Major Update on Vince McMahon Buying-Back WWE Rumors Amid Ongoing Janel Grant lawsuit

The rumors are rampant about Vince McMahon interested in buying WWE back from Endeavor, which owns a majority stake in TKO Group Holdings.

Major Update on Vince McMahon Buying-Back WWE Rumors Amid Ongoing Janel Grant lawsuit

Vince McMahon [via- Cageside Seats]

The wrestling timeline has been in flux ever since the rumors of Vince McMahon being interested in a repurchase of WWE started making the rounds on the internet. It stemmed from ex-WWE figure Jonathan Coachman saying on The Coach & Bro podcast that the 79-year-old business tycoon does want to buy his founding promotion back.

In a major update on that front, courtesy of PW Nexus, TKO doesn’t want to sell off WWE. For the unversed, WWE and the UFC were merged under TKO Group Holdings in April 2023 in an unprecedented deal valued at $21.4 billion. In the continuation of the aforementioned report, it stated that while McMahon might feel he wants WWE back, the scenario is highly unlikely at this point, as the Stamford-based promotion isn’t up for sale.

McMahon was ousted from his executive chairmanship at TKO last January once a civil lawsuit accusing him of infidelity and se*ual assault made it to the public eye. The plaintiff, Ms. Janel Grant, sued McMahon, former Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis, and WWE as a whole on the grounds of s*x trafficking and other debauchery claims.

In a new court ruling, Mr. Laurinaitis, a co-defendant, was removed from Grant’s complaint after he agreed to provide new evidence against McMahon. It’s a big development in Grant’s pursuit of holding her wrongdoers accountable before the law. Another massive WWE name who has succumbed to this legal quagmire is none other than Brock Lesnar. He has not appeared in WWE since August 2023.

Vince McMahon did force his way back to WWE in 2023

Back in June 2022, Vince McMahon stepped down as the chairman and CEO of WWE after the Wall Street Journal’s probe into his past unveiled multiple instances of hush money. As he was on his way out, McMahon’s son-in-law, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, was promoted as the company’s chief content officer. The general reception among the fans from it was overwhelming.

Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon [via- WWE]

Levesque steered the creative ship of WWE for months, but his vision took a dip when Vinnie Mac plotted an authoritative return to the company in January 2023 by leveraging his majority stakeholding. It was claimed internally that McMahon had come back to pursue a sale of his billion-dollar wrestling empire. And what followed was the WWE-UFC merger.

At the time, McMahon’s growing influence within WWE had started to affect the on-screen product. In fact, he was the one who pushed for Edge to beat “The Demon” Finn Balor at WrestleMania 39, something which the fans detested. McMahon would continue to remotely control the flagship WWE shows, with Levesque relegated to being a backseat driver.

Later in the year, Endeavor rectified the discrepancies and knighted The Game with full-fledged creative control over WWE storylines. Levesque’s booking has met with unrestrained criticism in the early phases of 2025. However, the majority of the talent within WWE continues to believe in his instincts as the lead booker of the company.

John Cena continues to back Vince McMahon up

WWE has aptly shunned Vince McMahon from mentioning him on its programming in the past few years. He’s been referenced here and there during on-screen promos, but not by his name. It’s clear as daylight that the company wants to do nothing with McMahon, especially with new TKO ownership in place.

John Cena and Vince McMahon
John Cena and Vince McMahon [via- WWE]

However, the reigning Undisputed WWE Champion, John Cena, has remained steadfast in his relationship with McMahon. Last month, he told The New York Times that he loves the former WWE chair, and it doesn’t bother him if his opinion upsets anyone.

I don’t care who hears it: I love Vince. I’m not downplaying anything that needs to be decided or allegations of any kind, but when I love somebody, I love them wholeheartedly.

John Cena on Vince McMahon

Cena mentioned that by no means is he downplaying the allegations against McMahon. The Peacemaker star is in the midst of a WWE retirement tour, which wraps up in December. He’s scheduled to team up with Logan Paul at Money in the Bank against Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso.

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