Ariel Helwani Shares His Thoughts On Stephanie McMahon's WWE Exit

The recent return of Vince McMahon to WWE has had immediate ripple effects within the company. Few of these developments thus far are much bigger than the resignation of Stephanie McMahon from her executive duties on January 10. The departure comes after a hectic year for Stephanie, who announced a leave of absence last May only to return to an executive position two months later when her father initially announced his retirement.

The resignation of Stephanie may have sparked concerns regarding the company's executive office moving forward, according to Bill Simmons and Ariel Helwani, who spoke about the subject on a recent episode of "The Bill Simmons Podcast." When talking about the first event he went to following Vince's departure, Helwani was quick to mention how beloved Stephanie was as a leader. "It was like these clouds had opened up," Helwani recalled. "Everyone's spirits are high, no one says a bad thing about Stephanie. It's a remarkable thing, nobody speaks badly of her. Everyone seems to respect her tremendously."

Helwani then mentioned that he fears that this departure will return the culture to what it was before Stephanie's time as co-CEO alongside Nick Khan. However, Helwani does have faith in Khan and Paul Levesque, who are still working in the company's executive office as of right now.

Returning to the subject of Stephanie McMahon, both Simmons and Helwani consider her resignation a "bad sign" for the company. "She's so likable and respected," Helwani complimented. "She is the quintessential businesswoman." When speculating what might be next for Stephanie, Helwani believes that she has the potential to do more if she desires to. "If she decides to do something... imagine a media company run by [Stephanie]. I feel like she'd be successful in whatever she does."