Vince McMahon has only been out of the WWE for a short time following his high-profile scandal, but it’s possible he’ll be making a temporary return in the coming months. While the company definitely isn’t planning to re-instate the ex-CEO back into the company — okay, there are no definites — plans are reportedly being discussed to celebrate him in a major way in 2023. It’s being said that McMahon could potentially be honored during an event as high-profile as WrestleMania 39, but will the company actually go through with acting on those reported discussions?
A new report claims that in addition to adding The Rock to its festivities, the WWE is having conversations about honoring Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 39, which will be held in Hollywood next year. It’s also alleged that co-CEOs Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan are involved in the discussions alongside the recently promoted head of creative, Triple H. The Sun does not specify exactly how the WWE would intend to honor its former bossman, not to be confused with the late superstar The Big Boss Man. WWE alumni (and occasionally celebrities like William Shatner) are often honored at WrestleMania with a Hall of Fame induction, which would seemingly be one far end of the spectrum.
If the HoF is under consideration, then such an announcement would be cause for a very elaborate celebration, since McMahon is anything but a minimalist. The WWE’s Hall of Fame inductees are always honored via a special night filled with speeches, and the full group also gets ushered out in front of swaths of cheering fans during each year's WrestleMania. So if that's indeed what the WWE brass has in mind, anyone tuning in for WrestleMania 39 with their Peacock premium subscription would be seeing a lot of the former CEO.
Bringing Vince McMahon back to the WWE so soon could prove to be a divisive move amongst fans and even talent on the current roster, especially considering the number of stories that surfaced and re-surfaced about the CEO during the WWE’s internal investigations concerning his past undisclosed payments to former employees. Bringing McMahon out in front of a WWE audience and lauding him so grandly, less than a year after his retirement, could draw some pretty negative coverage to the organization, as well as blowback from fans.
On the flip side, there’s no denying that the company's former ringleader had a tremendous impact on its growth for decades, as well as popularizing pro wrestling in general, even as he demolished the smaller-scale competition. It’s not surprising that the WWE would be interested in paying tribute to those specific efforts in some way, especially with his daughter as acting co-CEO and his son-in-law acting as the head of creative. In short, it wouldn’t be the least bit shocking if he shoehorned himself into one or more upcoming WWE events in a self-contratulatory manner.
The WWE knows what’s best for business more times than not, and many positive changes have been happening over the summer. So their decision-makers no doubt have a lot to think about as far as what the right call would be in a case like this. Perhaps they’ll ultimately opt to honor McMahon in a less superlative way in the short term, and save some grander gesture for years down the line. It’s always hard to predict what the WWE may or may not do, so we’ll just have to wait and see what’s in the works closer to WrestleMania season.
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