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VINCE MCMAHON: A REPUTATION COMPLETELY DESTROYED WITH NO CHANCE TO EVER BE REDEEMED

Another day, another sordid story that will make former WWE founder/owner Vince McMahon be viewed even more poorly than he already is by the general public.  I can’t say I am surprised that the Federal Government is looking into the allegations made by Janel Grant in the lawsuit that she filed last week.  Given the texts that were alleged to be from McMahon that were included in the suit, I would have been shocked if they weren’t investigating, at least, what he is alleged to have written in those messages.  As the old saying goes, there is a lot of there, there ... .and there very well could be laws broken as well.  That isn’t for me to say, it’s for the government to investigate and that is exactly what they are doing.

As the Wall Street Journal story was breaking today, I was actually listening to yesterday’s Shawn Michaels’ conference call, which was supposed to be done to promote the NXT Vengeance event but that subject was hardly touched upon given the events of the last week.

At one point a “reporter” named Nick Hausman asked Michaels about an urban legend rumor about him and Marty Jannetty from many decades ago.  Never mind that Hausman should have known that the source of the rumor, Brutus Beefcake, had already walked it back a while ago (clearly, they will let almost anyone into these calls). But, Hausman asked the question, it was out there, so HBK had to decide how to answer it.  He was impressive in his response.

Michaels told Hausman what he should have already known, that the rumor was already debunked by Beefcake, and then went on to say that he made a lot of mistakes when he was younger and he has owned up to them.  He realized he had some issues and he worked hard to fix them and be a better person.  A big part of growing as a person is owning your past and letting the life that you lead after you own up to your past behavior show the world if you became a better person or not.  From where I sit, Michaels has put in the work to be a better man.  He made that clear to Hausman all while showing the “reporter” more respect than I think that he deserved.

As we all know by now, McMahon’s fall from grace has been relatively quick and in a lot of ways a product of his own hubris. After all, the lawsuit was filed after McMahon agreed to pay Grant $3M and then stiffed her after paying a third of what he agreed to.  And, this isn’t even taking into account the way that the NDA payments to the women, whose silence was bought, were not appropriately recorded as expenses in WWE’s financial statements, based on the findings of the WWE Board of Directors' investigation into McMahon.

It seems like he felt he was untouchable.  If so, obviously, he was wrong.  

That got me thinking about Vince McMahon and who and what he is, where he is, and what’s left for him as a person at 78 years old.  He has said he will fight to clear his good name.  Good luck with that.

I don’t think he will have any allies in that battle.  I fully expect Endeavor to cooperate with the Government and it wouldn’t shock me if they paid off the remaining $2M owed to Grant by McMahon.  This sordid saga didn’t happen on their watch so it’s not their battle to wage.  If I were Ari Emanuel, I would instruct my team to cooperate fully with the government.  

I would reach out to Grant to settle her claim against WWE and I would also ask her who the unnamed people in her suit are.  I would then investigate them all fully and terminate anyone I could attribute guilt as an accessory to. In addition to it being the right thing to do morally, it also will help cleanse the stink of McMahon from the company that they just spent billions to purchase.

So who is left to help Vince clear his name?  Hell, even John Laurinaitis’s lawyer said yesterday that the former Johnny Ace was a victim of the actions of McMahon.  There is only one rat left on the sinking ship at this point.

So sure, Vince can spend every penny he has to defend himself against Grant.  If the Fed charges him, he can spend his fortune to stall the case as long as possible.  Maybe he even passes away before any charges are filed or ruled upon.  But at this point, what is left for him for the years he has left?  Not a whole lot from where I sit.

He has lost his role at the company he created.  He has lost the standing that he had in the public eye for what he created and accomplished.  He has lost the admiration of every wrestling fan that puts a premium on decency.  I can’t imagine his family isn’t horrified by the things that he has done.  I sure wouldn’t want my young grandkids spending any time with him just based on the text messages that were in the lawsuit.  It really seems like he is a man, alone, with nothing but his financial fortune.

And unlike someone like Shawn Michaels, who has decades of positive behavior to show that he isn’t the guy he was way back when, Vince will never get that chance to change any public perception that he is a changed man.  He had that chance when he did the interview with Playboy back in February of 2001, where he talked about infidelity in his marriage.  He was 55 years old then.  He had the chance to show that he was serious about addressing issues that, by his own admission, hurt his wife in ways he never anticipated.  Sadly, that isn’t what happened.

The NDAs that Vince had women sign weren’t made before that Playboy interview.  No, they came well after.

In Grant’s case, he’s alleged to have done them just a few short years ago, well into his 70s.  Vince had his chance to change the narrative and try to be a better person and instead, well, we all know what has happened since.  

Redemption for Vince at this point?  No chance in hell.

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