Vince McMahon leaves WWE: Stephanie McMahon's heartfelt message to her father

Last night, Vince McMahon shocked the wrestling world by announcing that he was retiring from WWE.

The news was announced on Twitter, with McMahon stating that as he’s turning 77 next month, he feels it’s the right time for him to step away.

Prior to his retirement, McMahon served as WWE’s CEO, Chairman and Head of Creative, with all of those roles now being redistributed.

Stephanie McMahon, Vince’s daughter, will now become WWE’s Chairwoman, while also serving as co-CEO alongside Nick Khan.

As for the Head of Creative role, that is believed to have been given to Bruce Prichard, the long-time right-hand man of Vince McMahon.

Speaking of Stephanie, the 45-year-old opened up last night’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown, cutting an emotional promo.

McMahon led the fans in attendance in Boston with a ‘Thank you, Vince” chant, speaking about how her father also wanted to thank the fans for their support during his 40 years in charge.

Stephanie, as you can see from the footage below, was visibly quite emotional during the promo, with her father no longer in charge of WWE for the first time since 1982.

"Thank you Vince!" – @StephMcMahon#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/R4vQhyeEDf

Speaking directly to her father at the end of the promo, Stephanie looked right down the camera and said “I love you, Dad”, capping off what was a heartwarming speech from the new WWE Chairwoman.

You can see footage of the final part of Steph’s promo below.

"I love you, dad." – @StephMcMahon#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/NdHT3JTlnE

The landscape of WWE will never be the same again, now that Vince is no longer in charge of the wrestling giant.

Since taking over from his father, Vince Jr. turned WWE into the global juggernaut that we all know and love today. His