MR. TITO: Vince McMahon Resigns, Again… What’s Next? Will He Go On a Revenge Tour Against TKO/WWE?

Here we go again… Last night, under the threat of Slim Jims pausing their WWE sponsorships and another big sponsor reportedly walking away from a WWE deal, Vince McMahon resigned from his TKO Board Chairman position AND resigned from the TKO Board of Directors. In case you missed it, a lawsuit was filed against Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis and it had horrific allegations and details of alleged physical/mental abuse, sexual assault, and trafficking. If you dare to read the 60+ page legal document filed in the lawsuit, you’ll throw up…

Isn’t it ironic how Slim Jims has been the biggest troll sponsor to Vince McMahon? The sponsor left WWE during late 1994 with Macho Man Randy Savage and in Eric Bischoff’s words, paid for Randy Savage’s salary in WCW. The reported beef (literally) that Vince McMahon had about Randy Savage never returning to the WWE was about this lost sponsor and NOT the disgusting Stephanie McMahon/Macho Man Randy Savage “affair” rumor that NoDQ covered in our Unwrestled Mysteries YouTube Video. Fast forward 30 freakin’ years later, Slim Jims is the sponsor standing up and refusing to sponsor the WWE when new allegations surface.

This marks the 2nd time that Vince McMahon has RESIGNED from a Board Chairman position that oversees the WWE. When the Wall Street Journal (here once again) began reporting on WWE Board investigating allegations made towards Vince during April 2022, additional stories began to surface and Vince McMahon resigned through June 2022. HOWEVER, with Vince McMahon still being the #1 shareholder, he used his sharepower and performed a legitimate hostile takeover that changed the WWE Board of Directors and its management. It was then, too, that Vince McMahon would announce that WWE was “for sale”. The company merged into Endeavor who formed the TKO corporation that would oversee both WWE and UFC together. Thanks to the # of converted WWE shares that Vince still had, along with his vast experience with WWE, he was named Board Chairman to TKO.

During November 2023, Vince McMahon SOLD 8.4 million shares for $641 million. According to CNBC, Vince had around 28 million shares of TKO. We’ll assume he still has 20 million and we’ll also assume that it’s like a share you’d purchase over-the-counter (as Vince has a few special provisions in his contract about those shares to resell them at anytime, but does that contract cease with him resigning???).

If you multiple Vince McMahon’s remaining shares of around 20 million by the closing price on Friday, $86.54, Vince’s shares are worth around $1.7 billion and change.

Holy crap. Someone needs to investigate whether Vince McMahon resigning, on his own (though I think he was forced to, which is another matter), ceases the unique buyback clause in his contract. If Endeavor, right now, was forced to pay $1.7 billion to Vince McMahon as a parting gift, that would add on to the almost $5 BILLION in long-term debt that they reported on their 3rd Quarter 10-Q report (4th quarter data unavailable). Yes, I know that WWE and UFC literally print money right now and provide Endeavor with adequate cash flow, but almost $7 BILLION in DEBT to pay back in a higher interest rate environment is rough.

But if they don’t buy Vince McMahon out, he’ll always be out there… With 20 million shares of TKO, he can always be a loud voice at Shareholder meetings and incredible loyalty among most of the older WWE shareholders. Yes, Endeavor has 51% of TKO’s position as the majority, but that’s a slim majority… With enough heat, that 49% can get very loud and they can influence membership to TKO’s Board of Directors. Again, Endeavor can smack that down with their 51%, but do they want this public fight about their corporation’s inner-workings? Do they want this public relations of fighting with Vince McMahon?

As an old friend once told me at a corporation that I worked with many years ago, sometimes the “cheap insurance” is well worth the money. However, “cheap insurance” has its ramifications, such as putting Endeavor further in debt. As you can see from recent events, doing legal settlements with Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA) is like “cheap insurance” to keep accusers quiet, but sometimes that policy goes bad, gets bought out, or no longer covers the additional damages it causes. Funny thing is that this lawsuit was literally triggered because Vince McMahon refused to keep paying on the agreed legal settlement. Isn’t that rich? He paid the woman to go away and be silent, but then stops paying her. Well, she’ll no longer be silent and her accusations just forced Vince off the TKO Board.

But the real question is this… What’s next for Vince McMahon? Do you think he’ll just retire to his mansion and enjoy the riches that his hard work has provided him?

No… Vince McMahon is a sociopath and we’re lucky that he became a wrestling promoter rather than a serial killer. “Sociopath” is defined officially as “a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience“. I’d also argue that Vince has a bit of “narcissism” built into him as well, which that is defined as “excessive interest in or admiration of oneself and one’s physical appearance“. With anything, Vince McMahon HAS to be in control and when things are going great, many of the workers love him and have said glowing things about him. But Vince wants to control more than just the wrestling industry and he’s thirsty for more. He’s also a horndog, and can’t keep his hands off other women and has cheated on Linda McMahon MANY times even before the 21st Century rolled along.

Vince McMahon sounds like someone else we all know, as if he was cut from the same cloth… Someone who was just in court this week for his own sexual allegations, as he may now have to pay $83.3 million for a defamation case. Cheated on all 3 wives and has been recorded many times saying lewd things about women. Lots of other sexual harassment or assault related cases circulating in courts right now, on top of 4 serious indictments for other alleged crimes. Yet, like Vince McMahon, this man pushes back on ever taking accountability for his actions. However, like Vince, he has his defenders who are incredibly loyal.

But like WWE Hall of Famer Donald Trump, Vince McMahon also believes that “revenge is a dish best served” for anyone they believe have wronged him. Again, Vince believes that he’s above the law and does not want accountability. WWE Corporation tried that during June 2022 and then he forced his way back into the company during January 2023 and SOLD THEM. That’s right, WWE wasn’t for sale, as far as we know (always rumors) until Vince forced his way back into the company and radically changed the WWE Board of Directors. Then, he sold his company, which ironically may be driving the official nails in his coffin as the WWE wrestling promoter.

Again, Vince McMahon cannot sit still and relax with his billions. He needs to do something with all of that energy and drive. What is his next move and will he be on a “revenge tour” to possibly get back on TKO and Endeavor?

I don’t believe Vince McMahon would ever join All Elite Wrestling in any way, shape, or form… Like the WWE, they are beholden to corporate sponsors… But, what is to stop TNA or NWA from suddenly introducing the “Mr. McMahon” character in their promotion and he plays the full blown heel again? I’d would find it HILARIOUS if Vince McMahon went somewhere like Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) and did that heel character in that environment. Those fans would pop for that stuff and he could really play up being despicable.

Maybe he starts a new wrestling promotion? Granted, he’s going to have an uphill battle getting television and sponsors, which the latter is what sent him backing with TKO… But do you think he really cares? And do you think he wants to leave anything to his children? Stephanie McMahon was placed back into the WWE when Vince McMahon left and then resigned immediately when Vince forced his way back in. Vince has had some weird dealings with Shane McMahon, business wise. What if Vince, who probably also blames Linda for a few things, purposely drains his money through a start-up wrestling promotion?

I do NOT think he’s going to remain silent… I think he’ll try to compete, somehow, with TKO and the WWE now that he was forced to resign from TKO. That, or he’ll conduct shoot interviews to divide the loyal WWE fanbase and attempt to expose the WWE business for other bad actors there for many years.

I made the mistake with my 2023 predictions that Vince McMahon would just go away, but then he immediately shredded my several days old predictions column by forcing his way back into the WWE. Then, he sold his own company that he built for 40 years. While Stephanie McMahon and Shane McMahon are his children, WWE was his favorite child. Linda was Vince’s wife, but WWE was the real lady in his life. There is NO STOP in Vince McMahon and there’s NO CHANCE I HELL that he’ll retire quietly. No, the VINCE MCMAHON REVENGE TOUR is about to launch and he’s either going to raise hell as the top TKO shareholder or try to replicate his wrestling promoter act elsewhere, whether it helps a competitor or he’ll start from scratch.

Folks, we’ve been in uncharted territory for the last year and a half… All we’ve known from Pro Wrestling is that Vince McMahon ran the WWE and there were other competitors who tried to challenge him. That’s it… But now Vince McMahon has now pushed himself out of the picture TWICE and the ironic thing is that WWE has seriously boomed without him micro-managing the talent or the creative. He doesn’t realize as a sociopath and a narcissist that him wanting to always be in control WAS THE PROBLEM with the 21st Century WWE product, especially as he became more senile and “set in his ways” with age. It took Triple H returning to power during June 2022 to let the WWE product evolve and showcase/push newer talents. Vince wanted LA Knight to manage a Modeling Agency gimmick stable.

I’m baffled by all of this, but I’ve been a loyal WWE viewer since late 1988 (took about 3 years off following the Benoit/Concussion/Steroid fiasco of 2007)… That said, I’m enjoying the change as Triple H is finally experienced to successfully operate the wrestling business. HHH took bumps and bruises during the 2010s, but appears to have learned from his many mistakes AND Triple H actually delegates authority. Instead of all decisions being 100% on his shoulders, he has multiple layers on the organizational chart who are helping him manage talent, creative, television, live events, and the developmental center/NXT. Endeavor believes in delegating authority, too, while empowering individuals to grow upward in their corporation. With Vince, all of the chips were on him and your success was his personal success.

Time will tell if Endeavor ponies up $1.7 Billion to get Vince McMahon fully out of their lives… However, if they leave that door slightly open, he’ll blast through that opening. Crazy thing, too, is that if Endeavor gives Vince that $1.7 Billion, he’d probably spend it on something to get revenge against TKO or the WWE.

Maybe Endeavor should have thought about retaining Vince McMahon’s services following those 2022 allegations? Maybe they shouldn’t have appointed him to TKO’s Board Chairman? And maybe they shouldn’t have let him own 16% of the TKO corporation from the start? Remember, up to $20 million of those legal settlements and NDA signings occurred for the previous 20 years. What, you didn’t think more horror stories would come out about Vince? Are you kidding me?

Congrats to Endeavor for making a bad decision, when clearly Triple H and Nick Khan were more than capable of running the company without Vince McMahon.

Enjoy the Royal Rumble tonight, the FIRST ONE EVER without Vince McMahon or any McMahon for that matter.

But Vince will be back in some shape or form… It wouldn’t surprise me if he suddenly shows up at a Donald Trump rally and Trump says something to the effect “see, they are trying to cancel my old buddy Vince McMahon just as they’ve tried to cancel me!“.

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Several side notes…

THANK YOU for all of your support lately. Yeah the quantity of columns have been flowing from me lately. I felt like going DAILY for fun at the end of 2023, but it got me into a good rhythm writing and all of these news stories are getting me to put on the Tito mask more often. Again, THANK YOU for your support.

I don’t want to bring AEW into this, as it’s like a “moth to a flame” whenever I dare mention them or Tony Khan. I sincerely hope that Tony Khan is watching the Vince McMahon situation and learns what NOT TO DO. I’m not alleging Tony of any weird sexual activity, but placing his chips 100% on himself and nobody else. Vince McMahon controlled everything and micro-managed ever single thing within the WWE. When that “fix” wasn’t enough, Vince’s mind was stray into other forms of achieving power. What Tony has to realize is that it’s 100% OK to be a manager of a company with a great staff below you. Managing people instead of daily operations will make you succeed, hence what Triple H is doing right now. Vince was “ME” whereas Triple H is “WE” for their pronouns. I see a little bit of “ME” in Tony, especially as he micro-manages everything and if the rumors of him partying with staff and talent are true, then that path of destruction could be heading his way.

It’s like during the early 1990s when Metallica toured with Guns N Roses… The bassist of Metallica said it was valuable touring with GNR because “we learned what NOT to do”. What’s happening to Vince McMahon has been very common of many other corporations and Hollywood studios. When you place your chips on ONE PERSON to be the singular decision maker on all operations of your company, that power always goes to their head. In the wrong person, that power morphs itself into bad behavior. Vince McMahon was NOT the first and won’t be the LAST person to be settling for millions legally and signing NDAs. But when your corporate job becomes 24/7 for you, the paranoia sets in and you start covering everything up and demanding loyalty. People need jobs and are afraid of being unemployed, so they work like they’re in a cult. The company takes on a “cult of personality” with 1 person at the top with an iron fist grip on everything.

“Those who do not remember history are condemned to repeat it.” -George Santayana

As I said in my column a few days ago about Vince, the Endeavor acquisition rendered him useless as a TKO Board Chairman because he was kept away from the daily WWE Operations (which Triple H controls) and Nick Khan was president and also a TKO Board member. Thus, tonight’s Royal Rumble event will be great and will operate just fine… The rest of 2024’s WWE product will be amazing, too. WWE is in great hands with Nick Khan and Triple H, unless they shared some of Vince’s fun or helped cover some of it up (God, I hope not).

Enjoy the Royal Rumble!

If it excites me enough, I’ll do a full blown review column of it… We’ll see. Given my recent posting track record, it’s probably likely.

Given how many news headlines now hit the fan, I’LL BE BACK in some capacity soon, I’m sure of it.

Love you guys!

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