A Big Update On Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, And Reactions To WWE Changes

WWE announced that Vince McMahon was voluntarily stepping down as CEO as a Special Committee of the WWE Board is conducting an investigation into misconduct. Stephanie McMahon will serve as interim CEO and interim Chairwoman just weeks after she stepped away from the company.

In the hours that followed, Fightful has spoken to well over a dozen employees, staff, talent and former employees who have worked with the McMahons, both close and at a distance.

Beyond Vince McMahon stepping down as CEO, he will retain his creative duties and actually appear on Smackdown Friday, in what CNBC claims is an "in character appearance." We've not confirmed the in-character aspect.  The immediate reaction that Fightful got when speaking to people in the company was frustration, as several said they viewed the move as a largely superficial move. Vince McMahon's personal responsibilities in running the company have dwindled in recent years, as he's erected a team led by Nick Khan to carry WWE into the next generation.

One talent said they saw Vince McMahon appearing on screen as a "cheap ratings ploy in the middle of something serious" and don't expect much of the culture or presentation of WWE to change with McMahon still around and in control of creative. "As long as Vince McMahon still has his creative duties, nothing can change. What could possibly be different? If he asks something of Stephanie as interim CEO, is she going to say no?" one wrestler said.

There are numerous sources across multiple departments in WWE who have stated to Fightful that they will communicate to higher up and possibly Vince McMahon himself that appearing on screen in-character isn't a good idea. One wrestler feared that McMahon would attempt to turn this into a "Vince McMahon vs. the world" type narrative that existed after the steroid trial, as seen in Stephanie McMahon's post-9/11 speech on Smackdown. However, the one source that we spoke to that was close to Vince McMahon now and during those eras agreed this is the biggest threat to McMahon's power since the steroid trial.

Fightful was told the same that CNBC was that the script for Smackdown was torn up, though we have learned some basic plans that were in store that we'll cross reference after the show. As of early this afternoon, several people Fightful heard from were still waiting on the script.

We noted recently that Stephanie McMahon was finally removed from internal production mailing lists, but was added back by the next show. With her stepping back in, there was a lot of optimism from talent specifically as she's well liked by them.

One top star said that they didn't really know what was going on, but that they've "heard in theory Stephanie McMahon is my boss, and that fucking rules." One former employee that worked directly with Stephanie McMahon before her team was disassembled said "The tone was always that she would be in that role eventually. She knows and breathes the business and she’s seamless." They also noted that the narrative around friction between Nick Khan and Stephanie McMahon wasn't something they'd personally experienced.

A female talent talking to Fightful said they think things can only get better from this point, and was hopeful that both the investigation and Stephanie McMahon as interim CEO would lead to better treatment for women in the company across the board. The talent went as far as to say they hope it results in women getting treated and paid equal to men there.

"I imagine it won’t change much. But I love Steph. So that’s good," said another top talent. "I imagine Vince keeps his position in creative and once the investigation is over he’ll take back over if he can."

Nearly unanimously, staff, employees and talent expect John Laurinaitis to be gone from the company, though one said "as long as Vince McMahon is around, he'll probably just come back unless he's Vince's latest scapegoat." Another talent said "From a creative aspect im hoping that things change but I doubt they will. From a business aspect I’m also hoping that things change, but also still doubt they will. Really the only thing that I think will actually change is Johnny will be fired which will be nice. Stephanie is great but I doubt she’s gonna suddenly be on board with healthcare and guaranteed contracts."

As far as talent go, on Wednesday they were briefed and told "The Wall Street Journal has published a report about WWE with allegations that we and our Board of Directors take seriously. We are cooperating fully with the investigation." There was then a follow up message that said "In the meantime it's business at usual -- Vince will be at TV this Friday. Thank you."

A message was sent to WWE staff this morning from Stephanie McMahon stating: "I will be returning from my leave of absence and assuming the role of interim Chairwoman and CEO. I love our company and am excited to continue to work with our President & Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan and our Chief Financial & Administrative Officer Frank Riddick. And of course, I look forward to working with all of you. My door is always open."