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Rumors concerning WWE’s sale erupted online on Tuesday night, leading stars such as Booker To to weigh in on the possibility and what it’d look like.
Booker T never shies away from sharing his candid thoughts on all things WWE, and that was again the case when he opened up about the possibility of the company selling. These comments come on the heels of Vince McMahon powering his way back onto the board of directors on January 6. His press release indicated that he wanted to oversee any potential sale of WWE and would block attempts to do so without him. Stephanie McMahon then fully retired from the company on January 10. A few hours later, rumors about the company being sold to the Saudi Arabia Investment Firm exploded on Twitter and Reddit. Those initial reports turned out to be inaccurate, leaving WWE talent such as Booker T in the dark as to what was happening.
On the most recent episode of his Hall of Fame podcast, the WWE Hall of Famer opined whether the company would be sold this year. “WWE right now has been as strong as it’s been in quite some time over these last couple of months. Stock is up. There is a whole lot of talking going on out there. Personally, do I think the company is going to sell any time soon? I’m going to say no. That’s just me. As far as the company selling anytime soon. That’s within the next 365 days. I don’t see that happening. I just don’t.” Booker T then explained why he believed a sale would take longer than a year. “A sale of that magnitude, there has to be so many T’s crossed, and I’s dotted. I can only imagine the money involved in a sale like that. It’s not like buying a car or a house, I would imagine. I would think. I’ve never been in this position before or anything. I don’t see it happening within the next 365 days. I could be wrong, but we’re going to be talking about it a year from now if they don’t.” (h/t to Jeremy Lambert of Fightful.com for the transcription)
A WWE Sale Is Unlikely To Happen Quickly
Mass hysteria flooded the professional wrestling landscape on Tuesday night as rumors swirled about a possible sale of WWE. Everyone involved seemed to forget that Vince McMahon had pushed his way back onto the board of directors on Friday evening. The scuttlebutt about WWE being sold occurred on Tuesday night—just four days later. McMahon negotiating a deal on his own while away isn’t impossible, but that isn’t the kind of information anyone would be privy to. As soon as reporters could check in with more than one source, the WWE-to-Saudi-Arabia rumors were quickly shot down. That’s not to say that a sale to the Saudi Arabia Investment Fund will not happen. Still, the idea that it could happen in just a few days is outside the realm of possibility for a publicly traded company. As much power as Vince McMahon has, he can’t just sign off on a deal and ride off into the Saudi Arabian sunset on a horse made of gold.
Several suitors have reportedly emerged over the last few days. Dave Meltzer mentioned Disney and ESPN as possibilities, while Endeavour has also emerged alongside the Saudi Arabia Investment Fund as a spot some analysts see as likely. WWE has hired JP Morgan to help facilitate a sale, with the goal being to have the deal done by the middle of 2023. It’ll be interesting to see how things shake out in the coming months. The professional wrestling landscape is about to shift dramatically with the eventual sale of WWE. It’s just a matter of time.
Sources: Hall of Fame/YouTube, Fightful.com
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