Originally published at POLLOCK'S NEWS UPDATE: At the center of investigation, Vince McMahon to go on national television
POST IT NOTES
**Rewind-A-SmackDown is live at 11 p.m. ET tonight to discuss Vince McMahon’s appearance on SmackDown, and a review of both SmackDown & AEW Rampage. Wai Ting and I will also be taking your calls to discuss the Vince McMahon story and any other subjects you would like to discuss. This show is available live and on-demand for POST Wrestling Café members.
**We will have thecubsfan from Luchablog providing a review of AAA’s TripleMania event from Tijuana on Saturday night up on the site.
**On Sunday, I’ll have a Slammiversary POST Show for POST Wrestling Café members following the event.
POST DAILY NEWS SHOW
Wai Ting and I are joined by Brian Mann and Nate Milton to discuss Vince McMahon temporarily stepping down as company CEO & Chairman while maintaining his creative duties and appearing on SmackDown tonight:
THE INVESTIGATION INTO VINCE McMAHON & COMPANY’S RESPONSE
At the center of an investigation launched by its board of directors, Vince McMahon’s tenure as WWE’s CEO and chairman has been temporarily halted.
Friday’s announcements included McMahon voluntarily stepping down from those roles while the investigation is ongoing with daughter Stephanie McMahon-Levesque returning one month after revealing she was taking a sabbatical from most of her duties.
This is the most significant controversy to threaten McMahon’s leadership position since he was indicted and put on trial in 1994, and he was later acquitted.
In a puzzling maneuver to anyone on the outside, McMahon is going on live television tonight to presumably address this week’s report from the Wall Street Journal that contained revelations of a January 2022 settlement with an ex-employee and other past NDAs with former employees. CNBC reported that McMahon will speak “in-character”, although POST Wrestling has not confirmed that aspect yet. There is also a blurred line between where the character of Vince McMahon begins and ends when a red light is on.
The idea of using this controversy to hot-shot viewership on Fox comes in poor taste but has also become par for the course when detailing the larger accusations, he faces.
Despite relinquishing his duties as CEO & Chairman for the interim, McMahon will still maintain creative oversight of the shows rather than complete removal from his responsibilities from the company. Also absent, was any mention of a change or reduction in duties for Head of Talent Relations, John Laurinaitis, who was also named in the Wall Street Journal report. POST Wrestling has reached out to a WWE spokesperson regarding Laurinaitis’ status and has not received a response.
This is a story where rampant speculation and theorizing will be in high volumes, but there are so many different ways this could go, including McMahon surviving if the story dies down. The outcome of the investigation may be unsavory for McMahon, who is somewhat insulated due to his enormous voting power that removing him would require his sign-off. That is not out of the realm of possibility but comes down to outside pressure – be it media partners, sponsors, or the board itself.
At a bare minimum, McMahon acted in reckless regard engaging in a relationship with an employee. The settlement money being paid out of McMahon’s own funds would maneuver around misappropriation of company funds, however, at issue is the raise the ex-employee received during her time with the company while in a relationship with the company’s most powerful figure.
There is a power dynamic at play, the full extent of which is speculative but with a clear usage of the media to present competing views of the company. Shortly after Stephanie McMahon’s announced sabbatical – limited to her statement on Twitter and absent a company press release – an anonymous company insider ran down Stephanie’s performance to Business Insider and claimed the chief brand officer was ushered out of the company, an initiative led by her father, which is an assertion that has been refuted in other reporting. Regardless, someone wanted that message out, and someone or some people wanted the news of this investigation to come out.
While the first press release stated that the company wouldn’t be commenting further until the investigation is completed, the focus of the investigation will go on national television and provide oxygen for the news cycle to continue.
This is a story that cannot be addressed in several sound bytes and requires time and detail – which will be on mainstream outlets to provide if this story is going to be one that remains front-and-center to the public. It is easy to get lost in the news cycle and that is no doubt, what WWE is hoping for by withstanding the heat and coming out unscathed. They say that sunlight is the greatest disinfectant and it’s imperative that those covering this story don’t put their blinders on.
WRESTLING NEWS
**The Target Center in Minneapolis will host Friday Night SmackDown and will be completely focused on Vince McMahon’s involvement in the show and what he says or does not say. It will also present Roman Reigns’ first match on SmackDown this year, as he defends the Undisputed Universal Championship against Riddle. The match was originally earmarked for Money in the Bank, but plans shifted after the event was moved from Allegiant Stadium to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. They are advertising the following for tonight:
*Vince McMahon speaks on the program
*Undisputed Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (champion) vs. Riddle
*Last Laugh Match: Happy Corbin vs. Madcap Moss
*Max Dupri reveals first members of Maximum Male Models
**Coming off today’s announcements by WWE, its stock dropped more than three percent with a close at $62.51 after opening at $64.49. Prior to the Wall Street Journal story breaking on Wednesday, it traded as high as $68.50 that day.
**CNN is covering the Vince McMahon story at 5 p.m. ET today with reporter Dave Meltzer stating he will be on the program.
**NBC News did a piece on the investigation into Vince McMahon:
**Brandon Thurston posted the following section from Vince McMahon’s employment agreement:
Vince McMahon's employment agreement states the conditions under which the company (i.e., the board of directors) could terminate him.https://t.co/UC4U8r1kzB pic.twitter.com/s5EZJzSN7n
— Brandon Thurston (@BrandonThurston) June 17, 2022
**The taped edition of AEW Rampage airs at 10 p.m. ET on TNT from St. Louis and features the following:
*TBS Championship: Jade Cargill (champion) vs. Willow Nightingale
*Jon Moxley vs. Dante Martin
*Darby Allin vs. Bobby Fish
*The Gunn Club & Max Caster vs. Leon Ruff & Bear Country
*Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland to appear
**Matt Hardy addressed his brother’s arrest this past week on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy (Transcribed by Jeremy Lambert at Fightful):
After speaking to Jeff, the last couple of days, he is so remorseful, so embarrassed, he like hates himself. That’s a part of it, too. He has to know, obviously what he did was atrocious and terrible, terrible decision making, but he has to know that people love him. It’s very important. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the individual. You have to keep yourself in check and be on top of yourself. You are the only person that can really ensure that you’re not going to go array or in a bad direction, whether it’s because of mental or addiction issues. If you don’t decide to do it on your own, you’re going to kind of half-ass it and you don’t get any positivity or productivity out of it.
**GCW presents You Wouldn’t Understand on Saturday night on FITE TV from the Melrose Ballroom in New York City. The card features Jon Moxley defending the GCW title against Tony Deppen, Jack Evans vs. Ninja Mack, Joey Janela vs. Mike Jackson, Marko Stunt vs. Masha Slamovich, and Homicide vs. Grim Reefer among the top matches. On Sunday, the promotion has a big show at 4 p.m. ET from the Fete Music Hall in Providence with Will Ospreay vs. Nick Wayne in the main event.
**AAA presents its second of three TripleMania branded events this year with Saturday’s card in Tijuana at Caliente Stadium. The show was to feature The Hardys teaming against Dragon Lee & Dralistico but Jeff is off the show after this Monday’s arrest. AAA officials stated that Matt would still be part of the show with Matt stating he will team with a mystery partner. The Ruleta de la Muerte tournament continues where the losers advance and will meet in a Mask vs. Mask match at the TripleMania card in October.
Below is the updated lineup:
*Matt Hardy & TBA vs. Dralistico & Dragon Lee
*AAA Cruiserweight Championship: Laredo Kid (champion) vs. Bandido vs. Rey Fenix vs. Black Taurus vs. El Hijo del Vikingo – this could be one of the best matches of the year
*Elimination Cage Match: Sexy Star vs. Lady Shani vs. Chik Tormenta vs. Maravilla vs. La Hiedra vs. Flammer vs. Reyna Dorada vs TBA (the final two will have a Mask vs. Mask match later in the show)
*Ruleta de la Muerte Semi-Final: Psycho Clown vs. Villano IV
*Ruleta de la Muerte Semi-Final: Pentagon Jr. vs. Blue Demon Jr.
*Copa TripleMania XXX match
**New Japan has a show on Saturday and will be streaming live at 5 a.m. ET with Taiji Ishimori & SHO against Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI in the main event, Tetsuya Naito & Shingo Takagi & SANADA vs. Kazuchika Okada & Togi Makabe & Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato & Jado vs. TJP & Aaron Henare & Francesco Akira, EVIL & Yujiro & Gedo & Dick Togo vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI & YOH & Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii & Ryohei Oiwa vs. Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Clark Connors & Yuto Nakashima vs. Tomoaki Honma & Tiger Mask, and Kosei Fujita vs. Taka Michinoku.
**Pro Wrestling NOAH has announced the top matches for its July 16th card at Nippon Budokan including Keiji Muto’s first match since announcing he will retire next spring. The following matches have been announced for the card that will stream on Wrestle Universe and includes English commentary:
*GHC Heavyweight Championship: Satoshi Kojima (champion) vs. Kenoh
*Keiji Muto vs. Kaito Kiyomiya – it will be their fourth singles match after Muto won two previous matches and went to a time limit draw in the third match
*Hardcore Tag Team Match: Masato Tanaka & Rob Van Dam vs. NOSAWA Rongai & Super Crazy
*Ninja Mack vs. Dante Leon
**Game Changer Wrestling has added Maki Itoh to its ‘Homecoming’ events at The Showboat in Atlantic, New Jersey on August 13 & 14. It is unknown who Itoh will be wrestling on the shows.
******
POST DAILY NEWS SHOW: Vince McMahon steps down as WWE CEO & Chairman during investigation
John Pollock & Wai Ting are joined by Nate Milton & Brian Mann to discuss Vince McMahon stepping down as WWE CEO & Chairman during the WWE Board of Directors’ investigation into alleged misconduct.
*****
MCU L8R: Ms. Marvel Episode 2 review w/ Andre Greenidge
Wai Ting & WH Park are joined by Andre Greenidge from Heroes World to review Marvel Studios’ Ms. Marvel – Episode 2: “Crushed”. Located in Iman Vellani’s hometown of Markham, ON, Heroes World happens to be the actress’ favourite comic book store and the source of her introduction to Ms. Marvel.
*****
THE BWE: RevPro Epic Encounter, Progress, WES, Will Ospreay in AEW
Martin Bushby, Benno & Andy Ogden are back for the last “proper” show before winding things down at the end of the year. They talk about RevPro returning to York Hall for Epic Encounter, Will Ospreay making his debut on AEW and more.
*****
THE WELLNESS POLICY: Queer Identity in Wrestling w/ Out in the Ring’s Ry Levey
Jordan Goodman, Wai Ting and Neal Flanagan navigate the topic of LGBTQIA+ representation in wrestling by speaking with ‘Out in the Ring’ director, Ry Levey.
*****
REWIND-A-DYNAMITE: Vince McMahon Investigation, AEW Road Rager
John Pollock & Wai Ting discuss the big Vince McMahon investigation story from Wall Street Journal before reviewing AEW Dynamite: Road Rager 2022 featuring Jurassic Express vs. The Young Bucks in a ladder match for the tag titles
*****
upNXT: Veni, Vidi, Vinci
Braden Herrington and Davie Portman review NXT from June 14th, 2022 featuring a Six-Woman Tag in the main event, and the debut of Giovanni Vinci!
*****
REWIND-A-WAI #112: WWE Money in the Bank 2016
John Pollock & Wai Ting review WWE Money in the Bank 2016 featuring Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins for the WWE title, John Cena vs. AJ Styles, and the annual Money in the Bank Ladder Match.
*****
Browse the POST Wrestling Store
https://store.postwrestling.com
Subscribe to POST Wrestling
https://postwrestling.com/subscribe
POST Wrestling Forum
https://forum.postwrestling.com
Support our Patreon – The POST Wrestling Café
http://www.patreon.com/POSTwrestling