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Can WWE keep Vince McMahon out of the creative process forever?
Vince McMahon's creative influence has not been completely removed from WWE, though the promotion's output is now subjected to less interference from its 78-year-old Executive Chairman.
SI's Justin Barrasso reports as much. Chief Content Officer Paul 'Triple H' Levesque is "now in a position where he has been emboldened by parent company Endeavor to lead WWE creative," writes Barrasso, following an October report from PWInsider that Paul Levesque had been "knighted" by Endeavor, having around "99.9%" creative control.
Paul Levesque assumed WWE's creative reigns in July 2022, when Vince McMahon resigned in disgrace amidst myriad sexual misconduct allegations. His creative power slipped in April 2023, when Vice McMahon resumed a degree of control as WWE's Endeavor takeover was announced. This switch again in September, however, with Endeavor effectively removing Vince McMahon- now an employee - from creative power.
Now, Barrasso writes:
"... there is less interference from Vince McMahon, which is not to imply McMahon is entirely removed from the process. After parts of five decades spent as the company’s be-all, end-all, McMahon’s fingerprints remain all across the company."
In his conversation with SI, Paul Levesque commented:
“Vince taught me years ago, you put yourself in the seats and you’ll never go wrong. You’ve always got to maintain that perspective. I started out as a fan. Book what people want to feel and see.”
As confirmed earlier in November, Vince McMahon is currently looking to sell around 8.4 million shares in TKO Group Holdings, the company formed through WWE's merger with the UFC in September.