Conflicting Reports on Saudi Arabia Purchasing WWE

By Liam Crowley

Time stands still in the world of professional wrestling. Following Vince McMahon's return to the WWE Board of Directors late last week, WWE Chairwoman and co-CEO Stephanie McMahon officially resigned from her corporate positions on Tuesday. This left all CEO responsibilities in the hands of Nick Khan while Vince was once again elected to chairman of the board. These behind-the-scenes shifts come alongside Vince's motive to sell WWE to a parent company, with industry giants like Amazon and Comcast emerging as possible frontrunners to purchase the global leader in sports-entertainment.

Things took a turn hours after Stephanie's resignation, as reports circulated that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund was in active talks to buy WWE outright. Beyond that, reports claimed that a deal with Saudi Arabia had been "agreed to in principle" but awaited approval due to pending "legalities."

Conflicting reports came to the surface this morning. Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics reported that he spoke with someone at WWE "who would know" and they communicated to him that WWE and Saudi Arabia being "near a deal to take the company private is untrue." Ariel Helwani also reported that "there is no deal in place" for WWE to sell to Saudi Arabia and that the company is "still exploring all options."

The verbiage used in both reports does not rule out that Saudi Arabia could be a potential buyer. There is every possibility that WWE and Saudi Arabia remain in active talks but simply have not laid out terms to a sale. That said, Helwani's report of WWE "still exploring all options" indicates that more potential suitors remain out there.

It was reported earlier today by Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful that "multiple wrestlers" would exit WWE if the company is sold to Saudi Arabia. WWE and Saudi Arabia have had a working relationship since 2018, as the company produces two live events in the country per year, but those shows have been marred with controversy. Women were once banned from competing, and while they are able to wrestle on Saudi Arabian events now, they must do so in full body suits rather than their traditional ring gear. Beyond that, stars like Sami Zayn and MVP remain banned from entering the country due to their Syrian heritage and status as a former Muslim turned atheist, respectively.

Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for updates on WWE's possible sale.

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