-- Stephanie McMahon, WWE's Chief Brand Officer, suddenly announced yesterday that she would be taking a leave of absence from her most of her duties at WWE to focus on her family. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that most talent and office personnel or creative team members had no idea she was stepping away until the tweet came out, however, there were obviously a few key people who knew about it as well as the reasoning behind her move.
-- Stephanie choosing to focus on her family is said to definitely be a big reason as it's been a tough year with husband Paul Levesque's health scare and long period of inactivity, she picked up a significant amount of his responsibilities both within WWE and at home. Levesque is back in the office full-time and while Stephanie is gone indefinitely, she will be returning at some point.
-- Multiple sources also refute internet reports that Stephanie was "pushed out" of WWE and instead state that the decision to take a leave of absence was 100% her choice. The Observer added that this move had been coming for some time and didn't just happen overnight. McMahon continues to own a 2.5% stake in WWE (currently valued at $116 million), is CBO, a member of the Board of Directors for WWE and along with McMahon, is the only original McMahon family member still with the company. Nick Khan, WWE's President, will be taking over most of her duties and those reporting Stephanie will now be rolling up to him.
