MR. TITO: Calling Out Wrestling Fans Who Want Vince McMahon to Return to the WWE and TKO

Since early 2024, Vince McMahon has been in a civil fight with Janel Grant, the person whose friend alerted the WWE Board of Directors during April 2022 about Vince’s potentially abusive behavior. Soon thereafter, Vince McMahon briefly resigned as President/CEO and WWE Board Chairman during June 2022 only to return during early 2023 to use his share power to add new members to the WWE Board and put WWE up for sale. Once WWE sold to Endeavor and then Endeavor formed TKO, Vince McMahon would be named Chairman of the TKO Board until Janel Grant’s civil lawsuit details were published because Vince McMahon refused to pay up to $2 million for the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) settlement per the friend alerting the alleged abuse to the WWE Board of Directors.

Did you get all of that?

OK… Since Vince McMahon resigned from the TKO Board of Directors and then sold most of his TKO shares during early 2024, he’s been in a few legal wrangles. For one, he quietly used WWE money to pay for the NDA settlements instead of his own and because he didn’t disclose these legal matters, it was a Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) violation of not informing investors of such legal risks. With a new administration in place, they settled out of court and Vince paid a fine and reimbursed WWE for some of the NDA settlements. Next up, the Justice Department investigated Vince for sexual abuse crimes, but a change in administrations caused this to be dropped as well. Finally, the civil case between Vince and Janel Grant, as Janel alleges Vince stopped paying the NDA settlement and Vince alleged she breached the NDA contract by speaking to her friend. They are now settling privately with an arbitrator and with that, Janel dropped the civil case.

So, with Vince McMahon now free of legal issues, there are actual wrestling marks who are literally BEGGING executives at TKO to bring Vince McMahon back!

That’s right, the SAME Vince McMahon whom they were attacking during the 2010s as “obsolete”, “senile”, and “out of touch” while accusing him of “micro-managing” everything (which I covered THIS COLUMN for the MANY bad creative decisions he oversaw)… They want him to return now.

Really? So you’re telling me that you want an 80 year-old (soon to be 81) guy to rejoin an office setting or a backstage area full of women? Again, you already denounced his 2010s creative work, so why would you want that back?

Many idiots are like “well, he’d be better than Triple H”? Really? Because the last 5 years under Triple H’s tenure has made MORE MONEY than the last 5 years under Vince’s full tenure. Sure, Vince had to deal with 2020, but WWE was sinking badly during 2017-2019 with RAW viewership dropping, merchandise sales declining, and attendance dropping. Remember, they began SHRINKING houseshow events during 2019 because of poor attendance.

Triple H is doing a great job on creative, especially when he has free reign with the pen as he had during 2022 and mostly during 2023 (Vince meddled a tad during that year). The PROBLEM is the corporate overlords within Endeavor who keep putting their hands into the pike at TKO and within WWE. For one, they’re deciding to price gouge WWE fans on ticket prices, merchandising, and handing them over to ESPN and Netflix to be price gouged there. Secondly, they are encouraging ANY wrestler who is represented by Endeavor’s folks via the WME agency to be pushed. Hence why Becky Lynch, Logan Paul, Nikki Bella, John Cena, Roman Reigns, and Cody Rhodes are always pushed and why they tried to shoehorn Pat McAfee into the Cody vs. Orton match at Wrestlemania 42. Ari Emanuel, who serves as TKO’s CEO and Pat McAfee’s agent, called Pat the “next Sylvester Stallone” and he was dead serious about it.

Further, COO Mark Shapiro of TKO said that TKO had “complete creative control” over the WWE. Exact quote.

Triple H is just a manager of the creative team, but he’s really a vessel to pass along communications from TKO executives or their analytics team on what to do next.

Thus, if Vince actually returns, he’ll be that vessel for TKO’s communications and analytics, too. And Vince already played that game by constantly kowtowing to USA Network, FOX, Mattel, and other corporate sponsors while bending the knee also to the Saudi government for their money.

But to desire to bring Vince McMahon back would be to accept, 100%, of the monster that he really is. By supporting his immoral and potentially illegal behavior, you’re an enabler and possibly a terrible person yourself.

Let’s just look at the Vince McMahon issues that we’ve heard about since April 2022. Just those, alone…

– Janel Grant for $3 million as a NDA settlement for conduct from 2019 through 2022 before Linda McMahon discovered the relationship threatened to divorce Vince. The relationship began as consensual with Janel, but quickly morphed into threesomes, defecations, and trying to offer her to other WWE employees (like Brock Lesnar and Michael P.S. Hayes) with John Laurinaitis taking the bait.

– Former female wrestler who left the company during the mid-2000s for $7.5 million, settled during 2018. Reportedly gave Vince oral sex for a push, but instead of pushing her character on television, he wanted more sexual favors. She refused and then her contact wasn’t renewed in 2005.

– Former female wrestler was sent naked photos of Vince during 2008 and Vince made sexual advances to her. Vince settled with a $1 million NDA settlement

– Female manager (not sure if that’s a performer or a corporate employee with the title of “manager”) was paid $1 million via NDA settlement to remain quiet about a sexual relationship with Vince McMahon.

– John Laurinaitis lost his job as Talent Relations EVP during 2012 due to “sexual misconduct” and resulted in a $1.5 million NDA. Bear in mind that John Laurinaitis was also involved in the Janel Grant case and is a big source of the “trafficking” allegation by Janel with Vince passing her on to Johnny Ace.

– In 1992, Rita Chatterton accused Vince McMahon of sexual assault dating back to 1986. If you watch the Vince McMahon documentary on Netflix, Vince admits they had a “consensual relationship” to acknowledge that they were together. During December 2022 before Vince McMahon could return to the WWE during early 2003, Vince chose to settle out-of-court for this ongoing legal threat to the tune of “multi-millions” with an undisclosed sum (Rita was asking for over $11 million in damages)

^ THAT is what you want returning to an office or backstage area with female employees around.

Really? Could you look your wives, sisters, mothers, or any other females in your lives and say it with a straight face “I support Vince McMahon”?

If you haven’t, please try…

We’ve established that Vince McMahon did a TERRIBLE job during the 2010s overseeing and micro-managing WWE Creative. Now, we’ve established him as a danger to other employees and a financial risk as well.

But wait, there’s more… I’ve only covered the issues that have come up since April 2022. What about the other problems in the past with Vince McMahon?

– Accused of steroid distribution during the early 1990s, indicted and went to trial during 1994. Yes, Vince McMahon was exonerated, BUT he totally let Dr. Zahorian freely roam WWE locker rooms and toured often in Pennsylvania just to ensure the good doctor could attend those events. Vince won the case because a poor performance by the prosecution and bad witnesses used, but there is ZERO dispute that Dr. Zahorian (a) sold steroids to wrestlers and (b) sold steroids personally to Vince. Vince and many wrestlers are on record saying they purchased steroids or other prescription drugs from Zahorian.

– Only had drug testing briefly after the 1994 trial. Wrestlers back on the gas during the late 1990s and first half of 2000s until Eddie Guerrero passed away in 2005. Then a “Wellness Policy” was created but it didn’t punish nor did it publicly announce any wrestlers caught with any substances or performance enhancements. It wasn’t until Chris Benoit’s murders/suicide and then the online pharmacy scandal afterward that caused the Wellness Policy to have more teeth beyond 2007.

– Utter refusal to acknowledge concussions were an issue for his wrestlers. Again, the wake-up call was Chris Benoit and then Chris Nowiski convincing Vince that brain injuries were serious. Years upon years of forcing wrestlers to work through concussions took untold damage on wrestlers, including Benoit. Wrestlers took pills to compensate or steroids to heal faster from injuries.

– The “Ring Boys” scandal of the 1980s and early 1990s, where younger boys who were employed to help set up WWE rings were sexually harassed and/or “exploited” by several WWE employees accused and were later fired.

– Jimmy Snuka’s controversy from 1983 when his girlfriend Nancy Argentino died of traumatic brain injuries in their shared hotel room. Vince is on record of talking with authorities for a prior domestic abuse claim regarding Snuka and Argentino. With the way it was believed that Nancy died due to “falling”, it’s suspected that some intervention occurred with Vince or WWE regarding this case. It was re-opened during 2015 and Snuka was finally indicted with a grand jury reviewing evidence. Later dismissed due to Jimmy Snuka being in poor health to stand trial.

– Accused of sexually harassing and groping a female employee at a tanning salon during 2006. While no charges were filed after the police were called, it’s unknown if Vince made any payouts. But, this is within the pattern of behavior.

– Admitted in Playboy magazine to “cheating” repeatedly on Linda McMahon. While this isn’t illegal, it’s just evidence of an aggressive sexual appetite that Vince has and would later financially pay for.

OK, Vince-loving marks… Do you really what this 80 soon-to-be 81 year old back who has a pattern of BAD behavior plus is actually TERRIBLE at his job as proven by the utter creative trash we saw during the 2010s that caused many wrestlers to leave the WWE out of utter creative frustration?

Go rewatch the WWE of the 2010s and tell me that you want Vince McMahon back. Did you enjoy those Jack Swagger, Miz, Alberto Del Rio, and Jinder Mahal pushes? Overpushing an inexperienced Roman Reigns as a babyface? You must enjoy the taste of a crap sandwich and enjoy it, as Vince is quoted as saying many times.

Hell, go rewatch the WWE of the 2000s… Lots of utter crap there. WCW/ECW Invasion, anyone? Katie Vick? Botched New World Order in 2002. Shoving oversized goofs like A-Train and Nathan Jones down our throats?

As someone on X/Twitter once put out (apologies, as I forget your name or where I’ve quoted you previously)… Guys like the Rock took utter CRAP that Vince McMahon gave them and made it look great. Because of guys like Rock and John Cena polishing the TURDS that Vince McMahon’s creative gave them, it created a false sense of belief that the creative was good but the wrestlers performing it were bad. Many wrestlers suffered because of the BAD creative given to them that they personally couldn’t overcome compared to top tier talents like Rock or John Cena who could turn any lemon into lemonade.

Look at the difference between Roman Reigns of the 2010s, written primarily by Vince McMahon, versus Roman Reigns of the 2020s who was written by Paul Heyman with some creative freedom given to Roman. BIG DIFFERENCE when your career isn’t micro-managed by a senile old man named Vince McMahon.

Yet, fools still want Vince McMahon to return to the WWE and run creative again.

Even with all of the evidence, including your own quotes about how you hated the 2010s WWE, ya still want him back.

The FACT is that all of these Vince McMahon LOVERS are in their late 30s or above, and they still think that the late 1990s Attitude Era felt like yesterday. YET, they always seem to overlook the Vince McMahon-led WWE of 2001 through early 2022. And I understand this idea, because at my age in the 40s, it feels like the 1990s were just yesterday, too.

HOWEVER – I DO NOT want to return to the Vince McMahon creative style of the 2010s. NO THANK YOU. And to me, the Attitude Era is long gone and can’t be replicated, ESPECIALLY with a Vince McMahon who is 26 years older than the peak years of the Attitude Era and with a lot more bad documented behavior since.

The current issue with the WWE is that TKO executives micro-manage everything, as their tenacles are all over UFC and ruined that brand since the mid 2010s. Now, they want to play in the WWE and control things there too.

Further, the issue about Triple H is NOT about Creative… It’s about talent. Triple H’s biggest weakness is talent development, as his system just doesn’t scout wrestlers well, nor do they train MALE wrestlers that well either. If TKO wants to be a hero, they’d segregate that duty from Triple H and put someone else in charge. WWE is too veteran heavy right now with the younger crop that came up through HHH’s system not paying off. By the way, talents like Bron Breakker or Tiffany Stratton were John Laurinaitis signings.

WWE’s roster is tired and exhausted from doing 2-3 hours of RAW per week, 2-3 hours of Smackdown per week, more houseshows again, and monthly 3 hour Premium Live Events (PLE). Their wrestlers in their late 30s or in their 40s are getting exhausted or injured from demanding schedule.

THAT is nothing Vince McMahon could solve and his creative would run into the same exact thing, except he’d push just 1-2 veterans at the top instead of 5-10 wrestlers.

So go ahead, keep praising Vince McMahon and being nostalgia for any photos you took with him… But you have recent years of sample creative data, like the 2010s, to review how Vince managed the WWE company and then you have all of these legal issues + terrible treatment of women.

Open your eyes and see how bad TKO is micro-managing the WWE right now, just like Vince McMahon micro-managed the WWE during the 2010s.

But hey, we live in a society today where many people look the other way at bad behavior as long as it serves some weird desire (like “owning” another group of people).

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