Back in January, Stephanie McMahon announced that she had left WWE and would no longer serve as Chairwoman and co-CEO of the company. The news sent shockwaves through the professional wrestling world but the reason for her departure seemed obvious.
Just days before, her father, Vince McMahon, had voted himself back on to WWE's board of directors and announced plans to sell the company. This came in the midst of a series of sexual misconduct allegations, so it's not exactly difficult to connect the dots here.
Stephanie's husband, Triple H, remains in charge of creative and Vince is still Chairman even after WWE was acquired by UFC owner Endeavour (combining the two to become TKO Holdings Group).
During a recent interview with Bill Simmons, WWE President Nick Khan was asked about Stephenie's decision to leave.
"She decided to step away. Initially, she was on a leave of absence. Some of the Vince stuff started to happen. He stepped out for a moment. She was asked by Vince, by myself, by the board to come back. She came back, and we were extremely gracious for her in doing so."
"And ultimately, when Vince came back, she decided that, hey, she was ready to go and step out. I respect the decision. I wish she hadn't done that. And she knows that for me personally, she's a terrific executive and a terrific person. That's her decision. Her relationship with Vince is theirs. And once she made it, I have total respect for the decision."
It's not hard to read between the lines there even if Khan is obviously choosing his words carefully. As for whether Stephanie will ever return, he sounded less certain and suggested she's happy spending time with her family.
"Well, I don't know what the future holds, but with Vince as the chairman of the company, Paul, the head of creative. Me and the role that I'm in, you know, Stephanie wanted to do something with WWE. Of course, WWE would embrace that. The WWE Universe would embrace that."
"I think she's enjoying some time off. And you know the drill. After grinding hard as you've grinded hard as she grinded hard to take a few months off, she still has school-age children; she and Paul do. I think she's enjoying herself."
With neither Stephanie nor Shane part of WWE, that only leaves Vince and, once he's gone, the company may no longer have a McMahon in an executive position. It's a shocking development, but one which may be of Vince's own making.