Vince McMahon may no longer be facing criminal charges for allegedly sexually abusing and trafficking former WWE employee Janel Grant, but the civil case rolls on. As things stand, she appears to be on the cusp of having her day in court, though many believe the matter will be settled privately.
The billionaire has maintained his innocence, so if this lawsuit does reach the courtroom, he'll come under a level of scrutiny he's not used to. Still, the former WWE Chairman has never been one to back down, even after a seemingly forced retirement and his eventual departure from WWE when the company was sold to Endeavor.
Now, McMahon has been spotted in public—for the first time since his involvement in a car crash last month—alongside WWE Hall of Famer John "Bradshaw" Layfield and current WWE executive Bruce Prichard.
While this has generated speculation that McMahon might be eyeing a WWE return or even looking to enlist them to his mysterious next business venture, chances are it was just a few old friends catching up and having dinner.
Rumours have swirled about what McMahon is plotting, with those ranging from a new professional wrestling company to it being some sort of marketing or entertainment firm. It's unlikely that we'll hear anything official until the situation with Grant is cleared up.
"Today’s dismissal of John Laurinaitis as a defendant doesn’t alter the facts of this case in any way," McMahon's lawyer, Jessica Rosenberg, said in May when we got our last noteworthy lawsuit update. "Vince McMahon never mistreated Janel Grant. No matter how many press releases her team issues, the truth remains unchanged."
"As Mr. Laurinaitis’s lawyer previously said: 'Mr. Laurinaitis corroborates Mr. McMahon in publicly declaring that Ms. Grant’s allegations of sexual abuse and coercion in her Complaint are completely unfounded,'" the statement concluded.
With Stephanie McMahon now regularly appearing on WWE programming and Brock Lesnar making his in-ring return at SummerSlam, there are those who believe Vince could be next to show up (especially with John Cena's retirement looming). While we wouldn't bank on that, stranger things have happened, so it should be worth staying tuned for updates in the coming weeks and months.
You can see footage of McMahon, JBL, and Prichard in the player below.