Vince McMahon appeared on live WWE programming last night to address the crowd amid an investigation into his behavior backstage.
Earlier this week, WWE's board of directors announced that it has launched an investigation into allegations that McMahon offered a $3 million non-disclosure agreement to a former female employee with whom he had an affair.
Yesterday, in response to the news, McMahon stepped down as CEO of the company while the investigation took place, with his daughter, Stephanie McMahon Levesque, taking over as interim CEO.
However, shortly after it was announced that McMahon would be stepping down as CEO, WWE's Twitter page revealed that the former champion would be making a surprise appearance on Friday Night SmackDown.
Rumors circulated as it what the appearance would entail, with fans speculating that he would officially retire on the show or even go as far as turn the investigation into a storyline.
Others also questioned if McMahon would appear in the ring or just in a prerecorded segment.
When the show finally went on air, McMahon's music hit and he entered the arena to cheers from the crowd.
Check out the moment below:He then performed his signature "billion dollar strut" down to the ring. Once his music cut, this is what the former CEO had to say:
"It is a privilege, as always, to stand before you here tonight, the WWE Universe. Especially a privilege to stand here in this ring in Minnesota.
"I'm here simply to remind you of the four words we just saw in what we call the WWE signature. Those four words are 'Then', 'Now', 'Forever', and the most important word is 'Together'.
"Welcome to SmackDown!"
McMahon then threw down his microphone and left the ring, as the crowd continued to cheer.
Comments on WWE'd YouTube video of the address have been disabled.
Over on Twitter, however, responses flooded in.
"Probably genuinely one of the strangest segments in wwe history," one person wrote. "What was the purpose in that??|
A second added: "A responsible company that was taking the allegations seriously and properly investigating it wouldn't have allowed this. If he's cleared of wrongdoing, do it then. Not now."
Extensive details of McMahon's alleged affair were reported on Wednesday by The Wall Street Journal, with the publication citing people close to the board as its source.
Per The WSJ's initial report, the $3 million NDA was signed back in January of this year. It is said to prevent the female employee - who was hired as a paralegal in 2019 - from disparaging McMahon or speaking about their alleged affair.
The WWE board was reportedly enlightened to the accusations after receiving a series of anonymous emails from a person claiming to be a friend of the 41-year-old former employee.
McMahon - who still maintains control over WWE'd creative programming - said in a statement yesterday: "I have pledged my complete cooperation to the investigation by the Special Committee, and I will do everything possible to support the investigation.
"I have also pledged to accept the findings and outcome of the investigation, whatever they are."
