People are questioning whether Vince McMahon has really stepped down, after retiring in disgrace as WWE boss

• Prominent people in pro wrestling are doubting Vince McMahon's retirement is real.
• The former WWE figurehead retired from the company in disgrace two months ago.

Prominent people in pro wrestling are questioning whether the sport's long-time figurehead Vince McMahon has really stepped away, after retiring in disgrace two months ago.

McMahon stepped down as CEO and chairman in June having led the WWE for 40 years.

His position seemingly became untenable after the Wall Street Journal reported that WWE was investigating him for paying women affiliated with the WWE millions of dollars to keep their sexual misconduct allegations quiet.

In an SEC filing on Tuesday, the WWE said McMahon made "unrecorded expenses" totaling $19.6 million.

Though McMahon remains a stockholder with a controlling interest in WWE, his daughter Stephanie McMahon replaced him as co-CEO, alongside Nick Khan.

Paul "Triple-H" Levesque replaced McMahon as WWE's head of creative direction.

Representatives for McMahon and the WWE didn't immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

McMahon won't let go 'of that company' until 'they pry it out of his cold, dead hands,' Angle said

Retired WWE wrestler Kurt Angle, who won gold at the 1996 Olympics before becoming a 13-time world champion, doubted McMahon's retirement when speaking on the "Cafe de Rene with Rene Dupree" podcast.

"I personally don't think he's fully retired," Angle said on the show. "You know Vince — he's gonna be behind the scenes.

"Vince is never letting go of that company," Angle added. "He will not let it go until his hands are dead cold and they pry it out of his cold, dead hands. He's not letting go of that company until he dies. And that's just it."

Angle spoke of his adoration for McMahon and said he's "not trying to cause any problems for WWE" or the 76-year-old.

He then said that the people who have been elevated into the positions McMahon once held means, in theory, he could still pull the strings if he so desired.

"He already set up, you know, Stephanie being in charge and Triple H being in charge of talent relations," Angle said on the podcast. "He's got everybody in the right positions so that he could continue to run the show."

Angle finished by remarking that McMahon may truly not be involved, "But I think he is."

Angle is not the only one to doubt the news

Former WWE referee Mike Chioda also questioned if McMahon is really retired when speaking on the "Monday Mailbag with Mike Chioda" podcast.

"Do you really believe that Vince McMahon is really retired?" Chioda asked on the podcast. "All he could be doing is sitting home on a phone or FaceTime on an iPhone on a Zoom chat and he'll be Zooming every day for TV."

The WWE's next flagship event, Clash at the Castle, takes place September 3. The show airs on PPV worldwide and live streams on Peacock in the US.