The former President of The United States Donald Trump has made several appearances in WWE and had been involved in a storyline with Vince McMahon. Trump and Vince McMahon famously clashed in a “Battle of the Billionaires” match at WrestleMania 23. McMahon was represented by Umaga, whereas Trump acquired the services of Bobby Lashley. The stipulation called for the loser’s head to be shaved bald. As predicted by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Vince McMahon took the loss and, as a result, got his head shaved bald by Trump, Lashley and special guest referee Steve Austin.
WWE reportedly paid Trump $4 million for his appearance on the grandest stage of them all. The payments went to the Donald J. Trump Foundation. Recently, WWE stated in a
public filing that it found an additional $5.0 million in unrecorded company expenses related to two payments former CEO and chairman Vince McMahon made in 2007 and 2009.
Brandon Thurston reported that it seems more likely it’s connected to the former President of The United States of America Donald Trump.
According to IRS filings, WWE spent a total of exactly $5 million in contributions to the Donald J. Trump Foundation in the same two years,
2007 and
2009. The records indicate the contributions came from WWE, and use its headquarters address, with no specific person named; the latest years-old comments from WWE’s media relations attributed the donations to Vince McMahon and his wife Linda McMahon, personally. The previously concealed pay-offs, which, until last week, the company stated totaled $14.6 million,
should’ve been recorded in WWE’s financial reporting because they benefited the company.
The unrecorded expenses WWE states it needs to catch up on have grown to $19.6 million. It is no secret that WWE was by far the biggest contributor to the Trump Foundation in 2007 and 2009, giving the organization $4 million and $1 million in those years, respectively, and in round numbers. This adds up to match the $5.0 million mentioned in the new WWE filing. Those were also years when the future U.S. president made rare appearances on WWE television programs
