Former WWE Women's Champion Congratulates Stephanie McMahon
WWE publicly announced that Vince McMahon would be stepping down from his role as CEO and Chairwoman of the company today, appointing Stephanie McMahon as his interim replacement. The news comes on the heels of a blockbuster Wall Street Journal report regarding the WWE board of directors investigating a wide range of alleged misdeeds by McMahon and others.
WWE also released a statement regarding Stephanie's new roles as CEO and Chairwoman involving quotes from her and Vince. Stephanie stated that she loves the company and will be committed to "working with the Independent Directors to strengthen our culture and our Company." Vince stated that he'll be cooperative in the investigation by the Special Committee and will do "everything possible to support the investigation."
It's unclear what this means for Stephanie in the short and long term, but that didn't stop former WWE Women's Champion Mickie James from sending her congratulations via social media. James said Stephanie had been training for this job her whole life and believes "change is in the air".
I believe you have trained for this role your whole life. Unfortunate of how you had to take over but there is no doubt in my mind you're going to do an incredible job. I know how much you love this company and this business. Change is in the air. Congratulations Stephanie.
— Mickie James~Aldis (@MickieJames) June 17, 2022
While James was going through her own issues with WWE in 2021, Stephanie personally tweeted the women's legend, stating she was embarrassed that she or anyone was treated the way she was when being released. For those unaware, James was let go by WWE in April of 2021 and received some of her belongings in a black trash bag.
Following that issue, Mark Carano was immediately fired from the company for his involvement in the situation. James later revealed that Stephanie also called and apologized to her on behalf of the company, along with Triple H, Nick Khan, Vince, and others.
The shocking news of Stephanie taking over for her father comes amidst, as noted, the Wall Street Journal's reports that there's an ongoing investigation into a $3 million settlement Vince paid a former employee with whom he allegedly had an affair with. Vince will however still maintain creative control of the WWE and the company announced that he'll appear on tonight's "SmackDown" to address the situation.