WWE Sale Moving Forward Quickly Under New Vince McMahon Regime

It seems like it was just yesterday that Vince McMahon officially forced his way back into his old role as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of WWE, threatening to block any new media rights deal if anyone tried to stop him, and announced plans to explore selling the company. Oh, wait, that’s because it WAS just yesterday! Life comes at you fast when you’re reporting on the cutthroat world of modern professional wrestling, we guess.

Well, he may have just returned to power yesterday, but McMahon isn’t wasting any time in moving forward with his plans. According to a report from CNBC, WWE has already partnered with JP Morgan on the strategic-review process, with an eye on selling sometime in the next three-to-six months. That would be before WWE’s media rights deals are up for renewal this Fall and, as noted by WWE executive management in a conference call held with all employees yesterday (transcribed by Wrestlenomics, currently paywalled but available publicly in the next 24 hours), at the opportune time to give companies that might be interested in signing media rights deals with WWE the chance to buy it entirely instead.

According to CNBC, potential suitors could include Comcast (which owns NBC Universal, whose USA Network airs WWE Raw), Fox (where Smackdown airs), Disney, Warner Bros, Netflix, UFC owner Endeavor Group Holdings, or Formula 1 owner Liberty Media. But since we really want to watch the world burn, we’re personally hoping McMahon sells it to the Saudi Prince. Wouldn’t that be fun?

Vince McMahon’s shocking return to WWE came about suddenly this week after McMahon announced his return, using his majority stockholder voting power to reinstate himself and two loyalists, removing three existing board members. Two additional board members resigned as McMahon returned, one of them the one who reportedly led the internal investigation into hush money payments for sexual misconduct claims that led to the scandal that forced McMahon to retire last year. Reportedly, McMahon felt he received “bad advice” in agreeing to give up his role and has now taken steps to reverse course.