Yesterday, a lawsuit was filed that laid a series of horrifying and graphic allegations of sexual abuse at the feet of WWE Executive Chairman Vince McMahon.
Beyond the most disturbing claims, it paints a picture of serious misconduct behind the scenes and a major abuse of power. Now, a spokesperson for McMahon has issued a statement on his behalf.
"This lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and a vindictive distortion of the truth," it reads. "He will vigorously defend himself."
This comes after TKO Holdings, the Endeavour-owned company that now rules over WWE and UFC shared its own response stating, "Mr. McMahon does not control TKO nor does he oversee the day-to-day operations of WWE. While this matter pre-dates our TKO executive team’s tenure at the company, we take Ms. Grant’s horrific allegations very seriously and are addressing this matter internally."
The fact McMahon hasn't been suspended or removed from his current executive position is honestly hard to fathom and it's not painting the sports entertainment giant in a good light just days after that massive deal with Netflix was made official. It's also overshadowing this weekend's Royal Rumble PLE.
It was actually earlier this week when we first learned that WWE had plans for Brock Lesnar to return to TV, possibly as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble match. Well, The Beast was also caught up in the lawsuit - you can read more about that here - and it appears the idea has been scrapped.
This presumably means he won't have a program heading into WrestleMania as WWE surely can't put Lesnar front and centre when he's alleged to have made arrangements with McMahon to sleep with the woman who has made these claims. That was said to be something Vince promised the former UFC star in exchange for signing a new contract.
According to various outlets, Lesnar has not responded to requests for a statement.
Oh, and while WWE Superstars will be conducting interviews heading into this weekend, Dave Meltzer has revealed that they've been "told to lay low and not talk about anything other than the Royal Rumble or storyline-related things."
This is a messy situation and one which will surely need to be addressed during tomorrow night's post-Royal Rumble press conference. McMahon may not be a overseeing day-to-day operations, but he does hold a position of power within the company.
Stay tuned for updates as we have them.