**LATEST ON VINCE MCMAHON RESIGNATION**

Let’s begin with the latest on Vince McMahon’s resignation from WWE. It’s been 12 days since former WWE and TKO Group chairman Vince McMahon stepped aside from his role following a sex trafficking lawsuit filed against him by Janelle Grant. The suit, which has McMahon, former head of talent relations John Laurinaitis, and WWE themselves named as defendants, contains graphic descriptions of alleged events from Grant’s time in WWE.

The first major repercussion of the suit towards the business side of WWE would see Slim Jim and also their partnership with the promotion put on hold, with other reports suggesting that other sponsors were willing to follow suit. According to a rundown on the situation from The Hollywood Reporter this week, the sponsorship situation was the tipping point that led to an internal push for McMahon to step aside. Ari Emanuel and TKO president and COO Mark Shapiro called McMahon and told him it would be in the best interest of the company for him to resign, to which he agreed and submitted his resignation.

In terms of if any future broadcast deals could have been affected by the lawsuit if McMahon had stuck around, there may have been problems in 2025 and 2026 for both the UFC and WWE side of the business. The report notes that long-term TV deals with Netflix, NBC Universal, and the CW were not considered to be at risk, but NBC Universal’s rights for WWE’s premium events coming up in 2026 and UFC rights talks upcoming in 2025 could have been problematic with McMahon as executive chairman of TKO as the lawsuit unfolded.

In a separate report regarding Vince McMahon, Vice News spoke with the lawyer of John Laurinaitis this week, where a statement was issued regarding the late Ashley Massaro, who was once a WWE wrestler. Following Ashley’s death in 2019, her attorney would release a sworn affidavit in which she alleged a horrific incident at a US military base in Kuwait during WWE’s Tribute to the Troops tour. It’s claimed that an individual representing himself as a US Army doctor injected her with a paralyzing substance before raping her. After speaking to WWE management about the situation, Massaro stated that Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis told her to not discuss the incident to protect WWE’s relationship with the military.

After the story became public, WWE released a statement denying that there was ever such a meeting with Vince McMahon, Kevin Dunn, John Laurinaitis, or any other company executives in which Ashley told them of such a claim and was instructed to keep it quiet. However, in a fresh development from this week’s Vice reports, John Laurinaitis’s lawyer confirmed that his client and other management figures did know about the story at the time, which directly contradicts WWE’s official stance. John’s representatives denied a cover-up took place.

This revelation only raises more questions about why nothing was seemingly done to support Ashley Massaro at the time and also raises more questions regarding the culture within the business side of WWE.

**WHAT WAS THE AEW MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT?**

A major announcement has been confirmed heading into last night’s episode of AEW Dynamite. The rumor mill was abound with speculation on what Tony Khan’s latest announcement could be, with most expecting the news to be something to do with the reported upcoming arrival of Mercedes Mane, the former Sasha Banks in WWE.

This rumor only ramped up when the TD Garden in Boston posted an upcoming event on their Facebook page that will see AEW Dynamite and Rampage be held in the venue in Mercedes’s hometown on March 13th, reaffirming speculation that Mane was set for the “First Dance” treatment given to CM Punk back in August 2021.

Well, this rumor became a reality last night when Khan confirmed that AEW were heading back to the Garden next month with a special edition of Dynamite titled “Big Business.” Mercedes being all but confirmed for the show without her name being mentioned. The graphic uses the word Boston and not to Mane’s WWE nickname “The Boss,” a phrase that is also listed as her current location on her social media profiles.

Fightful Select has since released a report on the soon-to-be debut, confirming Mercedes has been on the AEW payroll since at least early January. They add that AEW did consider specifically announcing “The Boss” for the show outright but chose against it. Sean Ross Sapp would report there was consideration to announcing or debuting Mercedes but instead, the decision to pass on that for the TD Garden was said.

**MAJOR WRESTLING EXECUTIVE FIRED**

A major name has been fired from TNA Wrestling in recent months. We’ve seen Impact Wrestling be rebranded to TNA Wrestling once again, causing a buzz around the promotion that we haven’t seen in some time. One key player in pushing for this move was TNA President Scott D’Amore, although his time with the company is now over.

Last night, Anthem Sports and Entertainment would release a statement confirming that Scott has now left the company, with later reports suggesting that he was terminated from his position. Anthony Decision has now been named as his replacement. House of Wrestling’s Nick Housman would speak on the situation last night, suggesting that the firing could be a preventative measure following the recent Vince McMahon saga.

It is worth noting that D’Amore and Don Callis were the subjects of an internal investigation into claims of sexual harassment and misconduct in 2020. The validity of that investigation has been heavily questioned ever since, with former Impact official Chris Levin publicly telling in an interview that he feels he was released after speaking out during the investigation about D’Amore and Callis’s behavior. It was then confirmed by both House of Wrestling and Fightful that talent that are unhappy with the firing will be offered the chance to get out of their deals if they so choose, meaning we could see some big names hit free agency in the near future.

One name that we know isn’t happy is former TNA World Champion Moose, who recently spoke highly of his relationship with Scott D’Amore, citing him as the main reason why he signed a new contract with the company. After the news broke, he would then take to social media to state that he’s lost for words and will be shutting down for a few days, with his future being one to watch in the coming weeks.

**WORLD CHAMPION CONFIRMS FREE AGENCY**

A former world champion has confirmed that they are now officially a free agent. Earlier this month, former WWE star Rikishi would hint that his fellow Fatu an Aahi family member Jacob Fatu was now a free agent, calling for WWE or AEW to sign him up. It was later confirmed by recent tweets hinting that Fatu was a free agent.

It was rumored that Fatu was still signed under an MLW deal through 2025. However, through independent sources, it was confirmed that he’s indeed not under contract with Major League Wrestling and is free to sign anywhere. Well, we now have an official confirmation from the man himself as Fatu would speak on the Signed by Superstars live stream earlier this week to confirm that he’s

had his last match with MLW.

Jacob’s free agency is a big topic of discussion right now, with him no doubt having the potential to become a main event talent in any promotion. With his family links with Roman Reigns and the rest of the Bloodline, perhaps making WWE his ideal destination, although he would perhaps be able to benefit more by being his own man elsewhere.

**WWE TALENT DEPARTURE CONFIRMED**

A departure has been confirmed for WWE talent. Amari Miller would sign with WWE back in 2021, going on to be used on shows such as 205 Live and NXT Level Up. Most recently, she wrestled in a 20-woman Battle Royal on the January 10th, 2023 edition of NXT before she suffered a torn ACL the next month.

Since her return to action this past December, she’s only worked three matches, with her now finding herself parting ways with WWE. Taking to Instagram earlier today, Miller would confirm that her contract with the company has come to an end. Neither one of us decided to resign another contract, so my three years are up. I’m beyond grateful for what they have given me and taught me, but my journey there has come to an end.

When a door closes, one door opens. Will I keep wrestling? Who knows? Will I lace up my boots again in the future? Possibly. I got to experience a lifestyle that most people dream of, and I will never take it back. On to the next chapter of my life. Thank you coaches, WWE, and the fans who actually supported me.

And before you go, make sure you check out Count 10 Tony Khan Secrets AEW Wants You to Forget.