77-year-old icon won't appear at WrestleMania 40 because of Vince McMahon controversy, says ex-WWE writer (Exclusive)
There is a "stench" surrounding WWE because of the allegations against Vince McMahon. Although McMahon is officially done with the company, Vince Russo believes a 77-year-old icon shouldn't or won't appear at WrestleMania because of the controversy.
On the latest episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling's Writing with Russo, Vince Russo and host Dr. Chris Featherstone discussed the rumor surrounding Sylvester Stallone being contacted for a possible WrestleMania 40 appearance in Philadelphia. Although Stallone isn't a native of Philadelphia, he has an eternal connection to the city that will host WrestleMania 40 due to his Rocky Balboa character.
Vince Russo wasn't sold on the idea of Stallone appearing at WrestleMania 40 and believed it made no sense. He added that the Vince McMahon factor could play a significant role in the 77-year-old potentially staying away from WWE.
"Let's not forget the Vince McMahon factor, bro. Vince McMahon, no matter what you do or what you say, his name is synonymous with WWE. If I'm a guy like Sylvester Stallone, who is a multi-millionaire ten times over, I ain't going anywhere near this." (8:02 - 8:24)
You can watch the full video below:
TKO President Mark Shapiro opened up about Vince McMahon's future in the company
It seems like the higher-ups in TKO were quick to take action on the situation surrounding McMahon. Despite the 78-year-old receiving a prominent position only behind Ari Emanuel in the newly formed company, he and president Mark Shapiro seemingly knew what they needed to do.
There is still ambiguity surrounding the shares McMahon holds in TKO. In the latest earnings call, Mark Shapiro said the veteran promoter would do what he wanted to do regarding his stake, and they were sitting on the sidelines, not discussing the matter with him:
"Obviously, we’re talking about Vince McMahon, specifically, in terms of cashing stock. He still holds, I believe, 20 million shares. It’s all registered. He’ll do whatever he is going to do, and we’re on the sidelines. We’ll have a look. We’ll see. We have no idea about timing. We’re not having a discussion with him. He’s given us no point of view on his motive or if he plans to sell or not sell, or if he does, how much. We’re going to wait around and find out, just like you." [H/T Wrestling Headlines]
TKO was quick to distance itself from McMahon after the details of the Janel Grant lawsuit came to the fore. Mike Johnson of PWInsider previously claimed that Ari Emanuel would quickly eradicate what he felt was bad for business.
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Sgt. Slaughter explains what made him call up McMahon and praise him. You can check out his full comments in the exclusive interview below: