What Does the Vince McMahon Scandal Mean for WWE Stock?

[Liz]

Wrestling fans and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) - Get World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. Class A Report shareholders like to play the "what happens when Vince McMahon retires or dies?" speculation game. That's largely because McMahon has run the company under an iron grip pretty much since he took it over from his father in 1982.

McMahon has not always held the CEO title -- his wife Linda served in that role before moving into politics -- but he has always owned a controlling interest and been the big boss regardless of his actual title.

A WWE without McMahon seemed like something that might happen only if the longtime company leader and television personality died.

Now, the unthinkable seems at least something worth considering as McMahon has stepped aside as chairman and CEO, while the company investigates allegations that he paid $12 million in hush money to women with whom he had sexual relationships.

"Four former female WWE employees received the payments, and they cannot disclose any information regarding their relations with the 76-year-old after signing agreements with him. Three of the cases regarding McMahon's allegations released in the report Friday were previously not publicly known," Sports Illustrated reported.

Vince McMahon has publicly relinquished the chairman and CEO titles, and his daughter Stephanie McMahon, who had been on a leave of absence from the company, has taken over those jobs on an interim basis.

The elder McMahon remains, however, in charge of the company's creative direction. That means he continues to run WWE's television shows, which is the part of the company that delivers the majority of its revenue.

Leading creative means Vince McMahon still signs off on every script, decides which performers (wrestlers) get featured (pushed in wrestling parlance), and sets the company's overall direction.

In reality, that has been Vince McMahon's principal job since he took over the company. Yes, he technically has been chairman and CEO, but his core job has never been running the business side. A number of different people have held that post; currently that's WWE President Nick Kahn.

Despite the scandal, WWE shares are up about 13% in 2022 through July 11. That may be because few expect the investigation to lead to Vince McMahon leaving the company. Since he has a controlling interest, McMahon essentially has veto power over any actions the board wants to take.

Vince McMahon would actually leave WWE only if its major television partners -- Fox  (FOXA) - Get Fox Corporation Report  (FOX) - Get Fox Corporation Report which airs "Smackdown" on Friday nights, and Comcast (CMCSA) - Get Comcast Corporation Class A Common Stock Report, which airs the flagship "Raw" on Mondays -- demanded that he do so.

Since WWE's ratings have actually improved since the scandal hit, and there's been no major backlash (and really not even a minor one) from wrestling/WWE fans, neither company seems likely to call on McMahon to step down.

That could change If the board finds something that has not yet become public and that changes fan perception or somehow harms the television ratings. It's also possible that after the findings are released, the elder McMahon takes the chairman role back and leaves his daughter as CEO, or vice versa.

When it comes to the share price, however, that's really all cosmetic. As long as Vince McMahon holds the creative reins at the company, it's really status quo.

And while some WWE fans may want Paul "Triple H" Levesque (Stephanie McMahon's husband and a legendary wrestler) or Paul Heyman to take over creative, that's not likely to happen unless something much more damning comes out or Vince McMahon chooses to walk away.