Yesterday, the former CEO of WWE, Vince McMahon, made headlines after being involved in a sex trafficking scandal. A lawsuit was filed against Vince by a former WWE employee, Janel Grant. The lawsuit claims that the abuse happened for three years, starting from 2019 when she joined WWE as the administrator-coordinator in the company’s legal department.
This real-life scandal resembles a backstage segment that happened in 2003, where Vince used his daughter Stephanie McMahon as bait to increase the ratings of WWE’s weekly show, Monday Night RAW.
Infamous Stephanie McMahon promo goes viral amid Vince McMahon scandal
The Attitude Era of WWE is one of the most celebrated period of the promotion that was started by Stone Cold Steve Austin in 1997. The Attitude era is known for many iconic rivalries between the WWE superstars such as Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels vs Triple H and Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart.
It also featured a rivalry between Vince McMahon and Stephanie McMahon, after Stephanie married Triple H. In 2003, they engaged in a heated rivalry that featured numerous controversial and unsettling segments on their respective weekly programs, Raw and SmackDown.
One of the most infamous segments was on the September 4, 2003 episode of SmackDown, where Vince confronted Stephanie in his office and verbally abused her. During this segment Vince and Stephanie engaged in a backstage argument after she found Vince traded her to his business associates in exchange for sexual favors.
TW: Sex trafficking
— gabbie belladonna 🏳️⚧️ (@WhateverGabb1e) January 25, 2024
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This promo by Stephanie McMahon implying she was trafficked at 17 years old (along with the followup in-ring promo where Vince McMahon talks about Steph being ‘deflowered’) has somehow aged so much worse. https://t.co/UyHtKc5rgn pic.twitter.com/IfMZY5Wlvf
Vince McMahon allegedly used sex toys named after WWE wrestlers
As per the details from the lawsuit, Janel Grant was injured by Vince McMahon during the abuse that happened on May 2020 in his private office room. The lawsuit claims that Vince forcefully used sex toys on her, including dildos, which he named after some famous WWE Superstars.
However, the names of the superstars wasn’t mentioned in the lawsuit. WWE’s former head of talent relations, John Laurinaitis is one of the members, who was recruited by Vince to have sex with her. She was also defecated on her head by Vince, during a threesome with Laurinaitis.
More on the new sex trafficking lawsuit via The Wall Street Journal:
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) January 25, 2024
Janel Grant’s lawsuit alleged that she met Vince McMahon in March 2019 & was looking for a job after her parents had died.
McMahon recruited people to have sex with Grant as well, including WWE’s former head… pic.twitter.com/ESA9uOcB4r
The suit also had a personal message from Vince’s mobile phone, on which Vince wrote, “She may scream and try to say NO!!although it would B difficult to say anything with a c— down her throat.” This message was sent after some WWE Superstars saw the photos of Janel Grant on his phone
McMahon denied the allegations and pledged to challenge them in court. The scandal has uncovered the company’s dark side, and if proven true, Vince may never return to WWE.
