Is Vince McMahon Still Listed Internally As A Member Of The WWE Roster?

With Vince McMahon now retired from his duties as WWE CEO, chairman, and head of creative, it was only natural to assume that McMahon would no longer be appearing as a character on "WWE Raw" or "WWE SmackDown" going forward. Now a new report has emerged to confirm that that is, in fact, the case.

PWInsider reported earlier on Friday that McMahon was no longer listed on WWE's internal talent roster as of earlier this week. While not assigned to any brand, the report noted that McMahon had been listed on the roster alongside talents such as John Cena, the Bellas, and other talents who didn't appear exclusively for "Raw" or "SmackDown" but made occasional appearances on either, or both, brands.

PWInsider noted this was yet another sign that WWE is looking to distance itself from McMahon as the company moves forward under new leadership. Following McMahon's retirement, his roles were filled by Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan as co-CEOs and by Paul Levesque as head of creative and EVP of Talent Relations, taking over for Interim EVP Bruce Prichard in the latter role and officially replacing John Laurinaitis, who has been on leave due to his own involvement in McMahon's scandal.

McMahon came under scrutiny in June when a Wall Street Journal report revealed he was being investigated for a $3 million settlement to cover up an alleged affair between McMahon and a former WWE paralegal. Nearly a month later, a second Wall Street Journal article alleged Vince had paid more than $12 million to four different women, including the paralegal, to cover up affairs and potential scandals. WWE's most recent SEC filing would later reveal McMahon had paid a total of $14.6 million from 2006 to 2022.

While McMahon stepped down temporarily from his roles of CEO and chairman after the first WSJ article, he maintained his role as head of creative and was reportedly defiant backstage regarding the allegations against him. He remained in charge of the position even after the second WSJ article before finally announcing his retirement on July 22, one weekend before SummerSlam weekend. An upcoming story by HBO program "Real Sports", which was said to be "damning" towards McMahon, and investigations by the SEC and federal lawyers into McMahon's payouts, may have helped influence McMahon's decision to retire.