The chairman of WWE Vince McMahon, who returned to the company earlier this month, has finished the trial from a former referee who accused him of raping him in 1986 , his lawyer said. The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.
The exact amount of the million dollar deal with Rita Chatterton, which was completed last month, was not disclosed. The settlement expands the payouts related to the sexting allegations involving McMahon to a total of $19.6 million while the to make this recent agreement.
“Mr. denies McMahon and he denies the rape of Ms. Chatterton,” said McMahon’s personal attorney, Jerry McDevitt, to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the decision. “And he settled the case just to avoid the cost of the trial.”
WWE declined to comment.
McMahon, 77, alleged in a 1993 lawsuit that Chatterton believed a false rape allegation by another wrestler was in retaliation. McMahon withdrew the suit in 1994, he said, to focus on a lawsuit in which he was accused of selling drugs to wrestlers.
McMahon retired last summer amid allegations of sexual misconduct involving the payment of non-disclosure agreements. Although McMahon used personal funds to pay for the NDA, he failed to record those expenses, which totaled $19.6 million.
When McMahon stepped down, his daughter, Stephanie McMahon, and Nick Khan, a longtime member of CAA, assumed the roles of co-CEO. Stephanie McMahon resigned last month, leaving Khan as CEO.
Stephanie McMahon’s husband, WWE Hall of Famer Paul “Triple H” Levesque, remains the creative director of the chief affairs office.
Vince McMahon returned in recent weeks as chairman of the board to be “fully engaged” in media rights negotiations. The board initially rejected an attempt by McMahon to return to the company, but he retained most of the voting power.
“WWE is entering a critical juncture in its history with the negotiation of media rights that comes with increasing public demand for quality and live content with many companies looking to holding intelligence on their level,” McMahon said earlier this month.
“My return will allow WWE, as well as any trade union, to participate in these processes knowing that they will have the support of the shareholders.”
WWE and Fox and America’s rights expire next year; Negotiations are expected to begin later in 2023. WWE posted its first billion-dollar revenue year in 2022. McMahon bought the company from his father in 1982 and built the then-WWF into the biggest wrestling company in the world.