Vince McMahon makes rare appearance at WWE headquarters
Vince McMahon's WWE is what allowed people all across the globe get access to the wrestling product. His contributions to the business can't be matched. However, of late, the Executive Chairman of the promotion's parent company TKO Group Holdings, is not at the headquarters often.
This is why his recent appearance stood out. Many of the employees who were attending the annual holiday party, were surprised when Mr. McMahon showed up as the latter seldom did in the past.
Per PWInsider, he was making the rounds talking with lots of company employees. He was described as "approachable" and "friendly" by the staff. Interestingly, this time around, there was no talent at the party, unlike in the past, when at least 4-6 WWE talent would appear to meet and greet the employees.
It has been a whirlwind of a year for the global juggernaut, but the one signifcant change on television is that the creative team is fresh sans Vince McMahon's input. The industry icon may have retired last year for a few months only to return in January 2023, but since the Endeavor acquisition of the company he built up, McMahon's role has been reduced by and large.
Triple H welcomed back WWE's prodigal son CM Punk
In the past, Vince McMahon acknowledged CM Punk's issues with WWE, apologized to him publicly, and made it clear he was open to do business again. However, the Chicago native had no intentions of ever returning to the wrestling business itself, let alone the company.
After returning to the ring for AEW, Punk got the bug again, and two years later he is back in WWE. The company's CCO Triple H seemingly had a lot to do with Punk's comeback:
"A lot of time has gone by. Almost 10 years, right? And if you are the same person you were ten years ago, ten years later, you've messed up. Everybody grows. Everybody changes. I'm a different person. He's a different person. This is a different company," Triple H stated at the Survivor Series post-show press conference. [From 1:24 to 1:48]
The Game himself was supposed to face CM Punk at WrestleMania 30, but plans changed after the latter walked out in early 2014. It appears the two were able to bury the hatchet after all this time.
Do you think we've seen the end of Vince McMahon in an active role behind the scenes? Sound off in the comments below.