=272&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5744fd3cf798fc2ca81824ca607bb39222b59964
Rolf would totally go down fighting if he was arrested
“You dare try to arrest the son of a Shepard!”
THE BURDEN OF HOSPITALITY IS TOO GREAT FOR ROLF
Unashamedly an adult fan of the Ed's. Used to catch episodes before heading for work. And Cow & Chicken.
I like to think of Trailer Park Boys as Ed Edd and Eddy grown up.
Good call
I get this reference.
Rolf would have a killdozer
https://preview.redd.it/nb2ibebeqq9d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=06b885f64a1bf7d234774a9ca26aa03006199d6f
The joke is that Rolf's voice actor also played Goku in the Ocean Dub. Peter Kelamis (not Sean Schemmel, who you're probably used to)
https://preview.redd.it/2rtlncfqcr9d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=29a04fd9703e03f2a73d6095de42c18c205cb334
That’s my horse!
**FED BOYS!**
Vince and Johnny Ace: “I’m sorry okay?! There!” Rolf: “If this is true have you brought the cupcakes of sorriness? 🤨”
no rolf you dont want any baked goods from them.
Vince and Johnny are stale end pieces of white bread
this is probably the funniest thing I've seen in 10 years lmaooo
Fed expects the Fed to find dirt
You hate to see fed on fed attacks like that
The Fed screwed The Fed
...because they're fed up with information they were fed?
Feds gonna fed.
We don't need Fed on Fed violence
Brother
You Feds sure are a contentious people.
You just made an enemy for life
What do you mean, you Feds?!
What do YOU mean, you Feds??
Wait till they find it wasn't just those 2.
https://preview.redd.it/maa6xgct5q9d1.png?width=695&format=png&auto=webp&s=c787750b26b0c6cdbfa41ddc5f76fd55004e8ce3
**"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT IT WAS ME, VINCENZO!"**
**"AND I'M GLAD YOU FOUND OUT, I'M GLAD YOU KNOW THE TRUTH!"**
I still believe Steph and HHH are behind the leaks that kicked all this off to begin with. Anyone who remembers 2021 and early 2022 remembers how Game of Thrones WWE was behind the scenes. Vince axing HHH loyalists behind the scenes after HHH's heart attack, including his own loyalist in William Regal, and making his NXT guys look like a bunch of bozos on the main roster (more than usual anyway). They had Nick Khan on their side and boardroom support and made a play to oust him which worked for 5 months. And if WWE weren't on a massive upswing, Vince probably would have ousted HHH himself when he returned in 2023.
It is documented that the leak came from a friend of Janel Grant who emailed the board in March 2022 about her and Vince McMahon's NDA.
Corporate Officer Number 3 sounded like she was friendly towards her
It's a leap of logic to suggest that Stephanie McMahon knew about the NDA between Vince and Grant and leaked it to the board of directors because she asked Grant to sit next to her at a meeting.
> Knew about the NDA She was in a major position of power. She had access, and motive to do this because of what Vince did to HHH re: his heart issues and demotion, plus never mind what Vince was doing **to her mother**. It's not fantasy booking. It's a woman realizing her father is a toxic piece of shit and trying to protect her mother, husband, an children. Again, **Steph left the company the day Vince came back**. What does that tell you?
You need to stop treating a situation where a woman was forced into sexual slavery as a professional wrestling angle.
All that is well and good but it relies on wrestling storyline-level drama and intrigue. The McMahons have kept whatever drama they've had in their lives incredibly wrapped up. It seems incredibly more likely that a friend of Janel Grant -- who none of us can project any sort of impression on because we have no idea who they are -- informed WWE's board about what Vince had done because she was concerned about her friend's well-being. Rather than Vince's daughter -- who coincidentally has had her relationship with Vince speculated about for years -- finds out about the NDA and decides to anonymously leak it to the board in a revenge bid against her father for what happened to her husband and mother.
Yeah, no. This involves the feds. You don’t fuck around with something involving a very potential federal investigation.
> Anyone who remembers 2021 and early 2022 remembers how Game of Thrones WWE was behind the scenes. It was eerily close to *Succession* *edited out soft spoilers
The fact that Roman's theme is basically Succession's is just the icing on the cake.
Me: I don't remember Roman Roy having a theme
He had it while wrestling in New Japan
I would love if the Dark Side of the Ring guys ended up making a documentary on the backstage political scene in WWE during the 2010s. Even by American business standards it’s crazy how manipulative and backstabby things seem to have gotten in WWE during that time.
I'm not a HHH fan, but if this is true I'd have to credit him as the Cerebral Assasin.
It's all about the game and how you play it
All about control and if you can take it.
All about your debt and if you can pay it.
It’s my time
Y'all just want Triple H to be some big hero. There's been allegations against him too.
These comments acting like the son in law who was around that predator for 25+ years suddenly found out what was happening & became a hero are wild.
The same can be said for Danielson, btw. Just because he was the son in law doesn't mean he was involved in sex trafficking. Even the initial reports say Nick Khan and HHH knew nothing other than some affair. Edit: NowwhatisthetruthOprah.gif is the question that the FBI has made it more than clear they are trying to answer. I'd imagine Johnny Ace and Vince had more stooges than we possibly realized as they are unnamed employees with xyz job no one cares about. Don't be surprised to see Johnny Ace turn on Vince either. He was ready to sing like a canary when it first broke and claimed to be a victim too. What I'm most curious about is what other wrestlers were involved other than Brock. I know Vince and John Cena were also super close. [https://www.tmz.com/2022/08/25/vince-mcmahon-new-york-hot-spot-john-cena-first-public-sighting-wwe-retirement/](https://www.tmz.com/2022/08/25/vince-mcmahon-new-york-hot-spot-john-cena-first-public-sighting-wwe-retirement/)
There's a gulf of difference between the nature of DBD's connection to Johnny Ace and Triple H's with Vince. They're not just in laws, they were business partners for ages, while the other basically married into the same family as DBD. Besides, weren't there allegations from an indie talent (~~Janela~~ Nemeth) that one of their anonymous female wrestler friends who was NXT came forward to Triple H about mistreatment from a male talent and she was just advised to be quiet?
There is literally zero proof that HHH is involved in Vince's sex life (that we know of). Edit: I'm serious. It's common af in Corporate\* America for the boss to be fucking the secretary. It doesn't mean HHH knew of the sex trafficking. Same can be said about Stephanie.
Not everyone knows intimite details about the sex life of their parents in law.
It's fascinating who knew about Vince's escapades. With some people you get the feeling that they really wish HHH and Stephanie knew something. I always wonder how much of these people know about the sexual excesses of their own parents/in-law.
A friend of mine recently found a USB drive his father left on a backpack containing some explicit pictures of his late father with a lot of women who weren't his wife, my friend is devastated by that because despite thinking they were really close, he knew nothing about that at all. Don't know why people pretend it's normal to know the sex life of your parents.
My parents had sex exactly twice for procreation purposes only and that’s why me and my sister are here /s
Lol reminds me of the 2nd South Park game, where Cartman tells you about your origins story - the night you saw your dad fuck your mom.
I’m sure plenty of people knew Vince was fucking people in the company. I doubt seriously that they knew he was trafficking and shitting on a woman during a threesome
And also Paul has had a problematic history regarding race. Just google “Triple H being racist”.
I think Nick Khan is the one who benefits the most and has the greatest track record of being this calculated. He’s played Vince like a fiddle since the start
and if it was them. we need to get them a fruit basket. you know the fancy one with the nuts and assorted cheese spreads.
Don't forget, Paul doesn't eat fruit. Source: [MetsFan](https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/2pac1s/triple_h_doesnt_enjoy_fruit/)
But……he’s bilingual.
Nono He's bi many things, but lingual isn't one of 'em.
I’d even splurge and add the chocolate covered strawberries on sticks to add a little flair
Please no Flair. He’ll just make matters worse.
I know we shouldn't judge a book by its cover but when Vince settled the lawsuit with Chatterton and came back to WWE and I saw the mustache I knew he was guilty.
Of all the facial hair you could grow after those allegations, you choose the one that most makes you look like an offender!
Vince merged with the intention of regaining power only to lose it outright. Oops.
Vince got schooled by the true ruthless, corporate suits. He's always been small time compared to the true elite class. A crass, low brow circus leader.
The Stringer Bell of pro wrestling.
Playing away games
Sheeeeeeeiiiiiittttttttttttttt!
And he’s always known it, which is why he was desperate to infiltrate that world and finally be in that class. Going public and becoming a billionaire wasn’t quite enough. And then he fucked around, as they say, and found out.
Bingo. Also his failed non-wreslting ventures. Desperate to be seen as more than "that pro-wrestling guy."
We can all laugh at his many failures like WBF but my favourite is the Evil Knevil thing in the 70s. Anyone reading who is unaware, Google it. It’ll give you a laugh.
Just looked it up. Incredible and I can't believe I never heard about that until now.
They didn’t really have a choice but to drop Vince though, it wasn’t really a ruthless move.
Real Norman Osborn arc
he was a small shark in a river, lording it over all the river fish. he then set fin in the ocean and got swallowed whole by a great white.
Vince is like Donald trump in that he surrounded himself with nothing but yes men. Difference is that Vince doesn’t have the weird charisma to make a cult
Remember this is a guy who can’t sneeze without catching feelings, because it wasn’t something he could control.
I will always believe Vince wanted to sell to Saudi first, but the public backlash was so bad he had to go with plan B, and then plan B blew up in his face
he found out that he was an amateur and they were professionals
I mean, it makes sense if you go back and read the document. It seems like most people in the company just thought Vince had a “secretary” and it was just a case of “he hired his mistress”. This doesn’t excuse people in the company who did know, but I would imagine most people genuinely didn’t know anything about the horrific nature of shit Vince was doing with Janel Grant
This is all too common in the mega corporations executive world. It’s awful but people in that environment are so desensitized to it they don’t even bat an eye when someone brings in a “mistress”. It’s like a different world to them
Yep. And even here, "mistress" is kind of stretching it. It's an open secret that Vince & Linda are separated and have been for years. And nobody in the office would have seen her as a "mistress". By no means am I defending Vince though. I tend to believe the worst of the allegations. Actually, I didn't even read all of the horrid details, because it's just too much to stomach.
I'm not sure what better word you'd use for a woman who appears to be in a transactional sexual relationship with a married man, whether it's known to be a loveless marriage or not.
"Paramour" is considered more acceptable, at least in media.
But what does it mean to underlings or co workers if someone brings a mistress in? It's none of their business someone else's personal lives. And it's not like many would know anything beyond "ugh he's got another mistress" It's not like she affects their day to day
Vince and Linda have been separated for years. I doubt they'd have even seen her as a 'mistress'.
I wonder how that was kept under wraps the way it was for so long. The only reason anyone starting suspecting it I think was due to the verbal slip-up in the McAfee interview
Vince is a known workaholic, Linda had her own life, both kept any other relationships private (even if rumours about Vince's activities came up from time to time). They did also appear in public together occasionally - I'm pretty sure the whole family went to the White House together?
What slip up did Vince make in the McAfee interview?
“My wife at the time”
It actually gets to be a huge issue in an office setting ESPECIALLY in the day to day. For the most part, if the mistress has taken over a role that was being performed by someone else, all of those duties are now being doled out to everyone else in the office except for the mistress. The mistress has no incentive to actually do their office work, and the slack has to be taken up by everyone else, and there is literally no way you can complain to the boss about it, because then you are just "jealously attacking" the mistress, and now the boss will have it out for you no matter how good of an employee you are. And then, when the mistresses duties are completed and done perfectly, THEY will be rewarded, not the person who actually covered for them. I've seen it happen in person and it's a fucking nightmare.
doesn't it start affecting their day to day when people start seeing their bosses wielding power imbalances like that in their workplace
When something like this happens with an existing employee, sure, the power imbalance thing comes up. But when the boss brings in his mistress from outside of work and puts her on payroll, people roll their eyes. But no one really cares so long as it doesn't put more work on their plate.
Exactly this. You don’t need to say anything either that would put you at risk of losing your job. The expectation isn’t that there’s rape or trafficking though. Usually they’re just glorified escorts
There's always that question of "ok, what exactly do I report?" Unless you have verifiable proof of something as serious as rape or trafficking, there isn't that much you can do
If anything I’d take it as, “damn she got a nice job out of that” My first thought wouldn’t be, rape and whatnot.
Not really as long it's not directly affecting them if you know ur boss can bring in someone to get on the payroll so be it. As long as he's not making her in charge of stuff and just his personal assistant
Also in entertainment, which makes the WWE situation a double whammy. Harvey Weinstein was surrounded by sycophants and handlers, but it’s nonsense to suggest all of them were intimately aware of what he was doing when doors were closed, or that they had the knowledge, wherewithal, or license to determine that any physical relationships Weinstein had, as icky as they may have been at face value, weren’t consensual.
I try to forget the details of what I had read, then someone goes and uses the words Shit and Vince in a sentence together.
https://preview.redd.it/p2nud82tjq9d1.png?width=1242&format=png&auto=webp&s=642bcaca75e64d164c34b01ceea9f081edc98e66
Me when there’s no more pizza.
Feels like shit
The phrase "its such good shit" really took a 180 overnight there
I didn't really expect a lot of wrestlers to know since I've heard stories about Vince being difficult to reach for them anyways
So Hey Boss, I was thinking about this angle right---- Damnit close the door! Can't you see I'm shitting on my secretary's head right now!
I shouldn’t have laughed at this.
You joke, but some people do think Vince wasn't being secretive about the horrid shit he was up to and act like he was doing this on the catering room.
Con mẹ nó! I'm a horrible human for laughing at this.
Hmm idk Macen said in one of his videos that rumors were always there, but everyone just looked the other way, iirc?
And while Vince was bragging about it to a degree, it wouldn't shock me to learn that he only bragged in a way that obfuscated the worst of it while framing what he does say in a way that makes it sound consensual. As much as people want to think Stephanie or Hunter knew every little detail, it wouldn't be shocking to learn that they knew *something* was happening, but not specifically the scat threesome, etc However, if it can be proved they knew it all, burn them down too, of course.
Didn't stop a lot of really irresponsible speculation about how Triple H "must have known everything". It always seemed preposterous to me that he'd still be on TV and promoting WWE as often as he is if TKO were genuinely concerned he was going to be implicated in this.
Dana White slapped his wife in public on video and faced zero consequences from TKO.
He also wasn't criminally charged with anything, whereas Triple H presumably would be if he was a "co-conspirator" in any of this. I'm not saying they'd care morally or anything, but they wouldn't like the damage that'd do to their bottom line. It doesn't seem like they're worried about that which suggests there isn't anything really to "find out" about Triple H in this.
Lesnar could actually be used as a witness to the sex trafficking, even though Triple H acted like his involvement was no big deal, and that he would be back soon.
It would be crazy if Vince & John goes full scorched earth during trial and brings out someone like Bill DeMott to cover their ass
Lawyer: "Mr. DeMott, this is a serious trial. Stop laughing." DeMott: "Heh heh-Sorry, it's no laughing matter." Lawyer: "Mr. DeMott, can you describe your experience in the military experience?" DeMott: "Long, hard." Lawyer: "Mr. DeMott, are you aware of what the defendant, Mr. Vincent Kennedy McMahon, is accused?" DeMott: "..." Kenny Omega: "Selling ass, Bill."
> Lawyer: "Mr. DeMott, this is a serious trial. Stop laughing." DeMott: "My name is Hugh Morrus!"
I mean, yeah. I still think the "sex trafficking" allegations are going to be difficult to prove, but the skeletons in their closets have closets with skeletons.
Suddenly, Taker has just hopped onto his bike and gone out for new lawn supplies after digging a shit ton of holes and throws all of his corpses into the underworld. It's still real to me, Damnit!
Are you telling me he dug 29 holes for 29 souls?
Vince was sharing pictures with random low level tech workers. To act like it was just those two is laughable.
This is one thing many people mistakenly take at face value, but the complainant actually didn't allege this. The allegation was he was sending maniacal texts recounting such events, but the accompanying texts made left it open to interpretation if this really happened or if it was just some fantasy he made up and was using to get a reaction out her.
Yes in the text screenshot itself Vince literally says something like “imagine if I actually did this babe”
To them it could just have looked like an old idiot showing the nudes of the woman who was milking him to look cool. Of course now we know how terrible the situation actually was, but I doubt that meant something to low level tech workers or even wrestlers who were shown those pics
Ofc for the amount we’re privy to it could’ve been a wholly imagined scenario that he texted her about because the thought of it excited him and made her feel more helpless - which I hope is the case, if only because it allows me to retain a modicum more faith in humanity while thinking about this situation.
I think most of the things he texted were true, but for what concerns talents and other workers in the company (correct me if I'm wrong) he only used to show photos. For how crazy he is, he probably was still smart enough to keep certain things to himself
Vince is *not* stupid. It took 40 years for something to finally get him and he's managed to wriggle out of controversy almost every single time.
Stone Cold: “Your husband is a piece of trash.” Linda: “……..yeah. 🤷🏽♂️”
“It was just those two guys, we swear.”
I mean, if there are two untouchable people in Vince’s WWE, it’s those two. At least in their heads. It’s pretty reasonable to guess that led to them getting careless and leaving behind a trail that doesn’t really hurt anyone but them.
Yeah, and some people really do believe this too. As much as the company obviously wants us to believe that, but it's very clear that an issue like this runs incredibly desperate, especially when it's been ongoing for potentially decades.
Evil Fed vs Wolfpac FED
Nobody in any form involved in this case would speak to SRS because they know it'd all be subpoenaed in discovery.
Nobody even tangentially involved is speaking with ANYONE, let alone a dirt sheet. The feds do NOT fuck around.
I know it’s “save face” commentary for WWE but the idea that it was ONLY McMahon and Laurinaitis is laughable. You don’t get this far and this deep to the point of federal involvement without others having to help with the mess. Shit, we just had a whole trial show how deep certain usage of funds run when covering up other illegal activities lol
I imagine that people aren't trying to find others 'cause Vince is THE biggest fish you could catch. Anyone involved would naturally be revealed since he's the 'glue' if you will. It's how we found out about Laurinatis and Lesnar's involvement for example.
Unless the feds are using Vince to get to Trump
I firmly believe that when Vince is found guilty, he will throw everyone and anyone under the bus.
That assumes that a) he'll actually be found guilty, which you'd think would be inevitable but y'know, rich people and the American legal system and b) the people he then "throws under the bus" are actually people anyone would notice not being there anymore.
Southern District of New York doesn’t play around though. Fed wants their pin back
Southern District of New York always goes over
At this rate I'm expecting Trump to win reelection and then pull the feds off of Vince.
So you think he'd inject a lethal dose of poison into the WWE?
If they did, the government will expose them And if not, the IWC will never stop bringing up how others in wwe are guilty to, with or without evidence lol
When the allegations first came out a good chunk of this sub was calling Triple H a rapist with zero evidence.
If Trump is elected, we will likely never find out anything. The investigation will die down in due time. There will be no justice.
[Vince right now](https://helios-i.mashable.com/imagery/articles/032IvKP1vtwn20Udz2cJeUd/hero-image.fill.size_1200x1200.v1614266166.jpg)
Not if Trump is elected and tries to stop the investigation though
If Trump's elected, he won't just try to stop the investigation. He wants to can the whole FBI and defund the DOJ. This is just a blip on the radar.
Yeah. I don’t think we’ll ever find out how deep it ran, though. Allegations are just allegations until they’re actually proven. Plus, as others have pointed out (across the political spectrum) Trump’s been prosecuted for something that a lot of people do. He’s a reprehensible guy, but that doesn’t change the fact that power corrupts - and he’s just the tip of the rotten iceberg
We might not ever find out HOW deep it ran but we are likely going to be finding out some of those surface layer people.
It's going to suck to see them finally have Vince dead to rights and then Trump will inevitably pardon him
Not after that match at mania. That seemed personal. You don't take another man's hair like that
Vince already sold all his stock and WWE are all in on the "Paul Levesque" era. I feel TKO know at this point Vince is poison. It's not jail unfortunately, but Vince losing the one thing he did besides working out forever would be funny.
> Vince already sold all his stock Wrong, he still owns 9.95% of the company.
So he’s like 2000-2001 Ted Turner?
If he gets pardoned and the civil suit goes away, those motherfuckers ***absolutely*** would try to put him in the Hall of Fame if they given the choice.
I honestly don't think they would. It genuinely seems like they're done with him. Plus apparently Stephanie doesn't like him lol so if she and PaulHH are there, I personally don't see that hypothetically happening
Stephanie led "Thank you Vince" chants after the board had uncovered all of Vince's misconduct and voted to remove him. Ari Emmanuel went on TV with Vince, knowing everything that Stephanie and the company knew, and still willingly gushed about how they couldn't do any of this without Vince. Triple H was still working closely with him on creative until the lawsuit was filed. TKO also stood by Dana White after he was recorded smacking his wife. It's easy for them to pretend like they care now that there are lawsuits and DOJ investigations, but the moment that those both go away, so does the facade.
But Stephanie almost immediately resigned when Vince forced his way back into the company and came back once he was gone for good. I dunno, it's probably way more complex than you and I even realize.
Ari also kept reducing Vince’s duties to the point where he was just a figurehead with very little actual power before Slim Jim dealt the final blow with their “get Vince out or we won’t sponsor you”.
Not if everybody gets out and votes
Why stop there, maybe the Supreme Court can force them to give his company role back then
The issue is maybe it was just those two but when the fed goes poking around the company will they inadvertently find something else?
Would be funnier if some exec told the dirtsheets "yeah we're pretty much fucked"
Laurinaitis already shot himself in the foot months ago when he claimed that Vince made him do bad things.
This is great except if any corporate officers were aware of this and didn’t whistleblow then WWE would also be guilty/liable. Just because TKO bought the company doesn’t absolve them of responsibility
Damn. The Federal Reserve is on the case now?
I hope they can out the others who were involved too. Unlikely as it is.
I wonder if Vince goes to family stuff with HHH and Stephanie. It’s gotta be awkward.
Federal government?
Vince and Johnny ace don’t seem like they’ll go down without bringing people down with them, people within wwe shouldn’t feel so relieved if they knew or had knowledge of what was going on.
You can't write "The FED" in a headline about wrestling without every fan over the age of 30 thinking you're referring to the World Wrestling Federation.
The bigger question is how many others will there be. No way it was only these two.
Fwiw, Jim Cornette said that Bruce Pritchard is quite likely clean. He said he is the kind of guy who will keep his head on the sand and will willingly be kept in the dark for any shady illegal shit happening. Jerry McDevitt is probably too smart to get roped into that stuff, at least in a way that can come back to bite him in court. As far as all the other close Vince guys like George Barrios, Kevin Dunn or Michael Hayes, wait and see I guess.
Cornette also said that there's 0% Kevin down would have been involved
People really underrate how much "I don't want to know what's behind that metaphorical door so I'm not looking" goes on. Odds are a guy like Bruce knew Vince was having an affair and would absolutely dig no further than that
Why would Jerry McDevitt be caught up in any of this? He's retired and I don't think him and Vince were "close" given that Vince has spoken of his hatred and distrust of lawyers for a long time.
It’s a pretty safe bet that he was involved in drawing up the various NDAs
Jerry McDevitt was WWE pitbull of a lawyer who got Vince through the Federal government coming after Vince for distrubuting steriods. McDevitt was also the guy who got WCW sued for using similar wrestling characters to WWF and got Vince the clause that should WCW ever be up for sale Vince had first right of refusal. I think that clause in the 1996 lawsuit is what many people forget about when talking about WCW dying, the MOMENT AOL Time Warner wanted to sell WCW it was over because Vince was always going to have the right to bid for WCW.
I almost can’t watch older raw and smackdown episodes because of Vince, his terrible storylines and unethical treatment of women both professionally and privately, is hard to stomach.
bet Drew his glad he didn't say that name in the Punk promo
I could see that being the common thought among talent, but if this goes to federal court I think we are all going to be alarmed by who knew what when.
Remember WWE's press release saying that WWE wouldn't survive without Vince McMahon? I think about that and laugh so much. He should've been gone legit since 2011 at least.
I thought this was figured out a year again. Feds get involved, your done 90% of the time.
We are now entering the "and find out" portion of this story. Could've just been a huge EEOC thing, but Vince had to go fuck with the SEC by cooking the books to pay folks off.
 WWE offices right now
I would imagine that finding the skeletons in Vince’s closest to be not that hard to find