According to a comprehensive look at his life after WWE by NBC News, Vince McMahon is spending his time taking trips to Turks and Caicos and Italy, eating at his favorite New York City spots and chatting with Donald Trump.
One thing he’s not doing? Talking to anyone in a position of authority in WWE, including Triple H.
McMahon still has an office at WWE headquarters in Stamford, Conn., which the sources quoted for the article say is “unoccupied but otherwise intact.” But he hasn’t used it since he resigned from TKO, the company formed by the merger of WWE and UFC under the auspices of Endeavor, in January.
It might not be surprising to learn that McMahon hasn’t spoken with Endeavor’s leadership. Reports in early February suggested that Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel and COO and president Mark Shapiro both told McMahon it would be in the best interest of the company if he resigned in the wake of the explosive allegations made in the Janel Grant sex trafficking lawsuit.
What may be more difficult for anyone who has followed WWE for any length of time to believe is that McMahon isn’t trying to pull any strings from a distance — something he’s done before. Not so this time, according to NBC’s sources.
That also means McMahon hasn’t talked to his son-in-law, WWE creative chief and former superstar Paul “Triple H” Levesque, or daughter, Stephanie McMahon-Levesque, regarding company matters, sources said.
That’s probably a big factor in the tone of most of the people NBC talked to for their piece, who feel that McMahon is gone for good this time. Reporting from a number of outlets has suggested that’s the case, but given his perseverance in the face of previous scandals, it’s become one of those “seeing is believing” deals.
For now, at least, that’s what people close to McMahon are indeed seeing.
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