Vince McMahon's four-word message on SmackDown after stepping back as WWE Chairman and CEO

Vince McMahon has been in the headlines during an eventful news week in the world of wrestling. After it was announced that he would step back as WWE Chairman and CEO, fans were met by another surprise when the company confirmed that McMahon would appear on SmackDown. On Friday, he sent a brief message to the fans.

There was a lot of curiosity over what he would say after the recent allegations emerged against him. They seemingly forced him to voluntarily step back from his position of power in WWE after four decades.

McMahon appeared in the opening segment of SmackDown and simply stated that it was a privilege to be in front of the fans. He also cited the opening tagline of the video package for all WWE shows.

"Here's something to remind you of the four words we just saw, what we call the WWE signature. Then, now, forever, and the most important word - together. Welcome to SmackDown," said Vince McMahon.

It was an odd way to go about the promo, with some expecting him to reference the allegations that were made against him. Instead, he didn't comment on them whatsoever. He also didn't say anything about the news that he's stepping back from his duties as the CEO and Chairman of the company.

Regardless, the announcement of Vince McMahon's appearance was likely to help pop the ratings up. In all likeliness, that's exactly what we will see when the ratings come out in a day.