NBC News today (April 17) posted a lengthy piece from CNBC’s Chloe Melas and Alex Sherman titled, “Vince McMahon’s life after WWE: Kittens, vacations and staying in touch with Trump”.
The reporters spoke to “11 people familiar with McMahon and WWE” for the piece, which largely focuses on what Vince spends his time on now that he’s fully removed from the company he ran for more than four decades. Some of it covers ground that will be familiar to wrestling fans, like how Janel Grant’s lawsuit against McMahon, John Laurinaitis & WWE led to his resignation in January, and WWE’s various recent successes like the Netflix deal and WrestleMania XL.
It also features some anecdotes that, while there’s no reason to believe they’re not true, seem designed to cast Vince in a very different light than the one he’s been in since the public heard about the accusations in Grant’s sex trafficking case. A good example is the one which led to “kittens” and “vacations” being in NBC’s headline:
For instance, on an afternoon in late March, McMahon returned on a private plane to the United States from the sunny Turks and Caicos Islands — but he wasn’t alone, according to a person close to him. He had with him seven kittens and a puppy, all of which he brought back to be adopted by his friends, this person added.
“If anything, he’s enjoying life,” said the person, who added that McMahon had also taken a trip to Italy.
There’s plenty in the report that’s more directly related to McMahon’s legal predicament and WWE in -Vince era, such as:
• The barrier between McMahon and WWE & its parent company TKO means Vince hasn’t talked business with either his son-in-law (WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque) or daughter (Stephanie McMahon-Levesque, who has no official role at WWE since she resigned following her father’s 2022 return, but who made her first appearances for the company at WrestleMania XL weekend earlier this month).
• As other reports have indicated, NBC says Stephanie currently has no involvement in WWE business currently. The report notes that “Levesque and McMahon-Levesque declined to comment through a spokesperson, as did a WWE representative”.
• McMahon is cooperating with Federal authorities investigating him as a result of Grant’s allegations and his 2021 hush money scandal, which also involved Grant. He doesn’t think he’ll be charged with any crimes, and that Grant’s suit will be settled out of court. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment on potential charges, while Grant’s legal team says there have been no settlement talks with McMahon’s camp.
• Aside from the vacations, “McMahon is often ferried by a private driver from his posh Connecticut home to Manhattan” where he’s sticking to his regular routine of eating out, working out, and going to the barber. Two people Melas & Sherman spoke to said Vince has been more “guarded” lately, however. He’s often on the phone with his lawyers, and…
• Former President & WWE Hall of Famer Donald Trump. It’s not clear what the men talk about, but they have been “in touch regularly”. NBC summarizes the many ties between Trump and the McMahons, including the unrecorded payment McMahon made to Trump that was unearthed during the hush money investigation.
• One source told NBC that the two billionaires, who both have been accused of multiple instances of sexual misconduct, don’t talk about their legal woes. A Trump spokesperson declined to comment.
• McMahon has been in touch with both Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and John Cena since his resignation. No word on what they talked about. A spokesperson for Johnson declined to comment; Cena’s representatives didn’t get back to NBC. Johnson, who joined the TKO Board of Directors shortly before the Grant suit was announced, has not commented on the allegations against McMahon. Cena has, and you can read his comments here.
• Endeavor President Mark Shapiro has assured Levesque and WWE President Nick Khan that they have his full support as WWE’s new leaders.
• Vince’s office at WWE’s Stamford, Connecticut headquarters “is unoccupied but otherwise intact, according to an executive, who called it ‘spooky.’”
• There are still “McMahon loyalists” at WWE, but an employee told NBC that Vince distracted from the fact “WWE is actually a really great place to work… It’s been much better since he left.” Another told the reporters that “people feel like they’re on steadier ground” with Vince gone.
You can read the full report at the NBC News website here.
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