Vince McMahon Spotted Celebrating Birthday Alongside Former WWE Champion
We officially have the first public sighting of Vince McMahon since his retirement from WWE.
McMahon was seen by TMZ celebrating his 77th birthday in notable fashion: having dinner with John Cena and his wife, Shay Shariatzadeh, in New York City. McMahon, Cena, Shariatzadeh, and an unidentified woman were spotted walking out of the Waverly Inn and into a sprinter van. McMahon reportedly had no interest in talking, as he tried to cover his face from any photography (although a picture was taken). The TMZ article made a point to note that Linda McMahon was not with him.
McMahon voluntarily stepped down from his position as WWE CEO and chairman following the Wall Street Journal's initial report of "hush money" being allegedly handed out to women for sexual misconduct. McMahon maintained control of creative until the second wave of allegations were released, and officially announced his resignation from company duties on July 22. His daughter, Stephanie McMahon, took the role of chairwoman and shares co-CEO duties with former WWE President Nick Khan, while her husband, Paul "Triple H" Levesque, was appointed EVP Of Talent Relations before also taking control of creative. Following McMahon's retirement, Stephanie thanked her father in front of a live crowd on "WWE SmackDown."
Ironically enough, McMahon's last television appearance came alongside Cena on the June 27 "WWE Raw," as he introduced the 16-time world champion to the live crowd in Laredo, TX. That particular episode was centered around celebrating Cena's "WWE birthday," as it marked 20 years since the star debuted with the company.