Major name believes Vince McMahon could be worse than Harvey Weinstein
Vince McMahon's vision of bringing professional wrestling to a worldwide audience came to life over many decades, but the man behind WWE has been slapped with accusations one after the other for a few years now. He is presently facing a lawsuit from his former employee, Janel Grant.
Janel Grant accusing the former WWE Chairman may have helped other potential victims gain some degree of confidence to make a case.
This, along with the hush-money settlement allegations that forced McMahon's first retirement from WWE in July 2022 and even the resurfacing of late WWE Diva Ashley Massaro's statement, has seemingly tainted the legacy of the founding father of World Wrestling Entertainment.
Sportscaster Bob Costas, best known for his long tenure with NBC Sports, suspects Vince McMahon's scandal may be worse than disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein's case. On Real Time with Bill Maher on February 10, Costas commented on the matter:
"[Weinstein-level stuff] Or worse," Bob Costas retorted to Bill Maher. "The s*x trafficking, the s*xual abuse, we'll see how this plays out." [From 01:34 to 01:48]
Vince McMahon resigned from WWE and UFC's parent company, TKO Group Holdings, last month after Janel Grant's lawsuit became public. It appears Brock Lesnar is also deeply affected by the issue as of this writing owing to his alleged involvement.
How is Brock Lesnar involved in Vince McMahon's scandal?
Janel Grant's lawsuit against Vince McMahon stated that one of those involved was a "world-famous athlete" and a "former UFC Heavyweight Champion" with whom the pro-wrestling juggernaut was negotiating a deal at the time.
Brock Lesnar had self-admittedly retired from WWE during the pandemic after dropping the WWE Championship belt to Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 36. He only returned over a year later at SummerSlam to kickstart a program with The Tribal Chief Roman Reigns. The lawsuit covered by The Wall Street Journal read:
"In March 2020, McMahon began sharing sexually explicit photographs and videos of Ms. Grant (including pornographic content he recorded) with other men both inside and outside the company, including with members of the television production “tech” team, executive(s), producer(s), and a world-famous athlete and former UFC Heavyweight Champion with whom WWE was actively trying to sign to a new contract (and ultimately did sign that contract)."
While all of this is mere speculation, it is a bitter pill to swallow for long-time fans of WWE. In retrospect, the symbolic handshake-and-raise at SummerSlam 2023, where The Beast Incarnate broke character to acknowledge the "Next Big Thing" - Cody Rhodes - may have been his last appearance in the pro-wrestling world.
Only a large section of the WWE Universe certainly hopes that is not the case.
If you use the quote, please credit Real Time with Bill Maher and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.