Investigations could stop Vince McMahon from serving as TKO chairman

An explosive new report revealed that Vince McMahon, the executive chairman of the newly merged TKO, could be forced to step down because of criminal investigations against him.

In a lengthy piece from the Los Angeles Times, staff writer Stacy Perman delved into the machinations that led to the merger of McMahon's World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) under a single umbrella operated by the entertainment behemoth Endeavor. McMahon, who shepherded his father's wrestling promotion from a regional territory to the global powerhouse throughout the 1980s and 1990s, had forced his way back into the company after he resigned as its chairman due to the Wall Street Journal's 2021 reporting of investigations into secret payments to women who came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct toward him.

While he was still the company's largest shareholder, McMahon returned to WWE operations so that he could pursue a sale of the promotion, something that had been rumored for a few years in light of the rapidly increased valuations of sports properties in the last decade.

Perman stated that investigations by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice could push McMahon out of the executive chair or any other official position because the secret payments were not initially included in required stockholding reports:

"The inquiry could be 'much broader than the one company and its one majority shareholder,' said attorney Jacob Frenkel, chair of Dickinson Wright’s Government Investigations & Securities Enforcement Practice Group and a former senior counsel in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.

"In an August SEC filing, WWE reported that it had 'received voluntary and compulsory legal demands,' from various agencies, 'concerning the investigation and related subject matters.' Representatives of the SEC and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, where WWE is headquartered, declined to comment.

"Depending on the potential findings, McMahon could face criminal and/or civil liabilities that could prevent him from serving as an officer or director of a public company, as well as a clawback of any 'ill-gotten gains,' Frenkel said."

WWE has come off a highly successful string of live gates from their premium live events, formerly known as pay-per-views and a largely reinvigorated product on television thanks to highly successful storylines involving stars such as Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes. While the live gates have broken records around the world, a significant reason Endeavor purchased WWE was for its upcoming media rights negotiations. The promotion's current deals with NBCUniversal (via the USA Network and Peacock) and Fox will expire soon, and Endeavor is certain to take advantage of desperation of major media companies to retain or acquire live sports-related programming. It remains to be seen if McMahon's presence in TKO could have an impact on those talks as the current media deals near the end.