Vince McMahon Says He'll Be Involved in WWE Creative 'On a Higher Level' After Sale
Fans have speculated Vince McMahon's hand has been back in the creative cookie jar ever since his hostile return to the company in January.
Now that WWE's been sold to Endeavor in a blockbuster acquisition announced Monday, McMahon's confirming he's back pulling some creative levers moving forward.
"Yes and no. On a higher level, yes. In the weedsāwhich I always loved to get in the weeds in the pastā no, can't do that," McMahon said Monday during a CNBC appearance when asked if he would be involved in creative.
Ari Emanuel, the CEO of Endeavor, said he does not plan to have any creative input on WWE moving forward.
Endeavor also owns UFC and plans to spin the two combat businesses off together as a publicly traded business. The two companies are valued at $21.4 billion.
"Together, we will be a $21+ billion live sports and entertainment powerhouse with a collective fanbase of more than a billion people and an exciting growth opportunity," McMahon said in a statement Monday.
Paul Levesque, better known to fans as Triple H, has been the head of creative since McMahon stepped down last summer amid several Wall Street Journal reports linking him to non-disclosure agreement payments sent to former mistresses.
Levesque's run heading up creative has been well-received, with many pointing to a massive qualitative leap in WWE programming versus recent years under McMahon. It's unclear if Levesque will remain in charge of creative under the new regime.
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