Potential rumor killer on Vince McMahon's role behind Stephanie's leave of absence from WWE

Several weeks ago, Stephanie McMahon announced that she'd be taking a leave of absence from the majority of her role in WWE. She served as the company's Chief Brand Officer and is one of its principal owners.

According to Claire Atkinson of Business Insider, the company's Chairman Vince McMahon was the one who made the call for the former women's champion to go on a leave of absence.

As the CBO of the world's largest sports entertainment company, Stephanie was in control of marketing, branding, community relations, and various other departments. WWE reportedly saw a lack of growth in sponsorship deals under her, which was around $20 million in the first quarter.

"We weren't seeing that growth. When someone is moved out of a company, it's usually the result of something not working. We took stronger control of that a few months ago," said a company insider on Stephanie McMahon's tenure.

However, Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline has put the rumors to bed, stating that The Billion Dollar Princess' recent departure was not executed by her father, Vince McMahon.

On the site's message board, Meltzer noted that Business Insider painted a "less positive picture" of the former women's champion and appeared to be part of what he called a "burial by the company."

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Nick Khan will be taking over most of Stephanie McMahon's duties in WWE

In her social media announcement, The Billion Dollar Princess shared that she'd be taking some time off to focus on her family and that she's looking forward to returning.

According to Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, WWE President Nick Khan will be taking over most of Stephanie's duties. The company also hired former Manchester United Chief Marketing Officer Catherine Newman, serving as the head of marketing beginning this month.