FILE – Vince McMahon stands at Republican state convention in Hartford, Conn., Friday, May 18, 2012.
AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File
Vince McMahon is stepping down as CEO and chairman of WWE during an an investigation into alleged misconduct involving the longtime leader and public face of the organization.
McMahon will continue to oversee WWE’s creative content during the investigation, World Wrestling Entertainment said Friday, and named McMahon’s daughter, Stephanie, as interim CEO and chairwoman.
Keep scrolling for photos of Vince McMahon through the years
Vince McMahon will appear on its live show “SmackDown” later Friday, WWE said on Twitter after it announced the changes in leadership of the organization.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that WWE was investigating an alleged $3 million settlement that McMahon paid to a departing female employee following a consensual affair.
“I have pledged my complete cooperation to the investigation by the special committee, and I will do everything possible to support the investigation,” McMahon said in a prepared statement Friday. “I have also pledged to accept the findings and outcome of the investigation, whatever they are.”
The employee, hired as a paralegal in 2019, has a separation agreement from January that prevents her from discussing her relationship with McMahon or disparaging him, the Journal reported.
The board’s investigation, which started in April, found other, older nondisclosure agreements involving claims by former female WWE employees of misconduct by McMahon and John Laurinaitis, the head of talent relations at WWE, the Journal reported.
Aside from the investigation into the alleged misconduct by McMahon and Laurinaitis, WWE said that the company and its special committee will work with an independent third-party to perform a comprehensive review of the work environment at the organization.
Vince McMahon has been the leader and most recognizable face at WWE for decades.
When he purchased the company, then the World Wrestling Federation, from his father in 1982, wrestling matches took place at small venues and appeared on local cable channels.
The organization underwent a seismic transformation under McMahon. He created WrestleMania, a premium live event that draws millions of fervent viewers.
Revenue last year exceeded $1 billion for the first time.
WWE stars have become crossover sensations, including Hulk Hogan, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and John Cena.
Stephanie McMahon, who will take over at least temporarily as the leader of WWE, announced last month that she was taking a leave of absence from the most of her responsibilities at the organization. She had been serving as the company’s chief brand officer.
Her husband, Paul Levesque, who wrestled under the name Triple H, announced in March that he was retiring from wrestling due to a heart condition. Levesque serves as WWE’s executive vice president of strategy and development.
“I have committed to doing everything in my power to help the Special Committee complete its work, including marshaling the cooperation of the entire company to assist in the completion of the investigation and to implement its findings,” she said in a statement.
Shares of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., based in Stamford, Connecticut, slid less than 1% at the opening bell Friday.
Photos: Vince McMahon through the years
Dr. George T. Zahorian III, center, an osteopath from Harrisburg, Pa., poses with Vince McMahon, left, and wrestler Hulk Hogan in 1988. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
World Wrestling Federation owner Vince McMahon is seen in New York, July 16, 1991. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Richard Drew
FILE – This July 22, 1994, file photo shows Vince McMahon, owner of Titan Sports and World Wrestling Federation, and his wife, Linda, leaving Federal Court in Uniondale, N.Y., after McMahon was acquitted of conspiring to distribute steroids. From the NBA’s Chris Dudley and Shawn Bradley to the NFL’s Alan Page, Heath Shuler and Jon Runyan to pro wrestling’s Linda McMahon, some two dozen sports figures are up for election. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
MARK LENNIHAN
World Wrestling Entertainment owner Vince McMahon is interviewed on the NBC “Today” television program by co-host Meredith Vieira in New York, Thursday June 28, 2007. McMahon urged people not to assume that steroids played a role in the murder-suicide of pro-wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife and 7-year-old son. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
RICHARD DREW
WWE Hall of Famer Bret “Hit Man” Hart on his way to defeating Mr. McMahon at WrestleMania XXVI on March 28, 2010, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
RICK SCUTERI
Vince McMahon, husband of Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Linda McMahon raises his arm in the air to an audience during a fan appreciation event in Hartford, Conn., Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010. Former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO McMahon is battling Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut Attorney General, for the senate seat being vacated by the retiring Sen. Chris Dodd. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Jessica Hill
Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Linda McMahon, right, and her husband Vince share a moment together the at Republican state convention in Hartford, Conn., Friday, May 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Jessica Hill
FILE – In this May 21, 2010, file photo, WWE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon is shown at the Connecticut Republican Convention in Hartford, Conn. WWE announced Thursday, July 31, 2014, a new 10-year partnership with Rogers Communications in Canada that will launch the WWE Network as a traditional pay-TV channel in Rogers’ cable systems, also starting Aug. 12. “WWE’s core business metrics remain strong, and WWE Network continues to be the single greatest opportunity to transform WWE’s business model,” said McMahon. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)
Jessica Hill
World Wrestling Federation chairman Vince McMahon is pictured in New York in 1991. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Richard Drew
FILE – In this March 28, 2007, file photo, Donald Trump, left, stands before World Wrestling Entertainment boss Vince McMahon, right, under the eye of wrestler “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, center during a news conference in New York to discuss a planned “Battle of the Billionaires” match. If now President Trump’s recent attacks on television personalities, journalists and political rivals feel like something straight out of the pro wrestling circuit, it may not be a coincidence – wrestling aficionados say the president, who has a long history with the game, has borrowed the time-tested tactics of the sport. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
BEBETO MATTHEWS
FILE – In this April 1, 2007, file photo, Donald Trump, left, and Bobby Lashley, right shave the head of Vince McMahon after Lashley defeated Umaga at Wrestlemania 23 at Ford Field in Detroit. Lashley is no Brock Lesnar. But the TNA Wrestling heavyweight champion hopes his shift to Bellator can give a boost to both second-tier promotions. Lashley has one of the featured bouts on Friday night when Bellator goes head-to-head on national TV vs. UFC. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
Carlos Osorio
Vince McMahon, husband of Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Linda McMahon stands towards the rear of the stage during his wife’s concession speech in Stamford, Conn., Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012. McMahon lost the race to Democratic opponent Chris Murphy for the Senate seat now held by Joe Lieberman, an independent who’s retiring. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Charles Krupa
FILE – In this Oct. 30, 2010 file photo, WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon speaks to an audience during a WWE fan appreciation event in Hartford, Conn. WWE’s ‘Raw’ set out to be a special kind of wrestling show from its birth on Jan. 11, 1993. “Welcome everyone, to Monday Night Raw!” McMahon bellowed. “We are live from New York City!” The WWE will celebrate the 25th anniversary of “Raw” on Jan. 22, 2018 at its original home of the Manhattan Center with some of the biggest stars in the company’s history stopping by for a fight. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)
Jessica Hill
FILE – In this Feb. 3, 2000, Vince McMahon, chairman of the World Wrestling Federation, speaks during a news conference in New York. The XFL is set for a surprising second life, McMahon announced Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018. McMahon said the XFL would return in 2020 but offered few other details about the late winter/early spring football league. (AP Photo/Ed Bailey, File)
ED BAILEY
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Investigation at WWE upends leadership; McMahon steps down
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