Vince McMahon retiring from WWE was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.
PWInsider.com is reporting that the decision for Vince McMahon to retire was made privately approximately a week ago, while one source noted that the final call was made “around ten days ago.”
The decision was reportedly made to place Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan into the co-CEO role shortly after it was clear that McMahon would be exiting. The timing of releasing it on a Friday afternoon was seemingly done to counter any negative fallout in terms of media and stockholder response. PWInsider says they were told it was a very closed circle that knew and “shockwaves are still registering within WWE HQ and beyond” as many believed there would never be a day they worked for the company without Vince McMahon in charge.
Kevin Dunn and Bruce Prichard are the point people running tonight’s SmackDown taping in Boston. New WWE Co-CEO Stephanie McMahon and Triple H are both backstage at tonight’s SmackDown, but it’s unknown if Nick Khan is in Boston as well. Vince McMahon was not present at all today backstage and will not be officially involved in the creative process going forward, per the report. It remains to be seen how the creative team will work going forward.
Fightful Select has also reported that Bruce Prichard is “taking over Vince McMahon’s television duties moving forward.” He’s also “taking some direction” from Vince during this transitional phase.
As for Kevin Dunn, Fightful Select also reports that many expect him to be next to leave, however, he is presently running things at SmackDown with Prichard.
Stay tuned to WrestleZone for the latest updates.
