Having just had major spinal surgery weeks ago, as well as being served with a subpoena from a federal grand jury, WWE Executive President Vince McMahon is not expected to be present backstage tonight at WWE SummerSlam, as confirmed by PWInsider. However, there are reportedly people in the back who had expected to see McMahon in person, which is hard to imagine considering the events of the last several weeks.
While McMahon’s spinal surgery was reported days after it occurred, it took longer for the update on the federal investigation to break. The company disclosed the news as part of a 10-Q filing with the SEC, which must be submitted quarterly. The report must include information deemed important to stockholders and potential stockholders. In this case, that includes the execution of a federal search warrant and a grand jury subpoena on the president of the board.
McMahon is reportedly confident that the federal investigation won’t find evidence of any wrongdoing or criminal activity. In an internal statement, McMahon assured employees and contractors that the investigation would be resolved without issue and that an independent investigation had already cleared him. WWE is currently in the middle of merging with the UFC to become TKO Holdings. As publicly-traded companies, internal stability is key in order to keep the stock prices high.
The federal investigation into McMahon kicked off last summer, as reports emerged that the former WWE CEO had paid millions of dollars to multiple women in return for the women signing non-disclosure agreements. Several accounts emerged accusing McMahon of sexual misconduct at various times over the years.
Tonight’s SummerSlam looks relatively light on paper compared to years past, with just eight matches scheduled on the main card and no action on the kick-off show. The show will feature Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso in the main event, with Reigns defending his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship and the title of Tribal Chief.