Saudi Arabia Reportedly Had Chance To Buy WWE – Details Revealed

This major wrestling analyst says that Saudi Arabia had a chance to buy WWE

WWE was owned by the McMahon family for generations till Vince McMahon stepped away from his position in 2022, after a former employee leveled allegations of s*xual assault and trafficking against him. Vince was the CEO and ran the company for over 3 decades after taking over from his father, who owned it before him.

Following Vince’s exit, Triple H was made the Chief Content Officer (CCO), a position he holds to this day, and Nick Khan became the co-CEO initially, and later the CEO of WWE.

WWE was purchased by the TKO group in 2023, and McMahon’s legal troubles began during the time of the merger. McMahon initially had a stake in WWE and would have been part of TKO as well, had it not been for the lawsuits that came his way.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, struck a deal with WWE in 2018, and the events hosted by WWE in the country have been a grand success. It was an attempt at expanding its reach to a global audience.

There has been speculation that the Saudis plan to buy WWE and have been for some time now, although nothing is confirmed, and it has so far only been talked about in wrestling circles. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Radio recently said the Saudis had the chance to buy the Stamford-based company, but didn’t.

Dave Meltzer Reveals That Saudi Arabia had a chance to buy WWE, But Chose Not To

A fan account on X shared the opinion that TKO Group bought WWE to offset its own debt, which the company incurred after TKO purchased UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), and planned to eventually sell the promotion to the Saudis.

Every move TKO is making with WWE makes more sense when you realize Endeavor bought WWE to offset debt from the UFC purchase, to ultimately sell it to the Saudis. But if Saudi is out of money, you have to make it look pretty to all eventual buyers.

Dave Meltzer responded by saying Saudi Arabia had the chance to buy WWE but decided not to make an offer. He also notes that they would have kept Vince McMahon in charge if they did.

The saudis had an opportunity to buy wwe and they would have kept Vince in charge if they had. They ended up deciding not to make an offer. Emanuel did not make the offer he did to flip it.

The saudis had an opportunity to buy wwe and they would have kept Vince in charge if they had. They ended up deciding not to make an offer. Emanuel did not make the offer he did to flip it https://t.co/2cN02YDCCA

— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) May 2, 2026

Although WWE has had multiple successful PLEs at Saudi Arabia, most recently the Royal Rumble in Riyadh, and plans to host WrestleMania 43 there, a sale of the company doesn’t seem likely at the moment.

Also read: Fan Calls 911 After CM Punk Shoved Them During WWE WrestleMania Weekend