Emanuel behind decision to give full creative control of WWE back to Levesque and removing McMahon from that role

Vince McMahon no longer has a role in the creative process in WWE, as the head of new WWE ownership Ari Emanuel has backed Paul Levesque.

We first reported in the Sept. 13 edition of the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter cover story (VIP-member exclusive) that Emanuel appeared to backing Levesque over McMahon after the sale had been finalized. McMahon’s role in the new hierarchy left him vulnerable to losing his power to assert his creative influence.

Excerpt:

(W)ithin WWE, people have their eye on the power between Paul Levesque and Vince McMahon. While McMahon is technically in charge of TKO, thus WWE, he has to answer to Emanuel and (Mark) Shapiro. If they back Levesque as the final answer on creative and override McMahon’s involvement, it could lead to the first internal conflict between the top executives in this new set-up. Levesque appears to have the support of the new top executives at this time.

As we’ve discussed in recent weeks on PWTorch podcasts, Levesque has been in control of creative for weeks. We reported that Levesque’s early notable decisions since he took over control of creative included rehiring Nia Jax and reuniting DIY, for instance.

We also reported last week in a PWTorch VIP podcast that, according to a source in WWE, McMahon’s removal from creative power came by “force” and isn’t something he welcomed. There are expectations internally that he could try to leverage his way back into creative power since he might have been under the impression that, as the top exec at TKO with the title of Executive Chairman, he’d have decision-making power over whether he retained creative power. As of last word, he hadn’t expressed outrage or attempted a powerplay internally, though. McMahon still has other executive duties within the company.

Sports Illustrated reports today that Ari Emanuel was behind the decision and wants Levesque to be in full control of the creative decisions. This set-up, Emanuel reportedly believes, will allow Levesque to be as effective as possible. With Levesque in control, he will be fully accountable for any increases or decreases in business tied to creative decisions.

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