When Vince McMahon engineered his return to power in WWE earlier this year, it was with the explicit purpose of exploring a potential sale of the company. That’s not exactly what happened as WWE ended up merging with UFC under Endeavor to form TKO instead, but the end result was similar in one way: McMahon ended up in a situation where he’d have to answer to others.
Specifically, there’s someone above him in the Endeavor hierarchy in the form of CEO Ari Emanuel. And while there was plenty of speculation about whether Emanuel, who said glowing things about McMahon while the merger was in its early stages, would allow Vince to run the pro wrestling side of TKO as he saw fit, it appears that might not be the case.
While McMahon had reintegrated himself into the WWE creative process earlier this year by calling in changes remotely, Paul “Triple H” Levesque has been the nominal head of creative throughout. Just last week, reports began circulating that it was Levesque and not McMahon who had been calling the shots as far as creative direction for WWE shows, and that morale was up backstage because of it.
It’s now become more clear who’s behind that change: Emanuel. Both Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio and Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated are reporting that the Endeavor CEO wanted Levesque heading up creative. Barrasso noted that Emanuel “has long been a firm believer that, in order for an organization to be as effective as possible, people need to do the job they are assigned,” meaning if Triple H is head of creative, he should be the one with whom the buck stops.
The question, one that perhaps will never truly be answered, is whether McMahon will mind that he’s been marginalized. He’s now 78, and though many fans and industry observers assumed he’d attempt to run WWE until he died, it’s possible he’s finally ready to let go of the reigns.
WWE president Nick Khan, for one, suggested as much during the time the company was looking for a buyer, saying McMahon wouldn’t block a sale just because his role might change. The TKO merger apparently made that hypothetical into a reality, which will make the next six months until WrestleMania 40 potentially as interesting behind the scenes as on TV.