WWE boss Vince McMahon undergoes major spinal surgery

Executive chairman of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Vince McMahon has reportedly gone under the knife.

According to TMZ, McMahon underwent major spinal surgery last week, and it lasted four hours . TMZ added that the WWE honcho is now “at home recovering.”

McMahon, 77, returned to leading WWE earlier this year, executing something of a boardroom coup to come back to the company he’s managed for over 40 years.

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Last year, he stepped away for six months due to a series of workplace misconduct claims that were settled before lawsuits became public.

Several months later, WWE announced that it would be combining with UFC to form a new publicly traded company, led by the latter’s parent company, Endeavor.

Once the merger is finalized, the new company will be led by Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel and McMahon will hold the title of executive chairman.

Nick Khan and Dana White will remain president of WWE and UFC, respectively, inside the new company.

“Together, we will be a $21+ billion live sports and entertainment powerhouse with a collective fanbase of more than a billion people and an exciting growth opportunity,” McMahon said in a statement when the merger was announced in April.

“Things have to evolve,” McMahon said in an interview on CNBC at the time, as covered by the Los Angeles Times. “This is the right business decision. This is the right family decision.”