Rebuilding Rob

I’ve been a fan of professional, wrestling, more specifically, WWE, for the better part of the last 40 years. during that time, we’ve all heard stories about Vince McMahon‘s authoritarian style of running the company. We’ve heard stories about his ego, his involvement in numerous numerous criminal and civil cases over the years, but it sounds like this one will be the finish of his involvement with WWE, once, and for all.

In a news story that broke Thursday, Vince McMahon has been accused of sexual assault and trafficking in a new lawsuit.You can read the complaint, as filed by the attorney for plaintiff Janel Grant HERE. It’s sick. There’s sexual assault, rape, human trafficking, physical assault, bribery, blackmail and manipulation. It’s A LOT to digest.

I know everybody wants to give the accused the benefit of the doubt, but the problem is, the timeline adds up with other stuff we know about WWE publicly:

• It lines up with the whole hullabaloo about WWE “misappropriation of funds”. We now know that this is in reference to McMahon using company funds to pay off multiple NDA deals. Some of those people are listed in here as well.
• It’s consistent with John Lauranitis getting abruptly terminated by the company.
• It also jives with the timeline of “a certain WWE superstar, and former UFC champion“ waffling between a new WWE or new UFC contract; ultimately re-signing with WWE.

To say that I’m sick about the whole thing is an understatement. I was trying real hard tonight to separate the TV product from McMahon’s real-life activities, and I couldn’t. I turned off SmackDown less than five minutes into the show.

I feel sickened by the fact that I’ve given money to this company over the last four decades: buying tickets to their events, buying their merchandise, ordering pay per views, and for a short time subscribing to their WWE streaming network. The thought that any of my money could’ve made its way to Vince McMahon‘s wallet or contributed in any way to his sadistic acts over the decades is truly disturbing.

Tomorrow is one of WWE‘s marquee premium live events of the year, the Royal Rumble. Even when my fandom has waned over the years, the rumble is always a fun event; as new and returning superstars, as well as WWE legends, would make surprise appearances in the main event. Even though I’m able to stream the show for free, thanks to my Comcast Xfinity subscription, I don’t know that I can bring myself to watch it.

Slim Jim, one of the main sponsors for the show, announced earlier today that they are pulling their advertising from the event. As of 8:30 Thursday night, McMahon announced his resignation from the board of TKO (the organization that oversees both WWE and UFC ). If he didn’t resign, TKO would have had to shit-can him themselves. They had to stop the blood-letting and swing into damage control mode. Looking back now, I wonder if any of this contributed to his daughter, Stephanie‘s decision to resign from the company upon Vince’s return to power last year

I’m sure that the pro wrestling “dirt sheets“ and the Internet wrestling community (IWC) we be talking about this for the immediate future. I only hope that Ms. Grant is able to receive some semblance of justice on this matter. It just getting started.

In case some of you are wondering, “Future Endeavored” is a reference to WWE’s official announcements regarding the release of on-air talent. Their brief press statements usually end with the cliche “We wish him/her the best of luck in all their future endeavors”.

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier related posts:

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• A Day in the Life of Rob
• Rob Reviews: The Acolyte. Am I missing the boat here?
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The article “Vince McMahon: Future Endeavored” originally appeared on Rebuilding Rob.