TKO Allegedly Has An Exit Strategy For WWE
The TKO Group possesses a golden egg-laying hen in the form of WWE.
Over the last couple of years, World Wrestling Entertainment has generated record revenues through its ticket sales for weekly shows and premium live events like WrestleMania.
While that remains a fact, the group has faced its share of criticism, especially in terms of soaring ticket prices and undermining fans’ feedback.
On more than one occasion, the company’s top executives have either spoken about having no intentions of bringing down the costs or about not paying heed to online criticisms, much to the chagrin of gate-paying fans.
Furthermore, WWE’s subpar storylines have added to their creative woes on the main roster.
There have also been talks about WWE being sold, primarily to Saudi Arabia, although there have been no official reports. Former WWE/WWF Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett recently broke down TKO’s future with the wrestling promotion.
Jeff Jarrett Believes TKO Group Might Have An Exit Strategy For WWE
Jeff Jarrett is one of the wrestling names who has been vocal about TKO’s missteps with World Wrestling Entertainment. Oftentimes, he has accused the company of providing an ear to their buddies in suits but not the wrestling fans.
During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Jarrett admitted that he has been in Nick Khan’s ear about WWE’s financial success in recent times.
He subsequently speculated that the higher-ups might have an exit strategy, which is a part of any business, as is the case in this situation.
I’ve told Nick Khan this, [via] text. You can’t argue with stock reports. They have printed money since the merger, to me, I’m the idiot if I start throwing stones like, creative is this and this is that, and they went back to Vegas in back to back years. Okay, who said they were not going to make mistakes? Creative is subjective, stock is not.
He compared the current TKO executives with the likes of AEW President Tony Khan and former WWE boss Vince McMahon, claiming that the likes of Ari Emanuel answer to Wall Street as opposed to Khan and McMahon.
The one thing that I’m very curious about, going back to Tony [Khan]. Tony answers to Tony. Vince used to answer to Vince. Even when he went public, he still controlled the stock. Ari doesn’t really answer to Ari. Ari answers to Wall Street. How long? How sustainable is that going to be?
They’re a lot smarter than I am, they probably already have their exit strategy. I don’t know that. But, at the end of the day, it’s hard to explain to Wall Street, hey, we need to invest in A, B, C, and D because of this, this, this, and this. [H/T: Fightful]
While Jarrett’s statement is merely speculation, it has generated a buzz among wrestling fans, who are invested in the promotion’s future direction.