Vince back on board, WWE sale coming soon / WWE funeral thread

[Deezy]

And Eric like me was not able to buy WCW

He had a group of investors called Fusient Media that were going to pay more than WWE eventually did.

 

[Deezy]

Bout as likely as WWE Japan

Another Triple H failure.

 

[Alexa]

You think I care who runs want or whose project is what, but I don't, lol. It is all WWE to me

 

[Deezy]

You think I care who runs want or whose project is what, but I don't, lol. It is all WWE to me

LOL so NXT getting hot was just WWE doing it. Gotcha.

 

[Smart Marx]

It should also be noted that Fusient Media Ventures were also going to be the majority shareholders of WCW. Eric couldn’t afford his own capital so he needed to go on with investors, but they weren’t going to just give Eric sole ownership. Brian Bedol was even going to be the new CEO. It’s honestly pretty similar to the deal the Elite worked out with Tony when AEW was formed.

 

[#Waddles]

Quite a bit of financial advisors in this thread.

 

[Leon TrotSky]

He had a group of investors called Fusient Media that were going to pay more than WWE eventually did.

But they weren't going to pay for it because it was contingent on some sort of TV deal and Kellner canned Nitro

 

[Alexa]

LOL so NXT getting hot was just WWE doing it. Gotcha.

Yes, because I am simple like that and don't complicate stuff. Shocking concept I know.

 

[Smart Marx]

But they weren't going to pay for it because it was contingent on some sort of TV deal and Kellner canned Nitro

Yes, it was essentially worthless to them without a tv deal. Eric probably would have tried shopping it around, but Brian Bedol wasn’t interested. TBS was supposed to be a minority shareholder and keep the programming. It was part of the whole deal. When they cancelled WCW, they probably also pulled out of retaining minority shares and that also would have killed the deal dead. One of many stupid choices AOL made that year that eventually cost them billions. Worst merger in history.

 

[Deezy]

Yes, it was essentially worthless to them without a tv deal. Eric probably would have tried shopping it around, but Brian Bedol wasn’t interested. TBS was supposed to be a minority shareholder and keep the programming. It was part of the whole deal. When they cancelled WCW, they probably also pulled out of retaining minority shares and that also would have killed the deal dead. One of many stupid choices AOL made that year that eventually cost them billions. Worst merger in history.

Should've shopped it around....because according to Tommy Dreamer ECW was going to get $200 mil from USA but Paul cost him all that money because he declared bankruptcy

Also Jamie Kellner killed the WB animation division.....he killed as much childhoods as the Catholic church.

 

[Smart Marx]

Should've shopped it around....because according to Tommy Dreamer ECW was going to get $200 mil from USA but Paul cost him all that money because he declared bankruptcy

Also Jamie Kellner killed the WB animation division.....he killed as much childhoods as the Catholic church.

Yeah, if Eric had the choice to I definitely would’ve foreseen him still taking the deal and then trying to shop it around because wrestling was still red hot in 2001 and if USA was going to pay ECW they definitely would’ve taken WCW because contrary to what a lot of people believe Nitro even in the 2.5 range were still one of the highest cable programs in the country. It was TNT’s highest rated show, still.

I think Paul was just done at that point. ECW actually had their best live tour fates in its history in 2000, but he had no business sense whatsoever and couldn’t manage to get his pay from the PPV companies. I think when Vince called him he decided it was time. I do think ECW was salvageable under someone who knew what they were doing and put in even a modicum of effort. Impact is still here, even.

Jamie Kellner, though, is probably the biggest idiot in that entire story. I have no idea why they thought he should have been in charge of programming. You guys were an early CD based internet provider. Let the guys who run television, run the television wing.

 

[Chris]

Nick Khan sat down with Bill Simmons for a wide-ranging interview covering everything involving Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, and Triple H in the last week.

On Simmons’ podcast, Khan spoke with Simmons for over an hour regarding the events of the last week. When asked if he thought the last week was insane, Khan didn’t think so, seeing it as someone from the inside. He also said it was his viewpoint that McMahon would always eventually return, despite announcing his retirement in July.

“When you're on the inside, you see things that may be coming," he said. "My thought was that there’s only one boss in the company, and that ain’t me,” referring to Vince McMahon. “I think it was always my point of view, Stephanie’s point of view he would come back. The way he played it to me was smart in that he went away for five, six months which people, meaning the audience, seems to like when somebody does that and he came back and took control back of his company as a company shareholder. So it is the public’s company as a publicly traded company. But with that, the controlling share gave him a lot of authority and he used it, and I applaud him for doing so.”

When asked why McMahon would return when there’s a risk of hurting the company’s image, Khan pointed out a similar situation regarding Ray Rice and the NFL in which people were asking NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to step down.

“Well, no advertiser has fled. Ratings aren’t down. The product seems to continue to build. Why would he resign? Why would he do that?” Khan said in reference to Goodell. “I think it’s just a three-mile radius of LA thing. ‘Hey, step down. And you know, you have to sort of be punished for it.’ It didn’t used to be that way. So I think for somebody like Vince, and [referring to Simmons] you and he are two different people, but you’re both founder CEOs and I think founder CEOs are different from regular CEOs. So to me, WWE is Vince, Vince is WWE, and we’re going to do the best we can to keep building the company”.

Khan noted that during McMahon’s absence, he and Stephanie were given total freedom from McMahon, as has Triple H, and since his return his focus has only been on the potential WWE sale and other Board of Directors business. Right after that, he said that he visited McMahon during his “sitting out,” though it was more for personal and social reasons.

“You know, when he stepped down, anyone who believed that was permanent didn't know him,” Khan said. “That was never going to happen, but I’m appreciative of the fact that he gave it five, six months, let the dust settle a little bit, then came back in the way that he’s come back.”

When Simmons pointed out the perception that McMahon had brought in former co-Presidents Michelle Wilson and George Barrios back to the company to put people he likes on the Board of Directors, Khan said bringing in two people that understand how Vince McMahon is the majority shareholder and will be the one in charge of facilitating a sale was the determining factor.

“[As] the controlling shareholder, Vince is going to run that process. So to have board members who understood that with the controlling shareholder, ‘this is going to be the way it is', and people who would embrace this, I think that was a determining factor.”

Khan pointed out the misperception always was that WWE had a Board of Directors that was puppeteered by Vince McMahon, but that has since proven to be not the case.

When Simmons brought up Stephanie McMahon’s leave of absence prior to Vince McMahon resigning, Khan said he doesn’t get involved in the family side of the family business.

“I don’t get involved in the family business. That is rule number one,” he said.

Later, when asked why Stephanie had decided to leave a second time after Vince McMahon returned, Khan opened the door to the possibility of her returning to the company in the future.

“At this moment in time, I think she felt her work was done for now. Nothing is permanent. Life is long, let’s see.”

Khan said that the rumors regarding a sale to Saudi Arabia last week were “100% fake, 100% made up.”

“So in this process, [Vince McMahon is] there to oversee it, it’s his controlling share. I’m involved in it. Triple H is involved in it. The board’s obviously involved in it with Triple H being on the board, as I have the good fortune of being in as well. And we’re going to see how it plays out. It should not be a lengthy process.”

“If you’re looking at it, connecting the dots, it made absolutely no sense,” Khan added in regard to the rumors. “In terms of what the actual process will be, we’re just starting it.”

When asked if he was worried about more revelations coming out regarding McMahon, Khan said that he was not.

“It feels like wherever happened, happened and it’s out there. And people know I’ve always found him to be a very honest broker with this stuff. So even when the process started last summer, there was nothing that he hid, there was nothing that he covered up. I think he was very honest about it and I appreciated that, and I think a lot of other folks did too.”

Simmons later brought up Rita Chatterton’s name and asked if possible suitors will wait and see how that and other possible situations play out.

“I think everyone’s just plowing ahead. Because in all of these businesses there’s never a clean, clear path. There’s always some encumbrance, something in the way, some hurdle in the way that you have to get around or get through. So I see that like I would any other item like it.”

In regards to Vince McMahon returning to television, Khan said not at the moment, but things could change.

While discussing the prospect of a sale, Khan said there was potential for McMahon to only sell a part of the company, emphasizing the “strategic alternative” phrase that was used constantly during the interview.

“When he’s using the term ‘strategic alternative,' it’s not to be cute. It’s basically, we’re looking at everything.”

Tony Khan’s name was also brought up. When asked when he saw Tony Khan and AEW as a threat, Nick rejected the idea that he felt threatened by Tony.

“I don’t feel threatened by anyone on anything,” Khan said. “It’s just not how I do business. I don’t care what anyone else is doing. I care what we’re doing. And as long as we can have the best product on with the best talent and the best writers, I think we’re going to be in good shape.”

With the recent shakeups, Nick Khan remains as sole CEO of WWE, while Triple H remains Chief Content Officer. Vince McMahon was named Chairman of the Board after Stephanie McMahon resigned from the company on January 10.

WWE CEO Nick Khan on Vince McMahon's return, Stephanie, Tony Khan

Nick Khan spoke to Bill Simmons in a wide-ranging interview covering the last week of WWE shakeups.

www.f4wonline.com

 

[Comrade Khan]

While discussing the prospect of a sale, Khan said there was potential for McMahon to only sell a part of the company, emphasizing the “strategic alternative” phrase that was used constantly during the interview.

this stuck out to me

 

[Sabretooth]

Well I’m glad he debunked the stupid Saudi rumors.

 

[Comrade Khan]

I mean the dude is in full PR mode, him saying it was false doesn't really mean shit to me ngl lol