Two of wrestling’s most respected voices, Jim Ross and Dave Meltzer, have offered their clearest read yet on what Vince McMahon’s next move might be, and where he almost certainly won’t end up.
The former WWE chairman stepped away from the company amid legal fallout, but neither veteran believes he is finished with the business he built.
Speaking on his GJR: News Behind The News podcast, Ross made the case that stepping away for good simply is not in McMahon’s nature.
He ain’t out of the game. Vince isn’t out of the game. That’s just not his makeup. But what he’s going to do… one would assume it’ll have something to do with wrestling because that’s where he made his name. So, I don’t know, man. The world’s open to him. It just doesn’t seem like a lot of things interest him. He likes wrestling, and I think that’s where I’d see him headed.
Ross poured cold water on one idea making the rounds among fans: McMahon turning up in AEW. He argued McMahon’s instinct to run his own operation makes that scenario a non-starter, and that Tony Khan would have no appetite for it either.
He’s going to want to steer his own ship, build his own boat, and take it from there. So, off the top of my head, I’d say probably not. I don’t see Tony Khan wanting to do business with him either,” Ross said.
That leaves two realistic lanes: a return to WWE in some form, or a brand-new promotion of his own.
Would WWE Bring Vince McMahon Back?
Dave Meltzer addressed the WWE angle directly, and while he did not rule out some kind of return, he drew a hard line at anything involving actual authority.
As far as bringing him (Vince McMahon) back, that’s a whole other story. I don’t know. It would not shock me if he was brought back in a position, just to do what, I don’t know. They may do it. It wouldn’t shock me. I wouldn’t expect it. But I cannot imagine he would be put in charge of anything,” Meltzer said.
Meltzer’s reasoning came down to power. He pointed to Nick Khan running the business side and Paul Levesque handling the booking, arguing that neither role is going anywhere.
It’s not like they’re going to have him replace Nick Khan calling the shots. He certainly isn’t going to replace Paul Levesque doing the booking, and there’s no way they can go back to that. That’s not going to happen.
Where Meltzer did leave the door open was on a symbolic role, one built on nostalgia rather than control.
But the idea of bringing him in in a figurehead position and trotting him out every now and then, like I said, wouldn’t shock me at all. If he came out as a surprise on a television show, it would get this giant reaction. That’s just the reality of the situation.
He stressed the point was not a prediction. Meltzer noted that TKO’s Ari Emanuel and Mark Shapiro, along with Khan and Levesque, are unlikely to surrender the control they have built.
I’m not saying it’ll happen. I don’t know. I cannot imagine him being put in a position of any real decision-making power. That I couldn’t see. Shapiro and Emanuel aren’t going to give up the power they have in that regard. They’re not going to replace Nick Khan. Nick Khan has gotten very powerful and very successful. They’re not going to replace Levesque, I don’t think, not with Vince anyway.
For now, any McMahon comeback remains speculation, with no confirmed plans on the table. Both veterans agree on the throughline: whatever he does next, it will almost certainly involve wrestling.
