WWE to Reinstate Earnings to Account for Vince McMahon's 'Unrecorded Payments' Following Retirement
WWE announced on Monday that $14.6 million of payments by former CEO and chairman Vince McMahon from 2006 to 2022 weren't recorded in the company's account but should have been. According to Variety, WWE will revise some of its previously issued financial statements now that McMahon has retired from WWE. The SEC filing said it "has received, and may receive in the future, regulatory, investigative and enforcement inquiries, subpoenas or demands arising from, related to, or in connection with these matters."
"The company expects to conclude that its internal control over financial reporting was not effective," the filing revealed. WWE plans to "record the unrecorded expenses" for the periods in 2019, 2020 and 2021 as well as the quarter that ended in June of this year. The filing also states that McMahon will personally pay or have paid the unrecorded expenses.
"As previously announced, a special committee of independent members of the Board is conducting an investigation into alleged misconduct by Vince McMahon, which investigation remains ongoing," WWE said. McMahon announced his retirement on Friday, and it came after he voluntarily stepped down as CEO and chairman due to the allegations of him paying hush money to former employees who allegedly had relationships with him. WWE announced on Monday that McMahon's daughter, Stephanie McMahon, and Nick Khan are the co-CEOs of WWE.
"We are grateful for the opportunity to lead WWE together with our unmatched management team," McMahon and Khan said in a joint statement. "We recognize this is a tremendous opportunity and responsibility, and we look forward to serving the WWE Universe." Vince McMahon took over WWE from his father in the early 1980s and put professional wrestling into the mainstream business. WWE can be seen in over 180 countries around the world and has a billion-dollar agreement with the streaming service Peacock.
"NBC was a long-time partner of WWE," Khan told The Town podcast earlier this year, per 411 Mania. "It goes back 30 years. Monday Night RAW was launched on USA. Even though there was a break 15-20 years ago when WWE went to [SpikeTV], it ultimately went back to USA. To me, and to Vince and business, when an incumbent wants something that you have, you got to give them every opportunity for it. There should be a home team, home town discount. That's just the way we look at it. When Peacock came so aggressively, even though there were other suitors for [the WWE Network], they wanted it. The numbers made sense.