The Future of WWE: Weighing The Pros And Cons Of Potential WWE Buyers

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know it has been a wild start to 2023 in the world of WWE.

As we all saw, Vince McMahon put himself back on the Board of Directors on January 6th, bringing with him recently fired Michelle Wilson and George Barrios and replacing three members already on the board. Since then, three other board members have resigned including Stephanie McMahon, who quit the company entirely just days after Vince McMahon’s return.

Stephanie’s resignation was seen as a huge blow as she was generally well-liked by everybody in the company. For now, Nick Khan remains the sole CEO and Paul Levesque still remains the Chief Content Officer meaning he’s in charge of the creative team. Vince McMahon is now the Executive Chairman and exploring possible “Strategic alternatives” which could include a sale or possibly taking the company private again.

Could Vince McMahon take over creative again from Triple H? Some fans and talent believe that he will be, but for now, he has deferred the final say so on that to Paul. Hopefully it stays that way as I think Paul and Nick Khan remaining in their roles is crucial to the stability of this company.

The sales process is usually a lengthy one that could take 3-6 months to complete and up to a year to finalize. That’s why the apparent sale to Saudi Arabia rumors never made sense to me as Vince had only been back for a week. They’ve hired investment banks like JP Morgan and the Raine group to help lead the sales process so it seems as if they are serious, at least for now, about selling the company. Assuming they do, I think only a few options make sense. So, let’s discuss the pros and cons of some of the “popular” choices to discuss about a potential sale.

Comcast

Comcast is an easy pick to see why they would fit. WWE Monday Night Raw airs on the USA Network and has for most of the last 30 years (aside from when Raw was on TNN/Spike). Comcast owns NBC Universal. NBCU has had a relationship with WWE going back to the early days of Saturday Night’s Main Event before Raw even became a thing. It’s easy to see why they might be attracted to it. They’re already paying a lot of money to lease the rights to Raw and the WWE Network. Maybe it might make more sense just to buy the property.

Pros: There are a lot of pros to a Comcast acquisition. For starters, It’s an easy transition. Comcast, who owns NBCU, already airs WWE Monday Night Raw. They also already lease the rights to the WWE Network on Peacock in the United States. Really, the only thing they would need to do is bring Smackdown back to the USA Network or potentially air it on NBC. Comcast has a net worth of about $162 billion so paying $7-$8 billion for WWE wouldn’t even put a dent into their budget. Will they be willing to do that? Who knows. However, it would make the most sense given that they would probably have to pay upwards of $4 billion if they wanted to keep Raw, the WWE Network, and NXT. It could also mean higher salaries for wrestlers and impending free agents. As I stated, Comcast has way deeper pockets than WWE. Theoretically, that would mean WWE could offer higher salaries if Comcast was on board with it.

They could air reality shows on the E! Network, put NXT on SyFy if they wanted to. There are a lot of possibilities. There are also the Universal Studios theme parks that could be used for several WWE-related attractions. You can also look at Universal Pictures and the film studios that NBCU possesses. We know WWE Films didn’t work out the way they wanted but with an already established, big-name movie studio at their disposal, they could easily use some WWE stars for any of their movies. It really is a win-win for everybody involved.

Cons: There are not many cons to be found here. However, as with any wrestling property, if you are owned by a media company or people who aren’t exactly “wrestling people”, you run the risk of them not seeing your vision for the product. We all saw what happened when AOL and Time Warner bought WCW. Throughout WCW’s entire existence on the Turner Network, the only person who really wanted WCW on its payroll was Ted himself. Once Ted lost control, so did WCW’s stronghold with the company. Even during peak WCW when they were kicking WWF’s asses for 83 weeks, they were still the outcasts of the brand.

We saw what happened with Panda Energy and TNA. Yes, they kept TNA afloat for years but, just like Ted, the only person who really campaigned for TNA was Dixie Carter, the daughter of Bob and Janice. Panda’s refusal to put money into the product hindered it on so many levels because they didn’t really have anybody at the top, Dixie included, who understood the wrestling business and the one person that did, Jeff Jarrett, was forced out of his own company. So WWE does run that risk. There’s also the potential risk of them keeping Vince McMahon in charge due to their long-running relationship but I consider that highly unlikely.

Given NBCU’s long history with WWE, I don’t see them going the way of WCW and TNA. Also of note, WCW was losing millions of dollars the last few years before the sale. They sold to WWF for less money than AEW gets on their television deal for one year. WWE has recorded record years every year for several years now. They will sell for at least $6 BILLION. That’s the difference. I don’t care how much money Comcast has, you don’t just pay $6 billion on a property and then can it. The USA Network, all due respect, would tank without WWE Raw. I don’t have the latest data but I am pretty sure Peacock subscriptions are helped significantly by WWE Network subscribers. It’s a win-win for Comcast and I would be shocked if it ended up anywhere else.

Disney

Disney is another one that just seems like a match made in heaven for WWE. It’s no secret that Vince himself has had his eye on Disney being potential buyers for a while now and it would make a ton of sense considering how much of WWE’s product is geared towards that 18-49 demographic.

Pros: There are a lot of pros here as well. Disney, like Comcast, has a plethora of ways to monetize the WWE brand. First, there’s ESPN+ and Disney+, both would be ideal landing spots for the WWE Network. There’s also Hulu, which is owned by Disney (even though NBCU owns a minority stake. Funny how that works ). Disney also has a net worth higher than Comcast at an astounding $181 billion so paying $7-$8 billion for WWE wouldn’t make a dent. They spent $71 billion on the acquisition of Fox assets a few years ago like it was nothing. Part of that acquisition was the FX Network. Even though it is based out of Fox studios, it is a Disney property. That could be a prime place for Raw. FX is generally on the same level as the USA Network, especially when you take WWE away from USA. Disney also owns ABC, which you could utilize for Smackdown or various WWE specials. It’s also a convenience. Most of the talent in WWE nowadays live in Orlando. A lot of them are huge fans of Disney. The cross-promotional aspect of the partnership makes them a prime candidate.

It’s like a match made in heaven. Especially with Bob Iger back in charge at Disney. I think they would be great for the company and the morale of the talent. Also, much like Comcast, they would have a much bigger budget to spend on talent and free agents. ESPN+ also has more subscribers than Peacock so that would mean more visibility for the Network and PLEs. Think of the other assets Disney owns, like Marvel for instance. Imagine the crossover possibilities they could do between WWE and Marvel? They are endless.

Cons: Much like Comcast, you run the risk of having the company run by people who do not understand the wrestling business. Sure, they have a huge budget and can afford to keep the company afloat but also, it wouldn’t hurt them as much to just write it off on their taxes and keep the IP for Disney rides. I don’t see that happening but that is a risk you run. Would Raw take a ratings hit moving to FX? It depends. I don’t think it would take the kind of hit Smackdown takes when it moves from Fox to FS1 but I imagine it might take a slight hit initially just because people aren’t used to it being there.

To answer the question: I don’t see any way Disney acquires WWE and keeps Vince McMahon in charge. They have fired people on the spot for less than what Vince has been accused of.

Saudi Public Investment Fund

This is probably not a popular pick among most WWE fans but it is a viable one we have to consider. WWE and Saudi Arabia have been doing business since 2018 with at least one or two shows per year in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Despite their questionable morality, we have seen some progress made as far as Women’s wrestling there but not nearly enough.

Pros: While most see this as the worst possible scenario, and I tend to agree, there are at least a few pros. It would essentially end the competitive balance as far as free agents go. Comcast and Disney have big budgets but those budgets are also divided up into other areas. They could still offer more money than what WWE is offering now but Saudi PIF have full resources at their disposal for WWE. It would be their marquee purchase in America and would be their attempt to change the public narrative of their country. Whether that works is another story entirely.

The Khans, for example, as wealthy as they are, cannot offer free agents nearly as much money as the Saudi PIF can. So, anybody who doesn’t really have any moral objection to working for them, would almost certainly choose WWE over AEW. Even some that might have a moral objection might find it difficult to turn down the kind of money WWE would be able to offer. Some would but a good number might not. It would definitely be a better situation financially for talent.

Cons: The cons are almost everything else. Saudi Arabia is known as one of the worst countries in the world. Even though they’ve progressed in recent years, they still haven’t done enough for women. They’re against the LGBTQ community. It would damage WWE’s public perception by selling to the Saudis. It also comes down to optics. LIV Golf, which was started by the Saudis, is finding it near impossible to find a television home in America due to nobody really wanting to work with them. There’s an indication that they’re about to partner up with the CW Network but that doesn’t really appear to be beneficial. Just google what WWE Smackdown ratings were when they were on the CW. They’re on YouTube and Facebook but if you take those television deals away, WWE is not even worth half of what the Saudi PIF would have to pay for it.

A large part of their value is in television rights. That’s probably the biggest con. There’s also the possibility of some wrestlers choosing to leave WWE because of it. Think of guys like Sami Zayn, who isn’t even allowed in the country, or wrestlers like Kevin Owens, Sonya Deville, and so on. Saudi PIF is definitely in the running but I wouldn’t put them as the favorites for all the reasons I just mentioned. Also, this may be the only option I can see where Vince McMahon retains his power over the show because WWE would likely go private again, meaning Vince could do whatever he wants and the only thing that can stop him is Death or Prison. That’s probably the biggest con of them all.

The Khan Family

This is a fun, albeit unlikely scenario. Tony Khan and his father, Shahid Khan of AEW, have thrown their names into the hat as potential buyers of WWE. What a purchase this would be. It would effectively signal that Tony Khan and AEW had taken down Vince and the WWE. It would signify that they won the “war” if you want to call it that. Do I think it’ll happen? No. They need more than just themselves but it is fun to speculate.

Pros: From strictly a talent perspective, it’s a win. Say what you want about Tony Khan and his creative. Tony seems like a pretty stand up guy who the talent that work for him enjoy working for. From a moral point of view, it is probably a good deal. He’s also a wrestling guy who grew up watching WWF so Tony would likely respect the legacy enough to keep it going. He would probably be able to keep their television deal with the USA Network. From a fantasy booking point of view, it would be a dream. It would be as if Vince McMahon bought WCW in 2001 and actually kept it alive with some of the talent like Hogan, Flair, etc. We know Tony would incorporate WWE into AEW shows and vice versa. Imagine Roman Reigns coming out on Dynamite to confront Kenny Omega or MJF showing up on Raw to attack Kevin Owens. Cody Rhodes returning to Dynamite as a WWE Superstar or Jon Moxley returning to Raw as an AEW Superstar. It would be a fantasy booking dream scenario for fans.

Cons: We’ve seen with the purchase of ROH that Tony likes booking everything. That’s fine with ROH and AEW because ROH is a small promotion that isn’t even on television. WWE has three shows a week on television. Not to mention the digital shows such as Lvl Up and Main Event. There’s no way even Tony Khan can book FIVE television shows a week plus ROH whenever it starts back up. Every man has his limits. Unfortunately, I don’t think Tony knows what his are so I can definitely see him trying to book three additional shows per week and failing at it. Whatever your opinion of Tony’s booking is, he would have to keep Triple H in creative because WWE is a global brand and I just can’t see Tony being able to do all of that.

There’s also the elephant in the room of a monopoly in wrestling. We just got out of that in 2019. That’s literally why Tony and The Elite created AEW in the first place. So having Tony then have a monopoly himself would put us right back in that situation. No matter how good or bad AEW or WWE is, having two big companies run by two different entities is best for the overall health of the industry.

That being said, unless The Khan family has an interested party to invest with, I do not see it happening. WWE is likely going to sell for around $7-$8 billion. The Khan Family’s entire net worth is around $11 billion. I can’t see them selling Fulham or the Jacksonville Jaguars just to get the collateral to make this purchase. As a fan, I wouldn’t mind it. I just don’t see a realistic avenue that the Khan family can make this purchase without another investor.

Other Potential Buyers

There are several other potential buyers that could place bids that I ultimately do not see winning the bidding,

Amazon: They’re a popular trending topic, but they have no access to television. Money would be no issue for Jeff Bezos that’s for sure. I just don’t see how WWE can make that money back by going directly to streaming on Prime. Without television, WWE isn’t worth half of what it is going to sell for so I think whoever buys it needs to secure a television deal to recoup the money they’ll spend on it.

Netflix: Netflix is in the same boat as Amazon. They’ve discussed getting into the live sports avenue of streaming. Money would also be no object for them to purchase the company. The WWE Network would also be an attractive nugget to justify that $20 a month they’re charging subscribers now. However, unless they can negotiate a television deal, it is going to be hard for WWE to give them an equal return on their investment. Sure, they could probably negotiate with NBCU and Fox still but it’s hard to see them competing with the likes of Disney, who already has television networks at its disposal or Comcast, who already houses much of WWE’s product already.

Endeavor Group: Endeavor has been a trendy pic by guys such as Eric Bischoff as potential buyers for WWE. Much like The Khan family, they just do not have the capital themselves to make such a purchase. They bought UFC back in 2016 for $4 billion. WWE would sell for probably double that amount. It’s also one of the few companies that would probably allow Vince to stay in his position post-sale so for that reason, I wouldn’t count them out. They’ve allowed Dana White to pretty much run UFC as he sees fit since the purchase in 2016.

Final Thoughts

Will Vince McMahon even sell? That seems to be the bigger question. Could this all be a ploy just to take the company private? He would need to essentially buy back his own company which would cost him around $4 billion. Vince’s net worth is around $3 billion so he would need help. I just don’t see Vince going through all of that, but I could be wrong. I still think at the end of the day, Comcast will be the one to outbid everybody else for the company. Anything could happen but I see a very uncertain and tense several months ahead for World Wrestling Entertainment.

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Thanks for reading. Check out my TJRWrestling writing archive here. I’m on Twitter @GiftedMoney talking about wrestling among other things, so feel free to message me on there with any thoughts or comments. Until next time.