Vince McMahon 'building roster' as former WWE boss ordered to pay £1.4m over hush money settlement

Vince McMahon's rumoured wrestling business comeback has been given its latest fuel injection by a former voice of the WWE.

The ex-WWE CEO has had his charges settled by the Securities and Exchange Commission after he failed to disclose to the sports entertainment company's board and others that he signed two settlement agreements worth £8.6million with two women in order for them not to reveal potential claims against himself and WWE.

The SEC said McMahon, without admitting or denying its findings, agreed to cease-and-desist from violating certain provisions, pay a £328,000 civil penalty and reimburse WWE approximately £1.06m. The SEC charges stem from two settlement agreements McMahon made, one signed in 2019 and another in 2022. The settlement is unrelated to the ongoing sex trafficking lawsuit filed by former employee Janel Grant last year.

In a statement McMahon called the speculation around the charges "misguided and misleading" adding: "In the end, there was never anything more to this than minor accounting errors with regard to some personal payments that I made several years ago while I was CEO of WWE. I'm thrilled that I can now put all this behind me."

McMahon stepped down as WWE's CEO in 2022 amid an investigation into allegations that match those in the lawsuit. He then resigned from WWE's parent company in January 2024 after a former employee filed a federal lawsuit accusing him and another former executive of serious sexual misconduct. He has always denied any wrongdoing.

But now one of his former allies has had their say on what next for McMahon. The voice of WWE, former commentator Jim Ross, was speculating with wrestling promotor Conrad Thompson about McMahon’s potential return to the wrestling industry