The Wall Street Journal Vince McMahon Thread.

[odessasteps]

Someone asked me about the sleaze thread this week because they knew I was a long time DVDVR poster. 

I said the ironic thing is maybe the most infamous things from the sleaze thread (Valaint, Duggan) were also two of the most salacious things in the Vince lawsuit. 

Thankfully, this was before we starting recording the podcast. 

[The Natural]

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/wwe/brock-lesnar-removed-from-wwe-supercard-game

[dokdoyle]

5 hours ago, The Natural said:

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/wwe/brock-lesnar-removed-from-wwe-supercard-game

I just realized that I enhanced Zombie Brock in WWE Champions, but it's not like they update wrestlers in that game. I still get Velveteen Dream shards at least once a week

[AxB]

Vince is under Federal Investigation

[(BP)]

I’m glad he’s probably got another twenty years left in him to be put through the wringer by the feds. I do wonder if he’s too proud to do the standard Weinstein feeble old man transformation for courtroom appearances. 

 

[AxB]

Last time he was in Federal Court, during the steroid trial, he did do the neck brace thing.

[Godfrey]

10 hours ago, piranesi said:

Do you know how much I hate myself right now for knowing who the owner of XPW was?

Like that's messed up. I would not date a man who knew that.

I would not let anyone I know go on a date with a man who knows that.

Weed makes you feel guilty but if you’re truly having a hard a time with this you won’t find answers for it on this board. Time to speak to a professional

[Mister TV]

15 minutes ago, (BP) said:

I’m glad he’s probably got another twenty years left in him to be put through the wringer by the feds. I do wonder if he’s too proud to do the standard Weinstein feeble old man transformation for courtroom appearances. 

 

He'll totally be like the old gangsters at the end of Casino, in a wheelchair wearing an oxygen mask.

[(BP)]

1 minute ago, Mister TV said:

He'll totally be like the old gangsters at the end of Casino, in a wheelchair wearing an oxygen mask.

 

[Andrew POE!]

11 hours ago, piranesi said:

gjuy,s I'm stone and I'm never really liked CM Punk but is there any chance that he actually did fake this injury as a way to not "work" for this company?

 

I'm just still waiting for one person to do something different than "He's gone. So he's not there. He's gone."

That's entirely plausible. Rather than do "The Pipe Bomb Promo Part Deux" with a live mic, he fakes being injured. But the flip side to that is CM Punk really is injured and he's Mr. Glass.

He got injured in AEW and was out for months. Both injuries due to arm injuries.

It just tells me that honestly and seriously CM Punk may not be cut out for wrestling anymore, not that he doesn't want to work for WWE due to Vince McMahon's actions.

 

[Zakk_Sabbath]

Fuck yeah, Uncle Sam about to get his win back, you love to see it.

I didn't realize this til Dave mentioned it on a WOR clip I saw earlier in the week, but they've had a federal grand jury on this since August - I assumed that was for the SEC stuff, but boy was I wrong.

I have two hopes for prison Vince:

1) that he outlives the 109 his mother made it to

2) that without the gas he grows titties in there like the As I Lay Dying guy

[The Natural]

F4wonline.com:

A federal search warrant and subpoena served to Vince McMahon last July was part of an ongoing investigation regarding sexual assault and sex trafficking allegations against the now-former TKO chairman.

Citing sources familiar with the investigation, the Wall Street Journal first reported the news Friday morning, offering the first insights into what the warrant was issued for and what has been happening behind the scenes.

The WSJ reported that in recent months, federal prosecutors in New York have been in contact with other women that have accused McMahon of sexual misconduct, looking for any communications between themselves and the former WWE chairman.

According to the report, at least five women named in the subpoena, including Grant, had settlement agreements with McMahon with some of them having been interviewed by the aforementioned prosecutors.

"The other women named in the grand jury subpoena include a WWE contractor whom McMahon allegedly sent unsolicited nude photos and sexually harassed; a former WWE wrestler who said McMahon coerced her into giving him oral sex; former WWE referee Rita Chatterton, who publicly accused McMahon of raping her; a spa manager who said McMahon assaulted her at a Southern California resort; and a former WWE employee who alleged the head of talent relations at the company at the time, John Laurinaitis, demoted her after she broke off an affair with him."

According to the report, federal agents were looking for any documentation related to any allegation of “rape, sex trafficking, sexual assault, commercial sex transaction, harassment or discrimination” against either current or former WWE employees.

The investigation was launched in 2022 when the first reports of the allegations were revealed by the WSJ.

McMahon has denied the allegations in the late-January lawsuit filed by ex-employee Janel Grant -- one of the women that McMahon signed a hush money pact with -- and said in a statement that he will fight the lawsuit "vigorously."

In the suit filed against McMahon, Laurinaitis and WWE, Grant is looking for the NDA she signed with McMahon nullified in addition to unspecified financial damages after McMahon allegedly only paid $1 million of their agreed-upon $3 million settlement. 

After news broke of the lawsuit last Thursday, McMahon resigned as TKO executive chairman the following day.

WWE/TKO has yet to comment publicly on this latest news while McMahon referred to his previous denial statement to the WSJ.

---

[Greggulator]

The criminal investigation into this stuff is absolutely not a surprise. TBH, I was expecting this news to drop sooner than later. They've been looking at him for a while, now. The subpoenas that were reported from the summer are looking for items related to everything in the suit and who knows what else. Johnny's lawyer talking about the complaint the way he did now reads like code for "Johnny's going to do anything he can for a plea deal" if/when it gets to the indictment part of the story. It might take a while to get there if more women are coming forward that we don't know about yet.

And there's a good chance of that. The woman in the complaint's attorney said that yesterday. You usually have to take with a huge grain of salt anything anyone's attorney says when they're fighting in the media over a lawsuit. (Which they're doing.) But these tea leaves...

[Goitre]

55 minutes ago, Zakk_Sabbath said:

that without the gas he grows titties in there like the As I Lay Dying guy

You can get anything you want in prison. They're really strong economies.

[Matt D]

4 minutes ago, Greggulator said:

The criminal investigation into this stuff is absolutely not a surprise. TBH, I was expecting this news to drop sooner than later. They've been looking at him for a while, now. The subpoenas that were reported from the summer are looking for items related to everything in the suit and who knows what else. Johnny's lawyer talking about the complaint the way he did now reads like code for "Johnny's going to do anything he can for a plea deal" if/when it gets to the indictment part of the story. It might take a while to get there if more women are coming forward that we don't know about yet.

And there's a good chance of that. The woman in the complaint's attorney said that yesterday. You usually have to take with a huge grain of salt anything anyone's attorney says when they're fighting in the media over a lawsuit. (Which they're doing.) But these tea leaves...

Given the texts in the lawsuit, you can only imagine what else he was regularly using his phone to do.

[Curt McGirt]

...and now our criminal lawyer on the board gets to weigh in properly 

The Casino reference is so right. He's already got the cane, time to just put that pedal to the floor. Watch him fake a stroke and have his head on his shoulder drooling until behind closed doors he gets up fuming and starts turning tables over and throwing folding chairs. It'll be Vincent Gigante level work.

Johnny not stonewalling standing beside Vince and unwilling to go into that good goodnight means there is all kinds of wild shit gonna come out, too. 

[Elsalvajeloco]

12 minutes ago, Greggulator said:

The criminal investigation into this stuff is absolutely not a surprise. TBH, I was expecting this news to drop sooner than later. They've been looking at him for a while, now. The subpoenas that were reported from the summer are looking for items related to everything in the suit and who knows what else. Johnny's lawyer talking about the complaint the way he did now reads like code for "Johnny's going to do anything he can for a plea deal" if/when it gets to the indictment part of the story. It might take a while to get there if more women are coming forward that we don't know about yet.

And there's a good chance of that. The woman in the complaint's attorney said that yesterday. You usually have to take with a huge grain of salt anything anyone's attorney says when they're fighting in the media over a lawsuit. (Which they're doing.) But these tea leaves...

Since we already had one Tarantino film reference (made no less by someone with an avatar referencing ANOTHER Tarantino film), I am going to say John ends up like Beaumont in Jackie Brown.

[Curt McGirt]

Vince might be wishing he had a trunk and a shotgun, but he's just gonna have a wheelchair and an oxygen tank.

[Just Dave]

I guess the question is; how deep does TKO really want this inquiry to go? If the end result is hurting the company of everyone who knows/knew about this, there’s no way that doesn’t include Trips and HBK. Are they ready to deal with the repercussions of jettisoning their head of main roster creative & developmental? Indulge me, if it isn’t considered in poor taste. Who is out there with the acumen to run that aspect of wwe that doesn’t have that Vince stink on them?

 

Damn, that’s a poor choice of words.

 

[Curt McGirt]

When you think about it, it'll probably end up more like Johnny is sitting in the dark yelling "RAY, HE'S GOT A GUN!" to the court.

[Curt McGirt]

TKO doesn't have a choice in any matter involving what comes down through discovery from a federal court and will act appropriately to stay clean.

[Raziel]

2 minutes ago, Just Dave said:

I guess the question is; how deep does TKO really want this inquiry to go? If the end result is hurting the company of everyone who knows/knew about this, there’s no way that doesn’t include Trips and HBK. Are they ready to deal with the repercussions of jettisoning their head of main roster creative & developmental? Indulge me, if it isn’t considered in poor taste. Who is out there with the acumen to run that aspect of wwe that doesn’t have that Vince stink on them?

 

Damn, that’s a poor choice of words.

 

He's already there any probably has a hand in creative.

 

Heyman.

[Elsalvajeloco]

11 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said:

TKO doesn't have a choice in any matter involving what comes down through discovery from a federal court and will act appropriately to stay clean.

I give it a year before someone notable is stepping away to take care of their health/want to see their kids grow up/take a sabbatical for self discovery.

[Just Dave]

15 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said:

TKO doesn't have a choice in any matter involving what comes down through discovery from a federal court and will act appropriately to stay clean.

That’s fair. Some of this has been worded in such a way that I’m not sure I understand who’s doing the inquiries and whatnot. 
 

I guess the point of my post is “I have no idea how Trips and Shawn escape this unscathed…”

[Zakk_Sabbath]

15 minutes ago, Elsalvajeloco said:

I give it a year before someone notable is stepping away to take care of their health/want to see their kids grow up/take a sabbatical for self discovery.

Hard agree, and going a step further, I'd argue that with Steph leaving and Dunn retiring, we already reached that point without any of us really knowing it yet at the time. I mean, Steph's resignation was worded so closely to what you wrote in your post, I'm about to click 'submit reply' without truly knowing 100% if this is a joke that went over my head or not