Vince McMahon Opens WWE SmackDown

Following a one-line press release earlier today, Vince McMahon opened the June 17 edition of Friday Night SmackDown as his Mr. McMahon character in a short segment.

After the crowd in Minneapolis, Minnesota had finished singing his entrance music, McMahon did not address the misconduct allegations against him and simply read out the words from the WWE tagline, "Then. Now. Forever. Together." before he emphasised the word "together" and welcomed the fans in Minneapolis to SmackDown.

McMahon then defiantly threw the microphone into the air and headed to the back, interacting with the crowd as they cheered the WWE Chairman on.

The instant reaction to the segment has been one of puzzlement, with many viewing it simply as another Vince McMahon power play, especially as he has retained his role in WWE creative despite stepping back as WWE CEO and Chairman while a Special Committee of the WWE Board investigates misconduct allegations against him and John Laurinaitis.

McMahon stepping down followed a report in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week that revealed VKM was under investigation by WWE's board over a $3 million hush payment he made to a former employee over an alleged sexual relationship.