WWE Rumors: Scared Employees Reportedly Hiding From Vince McMahon During Television Tapings

It’s no secret that Vince McMahon has had a difficult year. Between the coronavirus affecting WWE and the XFL being forced to suspend operations, his business interests have taken a hit in recent times. This has reportedly made him more intimidating to be around as well.

According to Ringside News, some WWE employees have been hiding from and avoiding McMahon during recent television tapings. The report stated that this has been commonplace backstage at all of WWE’s flagship shows and that the environment is supposedly very stressful.

The Ringside News report has also been corroborated by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The outlet recently reported that some WWE staff have been hiding in their cars at the Performance Center because they don’t want to risk running into the boss.

As The Inquisitr previously reported, McMahon has been intimidating to be around since the pandemic started. Because Monday Night Raw, Friday Night SmackDown, and NXT have had to take place without live audiences — and the company has lost out on the gate revenue that attending fans bring — the company hasn’t been profitable.

Furthermore, this year’s WrestleMania 36 taking place in the Performance Center as a result of the pandemic meant that the company lost millions of dollars. The company was expected to make upward of $20 million for the pay-per-view, but the pandemic meant that fans from all around the world had to be reimbursed as they couldn’t travel to the event.

WWE’s current economic situation also led to numerous superstars and employees either being released or furloughed on April 15, but reports of staff being let go are still emerging as of this week. Since the day of the layoffs, dubbed “Black Wednesday,” WWE has received a lot of criticism for firing employees during a pandemic, especially considering most of them can’t go out and look for other jobs until things have settled.

Here. Comes. THE CHAIRMAN! #RAW @VinceMcMahon pic.twitter.com/aVIB3ADZlE

— WWE (@WWE) March 15, 2016

The weekly shows have also experienced a massive ratings dip in recent weeks. Several top stars have taken a leave of absence as a result of social distancing, but the empty arenas and lack of substantial storylines have also made fans lose interest in WWE’s product.

After the XFL halted operations and all players and staff were laid off, McMahon filed for bankruptcy for the recently resurrected football league. Afterward, former XFL commissioner Oliver Luck filed a lawsuit against McMahon, citing wrongful termination as the reason. The legal drama stemming from this situation has undoubtedly factored into McMahon’s stress.

It hasn’t been an easy few months for McMahon’s businesses, and he appears to be taking those frustrations out on WWE employees.