There will be many clinging to the past with a white-knuckle grip who will be disappointed at the confirmation McMahon is very, more than likely, not going to be at the ceremony on Friday. Others may see it as an obvious development, considering the sheer levels of corporate radioactivity emanating from him.

For all the claims that “women make stuff up,” it does seem a rather tall order for a single staffer to convince the DOJ, the FBI, the SEC, and then all the attorneys that there is smoke without at least one glancing at an ember flickering in the distance. And that alone should be enough to abandon the idea that he should come back. The path of least resistance would be to simply defend and exonerate oneself in court, as is being pushed for by every party but the defendants across several states. 

There’s just too much noise for it all to be untrue in some regard, and even if one was to strip all the legality of things it’s just not behavior becoming of an executive officer in a company that actively markets itself to children.

Stephanie McMahon is being inducted, not her father, and chances are that may only come posthumously once grief and revision play their part in the WWE canon. Presuming she was merely an innocent bystander, a naive observer, then this should be her night. Much can be said about the hyperbole surrounding her contributions to the company and the sport, but she did play a part and it’s her moment to accept the praise for it. That doesn’t need to be marred by the alleged sins of the father.