In Ariel Emanuel’s new book, Roll the Bells. excerpts of the memoir have surfaced online following its release this week, and the CEO of TKO Group Holdings has not held back details on Vince McMahon’s two departures from WWE, the first following a Wall Street Journal report in July 2022 claiming that former president. paid millions of dollars in hush payments different women.
POST Wrestling provided the excerpts Emanuel’s book, which included the story right around the time the senior executive first learned of the WSJ report. Emmanuel wrote that he was in Wimbledon when the news became known. He said he did something unusual for him, looked at the phone, then put it back in his pocket.
“As I was leaving Wimbledon, Vince called and assured me that the allegations were false,” Emanuel wrote. “But he also said he was going to step down for the good of the company. His daughter, whom I always remember fondly from our first meeting, will take over. Shortly thereafter, however, Vince changed his mind and took the company back.”
Emanuel called it a “mess” and said he sees only one solution: pitch McMahon to sell the company to merge with the UFC. The idea would eventually come to life and to establish TKO Group Holdings in September 2023one thing McMahon returned to the company After his departure to oversee in early July 2022.
When Emanuel and Mark Shapiro, now president of TKO, sat McMahon down to talk about a possible merger, Emanuel said McMahon “doesn’t seem to fully understand” and wrote that he has “all kinds of health issues.” McMahon In July 2023, he underwent a major spine surgeryAmid reports of other health problems, he was only a few days old a grand jury subpoena and search warrant were issued.
Emanuel recounts the sordid details in the January 2024 report
POST Wrestling also provided an excerpt from the book where Emanuel writes about another Wall Street Journal bombshell report released in January 2024 featuring former WWE employee Janelle Grant. shocking allegations in civil sex-trafficking trial and abuse by McMahon.
“More revelations. the worst yet,” Emanuel wrote. “Vince is accused of defecating on a woman during a threesome. It’s incredible how many things are undreamed of in business schools. These findings are on another level, more disturbing than the previous ones.”
Emanuel wrote that Shapiro called him minutes after the news broke and said they needed to get McMahon “out the door … right now.” Emanuel outlined their call to McMahon shortly after that conversation, knowing what needed to be done. He said McMahon was receptive.
McMahon would has once again resigned from his positions in WWE End of January 2024: Grant and McMahon will enter private arbitration in July 2026. The grant has since been opened POST Wrestling’s John Pollock in an in-depth interview about the whole situation, from his sympathy for McMahon after his accusations were made public.