Report: Clarification On Vince McMahon's Involvement In Stephanie McMahon's WWE Leave Of Absence

Stephanie McMahon suddenly announced back on May 19 that she would be taking a leave of absence from most of her WWE duties. The Chief Brand Officer mentioned that she wanted to spend more time with her family, with her leave of absence coming only months after her husband Triple H suffered from heart problems.

While McMahon's leave of absence looked to be straightforward, a Business Insider report claimed Vince McMahon initiated his daughter's leave of absence due to a corporate shake-up. This was soon disputed by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, however, who stated that Stephanie decided to take a leave of absence, with the BI article being attributed to WWE higher-ups who wanted to bury the Chief Brand Officer. 

Clarification on the situation has since emerged, courtesy of Fightful Select. They reported that people within WWE who were hired both before and after Nick Khan was brought in as President all stated that it was Stephanie's decision to take a leave of absence. People involved with WWE before Khan joined were saying Vince did not force his daughter out even before the Business Insider report was published. 

Individuals hired since Nick Khan came in, though, did say there were performance issues related to Stephanie but nothing that would have resulted in her losing her job. 

Furthermore, Fightful Select confirmed WWE Head of Global Sales and Partnerships Claudine Lilien had been let go by the organisation and she wasn't viewed as a great hire by Stephanie. There are also improvements that need to be made within the department in relation to developing long-term sponsors.