Vince McMahon is back in an active role within the WWE under the premise of negotiating a sale of the wrestling organization, but there have been rumors suggesting the former CEO wants to do a lot more. Reports in previous months have focused McMahon's alleged regrets about stepping down, and even hinted at the idea of him being "honored" in some way in the coming months. As those kinds rumors continue to circulate, current CEO Nick Khan provided a status update on the odds of McMahon appearing in person at any upcoming WWE events on television or pay-per-views.
Nick Khan appeared as a guest on The Bill Simmons Podcast and spoke at length about Vince McMahon's return, and what the situation was like for the WWE during the time from McMahon's departure to his return. During that conversation, Simmons asked if there were plans to bring McMahon back to TV in character form for any storyline plots, but Khan seemed assured that there are no immediate plans to bring McMahon back to television. That said, he didn't rule out the possibility of that happening at some point, saying:
Not at this moment. No is the answer to that question. Could it change in a few months? Sure, it could change. But that would be Paul [Levesque] and Vince being on the same page about it. I don't see it right now.
Nick Khan seemed pretty adamant about Vince McMahon not being among the former superstars and legends set to appear at the upcoming Raw XXX celebration, marking 30 years for the cable hit. But then made sure to note that things could change on that front in a few months, which would put us in April, which could indicate the possibility of McMahon making an appearance at WrestleMania 39. Khan said those decisions will ultimately come down to what the current head-of-creative at WWE, Paul "Triple H" Levesque, agrees to, and left things at that.
WWE fans have been largely positive about how things were going during the post-McMahon era, and many have credited the creative decisions of Triple H as a reason that the recent live shows and pay-per-views have been as impressive as they have been in years. Obviously, there's some apprehension about Vince McMahon coming back months later and potentially jeopardizing the upward swing, and there have already been some scares associated with his return, such as when the rumor circulated saying he sold the company in a deal with Saudi Arabia.
While Nick Khan confirmed that the sale rumor was completely untrue, many seemingly latched onto it because Vince McMahon has a track record of unexpected and unpredictable moves. To that end, I'd expect there to be plenty of fans out there who still believe McMahon could march out to the ring any day now, despite Nick Khan's confidence that won't be the case anytime soon.
Let's not forget Vince McMahon made several television appearances during the height of his investigation for funds issued for illicit affairs, so it wouldn't be out of character in the slightest for him to shock everyone by showing up on Raw next week, even if it might not reflect very favorably on the WWE. With all of that being said, Nick Khan is probably in the best position out of anyone to predict what may or may not happen in the organization in the foreseeable future, so there's no reason to question his thoughts too heavily. It seems like, for now, "Mr. McMahon" won't be strutting out to the ring to rile up the crowd or participate in any other storylines, but we'll see whether that holds true or not in a few months.
Monday Night Raw airs on USA Network on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET, and SmackDown airs on Fox on Fridays in the same time slot. Audiences will have to keep an eye peeled for whether or not Vince McMahon will be headed to either anytime soon or if he's planning some grand return at a bigger event like WrestleMania 39.
