Royal Rumble 2024: Sponsorship withheld for WWE PLE amid Vince McMahon’s resignation

In around 24 hours from now, WWE will deliver the first premium live event of this year in the form of Royal Rumble 2024. While the creative aspect of the PLE has been fulfilling enough, things have been troublesome for the company on the corporate side.

Due to the latest allegations against him, Vince McMahon has now resigned from his Executive Chairman position in TKO Group Holdings which combinedly controls the WWE and UFC. He'll no longer serve on the Board of Directors.

While McMahon himself delivered a statement to Deadline claiming his decency in this situation and seeking legal steps against the allegations, WWE President Nick Khan issued the following statement to the company staff in an internal email:

"I wanted to inform you that Vince McMahon has tendered his resignation from his positions as TKO Executive Chairman and on the TKO Board of Directors. He will no longer have a role with TKO Group Holdings or WWE."

However, the latest allegations against Vince McMahon continue to hurt WWE's reputation like previous occasions. Just hours before Royal Rumble 2024 premium live event, WrestleVotes reported that the show's sponsor has withdrawn their services.

"Hearing rumblings that Slim Jim has notified WWE they are pulling their sponsorships from tomorrow's Royal Rumble event. It is yet to be determined if they will remain partners in the future."

Meanwhile, McMahon's resignation happened quicker than expected, possibly due to Endeavor, the parent company of TKO's pressure. Speculations are there that they might remove individuals closely associated with the former WWE owner.

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer reported that this time McMahon may never re-enter his WWE empire, ever again as this lawsuit essentially removed his voting power. Plus, sponsorship pull-out would put the company in a major limbo.

There's no update on whether the ongoing happening will have any direct impact on WWE Royal Rumble 2024, the premium live event scheduled from the Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida for tomorrow night. The confirmed match card for the show goes as follows:

• Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match: Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton vs. LA Knight
• WWE United States Championship Match: Logan Paul vs. Kevin Owens
• Men's Royal Rumble Match: CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, Gunther, Chad Gable, Otis, Akira Tozawa, Kofi Kingston, Damian Priest & 19 More TBD
• Women's Royal Rumble Match: Bayley, Becky Lynch, Nia Jax, Bianca Belair, Nia Jax, Ivy Nile, Maxxine Dupri & 23 More TBD