Here's Why People Keep Comparing WWE's Recent News to "Succession"
WWE has been frequently compared to the hit HBO satirical comedy-drama Succession in recent months, and the comparison goes a bit deeper than you might think. It makes sense on the surface — Vince McMahon is the patriarch of a family that owns a massive corporation and, just like Brian Cox's Logan Roy, isn't inclined to step down from his leadership position. But some of the recent news regarding WWE has, rather alarmingly, lined up with a particular plot line from the show's second season.
A major Season 2 plot point centers on a sexual assault and murder cover-up involving Waystar Royco's (the Roy's corporation) cruise ship line. Logan's youngest son Roman (Kieran Culkin) attempts to make Waystar Royco become a private company by trying to cut a deal with Eduard Asgarov (Babak Tafti), whose family in Azerbaijan is incredibly wealthy thanks to their ties to both the nation's government and oil industry. The plan falls through, partially due to their negotiation breaking down into a hostage situation when terrorists break into the hotel suite where Roman and Eduard are located.
The WWE/Succession Comparisons
Back in the real world, WWE is dealing with its own scandal. Vince McMahon initially stepped down from all his positions within WWE last July while its Board of Directors launched an investigation into the alleged hush money payments McMahon had made as part of non-disclosure agreements (reportedly nearing $20 million) in order to cover up various sexual misconduct allegations. This also caught the attention of both the Securities & Exchange Commission as well as federal prosecutors. However, McMahon then approached the Board in late 2022 with demands of being reinstated as executive chairman in order to lead the upcoming media rights negotiations and a potential sale of the company. The Board initially declined, prompting McMahon to set an ultimatum that if his demands were not met he'd vote down any potential sale or future media rights deal. He has the power to do so via his shares of Class B stock and the lack of a future media rights deal would deal a major financial blow to the company.
Since the news of sale negotiations and the company's hiring of JPMorgan, financial experts have identified companies like Endeavor (the parent company of the UFC), Comcast, Amazon and Netflix as potential buyers. Another potential bidder is Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which would turn the company that has been public since 1999 back into a private organization and, theoretically, ensures McMahon remains in power. Reports of that sale being initially agreed upon broke on Tuesday night but have since been repeatedly debunked.
However, the initial report drew immediate comparisons to the Waystar Royco/Azerbaijan subplot. It's not a perfect one-to-one comparison and the more recent reports indicate companies like Endeavor and Comcast are still in the running, but WWE is likely going to keep getting linked to this show for the foreseeable future.
WWE has yet to announce that any sort of sale has been agreed to and likely won't for several months. But stay tuned for more updates on the situation as they become available.
