The Wall Street Journal Vince McMahon Thread.

[Technico Support]

I mean I'd hope TKO would just clean house of anyone who might have known, but seeing how their first words on the subject were essentially, "well this all predates us so we have nothing to do with it yayyy," I don't have high hopes. 

[Godfrey]

I'm reading through the filing now, it's more brutal than the WSJ article and I don't know why I'm doing it except that it's some how cathartic

There's at least 4 execs besides Laurinaitis who knew, one of whom was involved with the merger in September and one who was in charge of hiring and firing. I won't speculate but a few names come to mind

Edit: And the merger one is a decades long employee from the Titan days

Edited January 25 by Godfrey

[Eivion]

14 minutes ago, Kevin Wilson said:

Sorry you are "bothered" so much by someone having a different thought than you on a public situation. While I sincerely appreciate you being able to read my mind and my intentions, you are of course extremely wrong. I mentioned Cena and Rock as they have left the wrestling industry and have their own revenue streams not related to Vince, and still decide to rub elbows with Vince anyway. I specifically said I do not blame those that wrestle as a livelihood from being in a tough spot. Nor do I know of Owens, Danielson, Sami, and numerous others spending their free time with Vince. So while that was a quality attempt to twist my words and make up things I had in my brain, I just felt the need to let everyone know how wrong you are and maybe you should focus more on your own thoughts instead of making up the thoughts of others. I am also suspicious of anyone that uses the term "witch hunt" so I'll put you in a special category in my brain of people whose opinion mean nothing to me.

Despite saying you I was talking or at least thinking more in a general term as you aren't the only person I have seen mention people like the Rock and Cena. I'm sorry for targeting you with the quote.

I do still think its at least bit wrong to jump to conclusions like this. It just feels like people are using it as an excuse to attack people they already disliked without much proof.

[Cobra Commander]

4 minutes ago, Technico Support said:

I mean I'd hope TKO would just clean house of anyone who might have known, but seeing how their first words on the subject were essentially, "well this all predates us so we have nothing to do with it yayyy," I don't have high hopes. 

I mean, if TKO sets the precedent for that sort of thing, it would not exactly work well for other TKO luminaries danawhite so..

anyways, Kevin Dunn got out of town just in time for unrelated reasons, didn't he?

[Eivion]

2 minutes ago, Cobra Commander said:

anyways, Kevin Dunn got out of town just in time for unrelated reasons, didn't he?

I think the rumor was they kind of hinted to Dunn he was going to be fired eventually so he retired beforehand with some "dignity" I guess.

[Cobra Commander]

3 minutes ago, Eivion said:

I think the rumor was they kind of hinted to Dunn he was going to be fired eventually so he retired beforehand with some "dignity" I guess.

if one wanted to speculate about "people who know way too much to get fired".. I'd think Dunn might have retained his job for reasons other than his dad saving tapes

if they didn't straight up sign some of those guys to NDAs for certain things they witnessed but didn't take part in

[Valcourt]

Things about this that I thought about today:

How much does Stephanie know? Is this why she is gone/left?

How much does Hunter know? Should he be "investigated?"

How much does Taker know. He's been out with Vince lately.

How did today go for the Bella's and Dragon.

How are the women in WWE/TKO feeling today?

[Death From Above]

Everything about it that I've seen reads as absolutely classic sexual predator stuff. Find someone down on their luck, befriend and groom them into thinking they have no choice but to comply with you, etc etc. 

The thing beyond all that which baffles me is the implication that this broke due to Vince stopping his payments to the woman resulting in the NDA being null and void. How big is your ego? Christ. What a piece of shit.

[TheVileOne]

I'm not saying that person's name but I recall the "media blogger" who leaked her name when this story first got out. I totally believe someone gave her name to this vile scumbag who put it out publicly. 

Most of the original reports in 2022 were not mentioning her by name until this scumbag did. One of the worst people on the planet.

[TheVileOne]

1 minute ago, Death From Above said:

Everything about it that I've seen reads as absolutely classic sexual predator stuff. Find someone down on their luck, befriend and groom them into thinking they have no choice but to comply with you, etc etc. 

The thing beyond all that which baffles me is the implication that this broke due to Vince stopping his payments to the woman resulting in the NDA being null and void. How big is your ego? Christ. What a piece of shit.

Even then, how legally binding was that NDA? NDAs are not supposed to protect activity like this. 

IMHO an NDA means like I watched some early screeners of The Mandalorian and I agree not to talk about any of the footage I saw until such and such date.

There should be no legally binding document or agreement to cover things like this.

[Technico Support]

Yeah, apparently NDAs can't cover illegal activities like sex trafficking.  So maybe McDevitt should be disbarred as well. 

[JLSigman]

25 minutes ago, Valcourt said:

Things about this that I thought about today:

How much does Stephanie know? Is this why she is gone/left?

How much does Hunter know? Should he be "investigated?"

How much does Taker know. He's been out with Vince lately.

How did today go for the Bella's and Dragon.

How are the women in WWE/TKO feeling today?

Stephanie and Hunter knew it all, they were the ones in charge of the internal investigations.

Edited January 25 by JLSigman
typo

[jaedmc]

3 hours ago, Kevin Wilson said:

Even going beyond the allegations, which of course are horrendous, my first thought was just how people that seem "good" to fans (mostly Cena and Rock in his case) had to know about it, but are always supporting and backing Vince. Going places with him, still working together, always being positive. I can't say how I'd respond if I knew my boss was doing those kind of things, especially in an environment where they were the biggest place to work, so I don't feel right judging EVERYONE that knew for not quitting and talking about it. But those two... those two don't need Vince or WWE. They don't need to say nice things about Vince and pal around with him. If they felt it wasn't their story to tell, that can be debated, but regardless they could have distanced themselves from him. And they didn't. It just makes you question things, its not a great feeling.

I am going off the assumption/hope that the women didn't know. I hope Becky, Charlotte, etc. didn't know about it as even if Vince bragged about it he was probably selective on who was around as to not offend the 'wrong' parties. But you'd be hard pressed to convince me that Cena, Rock, and Taker weren't aware.

I've honestly thought the same thoughts as this, long before today. I feel like everyone knew Vince was a creep at best. Like they're all online. Everyone hears the same rumors. And some wrestlers have made some wild accusations about him in shoot interviews that feel less crazy today then they did 20 years ago.

But then I'd hear Bryan Danielson say ...
 

Quote

‘I won’t say much, but thank you for the conversations, the life lessons (about both what to do and what not to do), and the best hug I’ve ever received. I wish more people could see you how I see you.’

And I'd wonder, "am I fucking crazy?"

And so many people talk about his brilliance that don't have to because they're independent. You mentioned Rock and Cena. Steve Austin is another one.

I guess I have to remember that this gross side is still only one side of Vince, and that some people may have never been exposed to it. No matter how much it feels really fucking obvious to so many of us who've been keeping up with wrestling for the last 30-40 years. But it's probably really easy to overlook the red flags when the guy is also making your childhood dreams come true.

I had a family member who died who was not a great guy either. So many people came to the funeral and told me how much they loved him. The whole time I had to keep reminding myself that they just didn't see the bad. And it sucks that not everyone is paying attention.

So is it possible that there are some wrestlers who knew but won't say. Undoubtedly. I'm interested in knowing, but I don't know if we'll ever know. I certainly want some atonement or justice or something. But I feel like that's rare these days.

[Technico Support]

Is it too cynical to look at that Bryan quote and guys like Cena, Rock, and Austin backing Vince when they don't have to, and just fall back on this catch-all explanation by our patron saint Big Damo?

 

 

Edited January 26 by Technico Support

[Greggulator]

1 hour ago, Casey said:

I’m on page 25 so far and besides the headlines that we’ve all seen already, what’s struck me so far is that Vince shared pics with a former referee, made her get a new doctor that Vince chose himself, and “protected” her from being fired/furloughed during the pandemic.

Fucking gross.

EDIT: The first threesome they had, set up by Vince, was with a physical therapist at the new doctor’s practice. Her first time trafficked was at her new doctor’s office. Oh my god. During a pandemic, no less.

If you're talking about the "celebrity doctor" -- all signs point to Dr. Phil. If true: Vince forced the woman he was sexually harassing into seeking mental health treatment with Dr. Phil. 

[Eivion]

21 minutes ago, JLSigman said:

Stephanie and Hunter knew it all, they were the ones in charge of the internal investigations.

So yeah this pretty much has to be why Stephanie left when Vince forced his way back in. I actually forgot that at the end of that investigation the board unanimously voted for him to not return so anyone on it knew enough to at least want him gone.

[jaedmc]

2 minutes ago, Greggulator said:

If you're talking about the "celebrity doctor" -- all signs point to Dr. Phil. If true: Vince forced the woman he was sexually harassing into seeking mental health treatment with Dr. Phil. 

.... I thought it meant doctor to celebrities, not a doctor who is themselves a celebrity.

[Mister TV]

4 minutes ago, Greggulator said:

If you're talking about the "celebrity doctor" -- all signs point to Dr. Phil. If true: Vince forced the woman he was sexually harassing into seeking mental health treatment with Dr. Phil. 

I’m thinking it’s Dr. Drew.

[Casey]

I just thought the person was referred to as Celebrity Doctor because Vince is a celebrity and this person is presumably also Vince’s doctor.

Who knows at this point. What’s gross is that someone at said doctor’s practice participated in the abuse. And anytime she went in for an appointment after that, she was confronted by another abuser on the regular.

[Andrew POE!]

I read over the legal filing as well. When it starts out, I thought "Surely this is a misunderstanding because it seems Vince McMahon has empathy for this woman."

But no....that was a ruse, a character like one he plays on TV. It's gross, jock/fraternity boy garbage from a garbage human being that I can't wait to see headlines of his impending death. He essentially gave the woman a false sense of connection by talking about his life then coerced her into sexual acts out of fear of losing her job.

And tbh, I don't think we'll ever see Brock Lesnar in a WWE ring after this. Unless they don't care that he's going to get the same reaction Chris Jericho got a few weeks ago ("Kylie Rae" and "NDA" replaced with "Janel Grant" and "NDA"). I'm not sure Brock Lesnar would care either because he has WWE over a barrel.

And the video with Stephanie and Vince McMahon....my God, Stephanie was telling the truth. It wasn't a storyline.

I also wonder how many in WWE (and by extension TNA and AEW) knew about Vince McMahon's behavior. I think it was an open secret.

 

[Technico Support]

2 minutes ago, Andrew POE! said:

Unless they don't care that he's going to get the same reaction Chris Jericho got a few weeks ago

You mean the fans who chanted "thank you Vince" and bowed to him the first time this happened?

[EVA]

“You don’t want a celebrity doctor. You want a celebrity doctor.”

[AxB]

13 minutes ago, Andrew POE! said:

 

And the video with Stephanie and Vince McMahon....my God, Stephanie was telling the truth. It wasn't a storyline.

 

This one?

https://vxtwitter.com/whatevergabb1e/status/1750577092842934577?s=12&t=HZ7CyUbhufU0vp7hyObnyg

Yeah, I think most of us have seen her cut plenty of promos through the years. She's not normally this good of an actor.

[supremebve]

1 hour ago, Death From Above said:

Everything about it that I've seen reads as absolutely classic sexual predator stuff. Find someone down on their luck, befriend and groom them into thinking they have no choice but to comply with you, etc etc. 

The thing beyond all that which baffles me is the implication that this broke due to Vince stopping his payments to the woman resulting in the NDA being null and void. How big is your ego? Christ. What a piece of shit.

This.  The crazy thing about this is that it is obvious that this woman was more than willing to engage in sexual acts with Vince and his cronies, but that wasn't enough for them.  They were only interested in the kind of sex she wanted to have to make sure they pushed past that to have sex with her in ways she wouldn't consent.  The cherry on top is that he didn't even follow through on trying to pay her off.  Fuck Vince.  The arrogance, the lack of humanity, and the complete and total moral depravity are all breathtaking.

[Raziel]

4 minutes ago, AxB said:

This one?

https://vxtwitter.com/whatevergabb1e/status/1750577092842934577?s=12&t=HZ7CyUbhufU0vp7hyObnyg

Yeah, I think most of us have seen her cut plenty of promos through the years. She's not normally this good of an actor.

Most rumors and urban Legends has some hint of truth somewhere.  There had to be some scuttlebutt that fired up the Savage legend.