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Well, I can’t say I am surprised. Take away the one thing that a single-minded person with little or no other interests in life has and sooner or later, they are going to act out. In a lot of ways, I am surprised that Vince McMahon made it this long before forcing his way back into the company that, due to his own actions, he was forced out of last summer.
Of course, The Wall Street Journal just dropped a bombshell that McMahon intends to genetic jackhammer his way back onto the WWE Board, with two yes votes in his pocket in former allies Michelle Wilson and George Barrios, and pursue the sale of WWE. There is so much to unpack here, and even more that we don’t know at this point. I am going to give my thoughts on some specific topics with the caveat being I don’t have all the information so there is no way that I have all the answers. I am not a huge fan of doing hot takes for that very reason, but this is such a big story I feel I owe you something so here goes.
Can he do it?
Yes, he can. As the person that controls the WWE voting stock, he can make his return to the Board happen. It may not be a pretty process, but neither is making sausage so all that really matters is the finished product.
Why is he doing it?
It certainly feels like there is at least a bit of “if I can’t have it, none of you can either” to this, especially with his daughter and son-in-law sitting on the Board and running “his” show. WWE was the one thing in Vince’s life that took precedence over everything else, and nothing was even a close second. He lived it, breathed it, and in my opinion, it was as much a part of him as the hair on his head. He never saw a world where it would taken away….but then it was.
Sure, it was due to his own actions, but like a lot of arrogant billionaires, taking blame for their actions isn’t usually one of their personal traits. If I had a gun at my head and had to by right, I would be pretty confident that he takes issue with at least some of the things that the company has done since he has gone and have no fear of being shot. I could even up that to him hating a LOT of things they have done and still feel safe. With that said…..
Should he do it?
You know what? I think he should definitely be pursuing a sale right now. Should he do it this heavy-handedly? I don’t think so but given the fact the TV deals with NBCU and FOX are nearing an end, this is the exact time to see what kind of offers are out there for the company. I look at it in a similar way to how the company did the WWE Network deal with NBCU. They got five years of guaranteed revenue, no matter what the condition of the product is. Given the state of TV, with streaming, cord cutting, advertising money being down, other options, etc., who knows if WWE can get an increase in their rights fees. Or even stay where they are now. Live content is king, but if no one will pay you what it’s worth, you have a Maserati that you can only use to plow fields. Selling the company to a media conglomerate makes finding new TV deals their problem, not WWE’s. Also, it is possible his current TV partners don’t want to be associated with him after their deals expire due to the scandals. Which leads me to...
Who would buy it?
NBC Universal (owned by Comcast) has always been the most likely company to me. In addition to having The USA Network, they also have Peacock. They also have NBC, which could become the home of PPV broadcasts and other special events as it gets harder for networks to get eyes on programming. Also, by purchasing WWE they would have control of the asset. They could choose who ran it and how they did so. They would also have control of how it would air and the cost of doing so built right in. FOX is also someone I am sure that WWE would reach out to, as is Disney. The buyer that makes most sense has the most important thing that WWE needs, a place to air the product.
Will Vince return to take over creative?
It’s too soon to say. But I do have to wonder how FOX and NBCU would react to him doing so given the admissions from this past summer. He stepped down so they never had to make their position on him public. I can’t see them wanting to be in bed with him in such an active role. You can live with him on the Board, at least for now, but putting him back in there with the female talent? I don’t see them wanting any part of that now or in the future if either of them bought the company. He put the scarlet letter around his own neck.
Is he the right one to do it?
Therein lies the problem. This is the same guy who cost his company money because DirecTV wouldn’t give him the deal he wanted on PPVs, so he pulled them off of the platform. Since his primary suitors are his current TV partners, it would be a tricky position to maneuver in. On the one hand, you want to get the most money that you can. On the other hand, those companies are the reasons you are able to ask for all of the money in the first place and without them, you take a huge hit. If negotiations get ugly and, say, FOX walks away from doing another deal on Smackdown, Vince has significantly hurt the company. I would not want him as the point man if my future depended on it.
How do Nick Khan, Stephanie McMahon and Paul Levesque feel?
I can’t say. I know if I were them, I wouldn’t be happy that he forced his way back onto the Board. He is basically saying to Steph and Khan that he doesn’t trust them to handle the sale, so he needs to do it. If he had faith in them, he could sit back and let them work their magic while he watched from home. Vince has the final say on whether he will sell his stock so he doesn’t need to do the deal himself. I think all three of them have to feel like they have been kicked in the gut. Will they be the three that have to give up their Board seats? Much like everything else with this story, stay tuned, it’s only just begun....
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