WWE Head Says Company Has Amazing Week After Vince McMahon Lawsuit
The WWE has been a hotbed of controversy since Vince McMahon resigned from the world-famous wrestling institution and TKO. In the wake of new allegations of sexual assault and sex trafficking against McMahon, the Chief Content Officer of WWE and celebrated former wrestler Triple H very much dodged a question about McMahon’s alleged misdeeds. Asked by Jon Alba about any prior knowledge of McMahon’s conduct, Triple H employed some PR kung fu, redirecting the conversation to more positive territory.
Triple H’s answer to question about Vince McMahon and his allegations
byu/niclaswwe inSquaredCircle
Why talk about the lawsuit filed by former WWE employee Janel Grant against McMahon, Triple H seemed to imply, when you can emphasize all the new projects and sums of money benefiting his company?
These positives include WWE’s new partnership with Netflix and The Rock’s addition to the board of directors of TKO (which should partially eclipse the departure of Vince McMahon from both companies).
“I choose to focus on the positive,” said Triple H.
The development took place during the recent WWE Royal Rumble press conference. Alba was not alone in pressing Triple H for details about the ongoing controversy. Brandon Thurston inquired, too, about whether Triple H had even read the lawsuit; the former wrestler and current executive admitted that he had not.
Triple H’s priority seems to rigidly focus on the future and sunny days ahead. That said, the executive provided broad assurances when pressed about measures taken to ensure employee safety. “Everything possible,” he communicated, was being done.
“I choose to focus on the positive.”
-Paul Levesque, aka Triple H, in response to questions about Vince McMahon
Cody Rhodes, another prominent WWE figure, echoed Triple H’s sentiments and endeavored to pivot discussions away from Vince McMahon. When Nick Hausman mentioned the “dark cloud” cast over WWE and its primary news week, Rhodes acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations.
But he was also quick to stress the importance of focusing on the present and future.
Rhodes furthermore underscored the roster’s family-like quality and commitment to looking out for each other–all to deflect from the ongoing controversy bedeviling the organization.
The co-founder of modern WWE, Vince McMahon is a pivotal figure in the professional wrestling world, to put it mildly. As many in the wrestling community know, he recently resigned from his positions as TKO executive chairman and member of the TKO board of directors amidst allegations of sexual misconduct.
This resignation follows a lawsuit filed by Janel Grant, a former WWE staffer who accused McMahon of forcing her into a sexual relationship to maintain her job. She additionally claimed the former executive shared explicit images of her with others. For his part, McMahon denies these allegations, calling them “a vindictive distortion of the truth.”
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Connecticut, also names WWE and John Laurinaitis, the organization’s former head of talent relations, and Vince McMahon as defendants. Grant alleges her abuse began in March 2020 and provided text messages as evidence.
This is not the first allegation against McMahon, who stepped down as WWE CEO in 2020 amid similar accusations. Unsurprisingly, Mahon has vowed to defend himself against these and other claims.
Grant signed a nondisclosure agreement in 2022 for a $3 million settlement. However, she claims WWE’s former head, Vince McMahon, halted payments after the first $1 million. The previous WWE employee seeks to nullify the NDA and obtain financial damages in her current suit.
Ultimately, it seems Triple H and company would very much rather audiences tune into WWE’s upcoming Netflix content, for example, instead of the ongoing controversy surrounding McMahon.
