Vince McMahon retires

[LionDen]

Vince McMahon sent an internal message to WWE talent informing them of his retirement from the company, in addition to his tweet and WWE’s press release.

The memo was shared by an Reddit insider and confirmed by F4Wonline.com. McMahon noted that he enjoyed sharing his passion with talent and encouraged them to be everything they can be as a person and a performer.

“To all WWE Superstars: as I approach 77 years old (OMG am I really that old?), I feel it’s time for me to retire. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed sharing my passion, wisdom, and love of the business with you. No longer will you see the smiling, docile, level-headed, calm presence at Gorilla every week.

Your dedication to WWE will ensure that our company will continue to grow and prosper. Our organization is nothing without you. You are WWE’s only natural resource, chosen to perform in front of a global audience.

You are all WWE Global Ambassadors. Carry the WWE flag wherever you go. Wave it high and proud. And bust your ass to be all you can be as a person and as a performer.

One other thing-I won’t be with you, but I’ll be watching. Remember to keep your hands up, grab a hold, and sell. Btw, SmackDown airs live tonight at 8pm Eastern/7pm Central on FOX.

Vince”

Although McMahon is retiring as WWE’s Chairman and CEO and is no longer in charge of creative, he will continue to be WWE’s majority shareholder. Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan are WWE’s new co-CEOs.

All of this comes after the reports from the Wall Street Journal about the WWE Board of Directors investigating McMahon over a $3 million settlement that McMahon had agreed to pay a former employee who he allegedly had an affair with and him paying more than $12 million to four women formerly with the company to “suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity.”

[LionDen]

Brock Lesnar walks out of Smackdown

Just a week before Summerslam, Brock Lesnar walked out of tonight's Smackdown taping in Boston, said to be upset about the retirement of Vince McMahon.

The belief is Lesnar, who was slated to appear on the first segment of tonight's FOX broadcast, walked out to show his support of Vince McMahon in what was described as a "if he goes, I go" move.

Lesnar is not currently backstage.

There is no word get whether Lesnar flew himself home (he travels via private plane) or whether he and the new WWE braintrust will come to some sort of agreement in advance of Summerslam, where he is scheduled to main event against WWE Undisputed Champion Roman Reigns.

WWE is still listing Lesnar as appearing on their website. If Lesnar has not flown home, there is always a chance the two sides will come to terms for him to appear.

[LG]

Seems this is all now snowballing. Vince Allegations. Sasha Banks and Naomi Gone. Vince retires. Lesnar walks out.
Vince no longer has creative control. The biggest thing is what will WWE do now? Will it finally go back to the show that we use to all love? Or will it start tanking really bad?

[LionDen]

Seems this is all now snowballing. Vince Allegations. Sasha Banks and Naomi Gone. Vince retires. Lesnar walks out.
Vince no longer has creative control. The biggest thing is what will WWE do now? Will it finally go back to the show that we use to all love? Or will it start tanking really bad?

Well, it is said they are leaving the PG behind and going TV14. I am curious who will take over creative .. I just have that funny feeling Vince may still be pulling strings from far away.

[LionDen]

Lesnar did show up at the end of Smackdown to destroy Theory. I guess the top dogs got in contact with him or maybe even Vince himself reached out to him before he left town.

[Smartmark]

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[LionDen]

Crazy world, since Vince has left WWE he has just gotten richer. lol

According to Forbes Real Time Billionaires List, Vince McMahon is worth $2.5 billion as of today, up $2 million from yesterday. McMahon is WWE's largest stockholder and his wealth has increased significantly since he resigned from the company do to the NDA scandal as Wall Street values the company more without him there.

Check out Vince on Forbes - Click here