There was often a running joke that Vince McMahon would leave WWE over his dead body.

It turns out that joke is now in legal writing.

Wrestlenomics reported McMahon is only allowed to leave his post as WWE executive chairman due to "death, resignation or incapacity" under terms of the merger the company signed with Endeavor.

The condition reportedly was added by Endeavor—not WWE—in order to agree to a 51/49 split in favor of WWE's new primary owner. Endeavor plans on splitting off WWE and UFC into its own multibillion-dollar entity, but the company has not been named.

McMahon, 77, has run WWE since purchasing the company from his father in 1982, with the exception being a six-month hiatus after resigning last year. He returned to his post as WWE executive chairman in January in what amounted to a hostile takeover, which ultimately led to the deal with Endeavor.

It's likely Endeavor views McMahon in a similar light to Dana White, who remained on as UFC president after his stake in the MMA promotion was sold. McMahon does not seem interested in being in the week-to-week weeds the way he was for much of his career—Paul "Triple H" Levesque runs the day-to-day creative—but he clearly carries a ton of sway in making large creative decisions and has significant power from a corporate perspective.

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