‘Very Depressing’ Mood In WWE Regarding Saudi Arabia Sale Rumors

WWE

For a brief period, it looked like a deal had been done between WWE and the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund.

Whilst there have been reports that the Saudi Arabia PIF could be interested in the sale, made more likely with news that JP Morgan, who has been hired to assist with the sale, have “two operating licenses in Saudi Arabia”, other names have been thrown into the mix too, including Shad and Tony Khan, the owners of, among other things, AEW.

News of the Saudi sale rumors spread fast, however, and ended up landing in the WWE locker room.

Dave Meltzer reported of the reaction in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscription required), stating:

“The rumors were all over wrestling, and led to a ton of concern among WWE talent hearing them.

“This included those working the live television taping for NXT where the mood was said to be very depressing as word got around during the actual filming of the show with the belief by many the story was true.”

Whilst the “done deal” nature of the sale to Saudi Arabia has been dismissed, Meltzer did recently reveal that Saudi Arabia is “still in the hunt” along with other names.

The story of WWE being sold to Saudi Arabia exploded a couple of days ago, but the general current sentiment is there’s nothing official yet, but it could very well be a ‘where there’s smoke, there’s fire’ situation in the sense that the Saudis are at least one of the major options.

Steven Muehlhausen of DAZN initially tweeted on January 10:

Sources: #WWE has been sold to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

The company will go back to being private.

Unknown if Vince McMahon will return to head of creative but it is expected by some people.

However, a short time later, Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam reported the following, which Muehlhausen said he’d also heard:

The deal isn’t completely finalized because WWE must provide notice to shareholders & other parties.

There are legalities to go through, as the company is publicly traded.

But, again, I’m told a deal has been agreed to in principle.

On January 11, multiple outlets, including TMZ and Ariel Helwani, reported that a deal was not finalized.

On January 6, using his power as majority owner, Vince McMahon put himself and former WWE presidents George Barrios and Michelle Wilson back on the company’s Board of Directors, disposing of JoEllen Lyons Dillon, Jeffrey R Speed, and Alan M Wexler in the process.

McMahon had stated that his intention was to facilitate a sale of the company.

He changed bylaws to ensure that no sale or media rights deal could be completed without his approval.

Upon McMahon’s return, two further Board members resigned of their own volition, those being Man Jit Singh – who was the one heading up the Board’s investigation into McMahon – and Ignace Lahoud.

Stephanie McMahon then resigned from her role as co-CEO and Chairwoman and her position on the Board on January 10, as Vince McMahon was elected Executive Chairman.

There has been much speculation that Vince McMahon was looking to sell to a party that would commit to keeping him in charge of the company despite the multiple sexual assault allegations that have surfaced in the past year that led to his initial ‘retirement’ in July.

It’s important to make clear that there has not been an official announcement regarding a sale to Saudi Arabia yet, so we’ll obviously keep you updated so keep an eye on the homepage and Twitter for anything else that breaks.

We will provide more updates on the situation as they become available.

You can keep up with all the latest news and updates on a potential WWE sale by clicking here.

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• Saudia Arabia
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