Backstage News On Who Appointed Stephanie McMahon WWE's Interim CEO And Chairwoman
The decision to name Stephanie McMahon as WWE's Interim CEO & Chairwoman was reportedly made by a Special Committee comprising eight members of WWE's Board of Directors.
According to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the four Board members who were not involved in the decision-making process were Stephanie, Nick Khan, Vince McMahon and "Triple H" Paul Levesque.
The report added that although it was Vince's decision to step down from his corporate duties, he recused himself from the process of naming his interim successor.
The eight Board members who elected Stephanie are Steve Koonin, the CEO of the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ignace Lahoud, the CEO of Majid Al Futtaim, Erika Nardini, the CEO of Barstool Sports, Steve Pamon, the President of Verzuz, Connor Schell, and founder and CEO of Words + Pictures, Jeffrey Speed, the former Executive Vice President and CFO of Six Flags, Inc., and Alan Wexler, the Senior Vice President of Innovations and Growth for General Motors.
Shortly after Stephanie took a leave of absence last month, Meltzer reported that certain higher-ups in the WWE wanted to "bury her on her way out" echoing a report from Business Week which noted that several top-ranked officials felt the company was "underperforming in ad revenue" with Stephanie as the Chief Brand Officer. The report also claimed that it was not Stephanie's idea to leave but it was Vince who made the decision for her to step away, citing the lack of new sponsorships under her watch.
Interestingly, Meltzer reported Friday that none of the eight Board members who put Stephanie in power were involved in the process of "burying her" behind the scenes, which would indicate that they are firm supporters of Stephanie.
According to Fightful Select, a lot of the talents backstage are elated about Stephanie being put in charge. One top star told the publication that it "f—ing rules" that Stephanie is their boss, albeit in an interim capacity. Less than a week after Stephanie took over the reins, her husband, Triple H returned to WWE's Performance Center to assume his backstage responsibilities, which he had stepped away from following his cardiac event last year. Upon returning to WWE earlier this year, Triple H's duties were reportedly drastically different than prior to his absence. Earlier this week, however, Triple H emphatically said, "I'm back" while addressing talents at the WWE PC, which would indicate that he's back to a prominent position in NXT.