Fox and Comcast now know who will be calling the shots on Raw and Smackdown.
WWE (WWE) – Get World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. Class A Report sort of shocked the world July 22 when long-time Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon quickly retired. It seems very likely that the company’s majority shareholder and unequivocal leader since he bought the company from his father in 1982 did not step aside willingly.
McMahon likely abruptly retired due to the investigation into his $12 million in payments to multiple women whom he allegedly had inappropriate relationships with. A resignation does not stop that investigation, but it does somewhat insulate the company from its fallout.
Nothing that comes up in the investigation could actually force McMahon to leave. But advertisers and business partners including Fox Corporation (FOX) – Get Fox Corporation Report and Comcast (CMCSA) – Get Comcast Corporation Class A Common Stock Report which broadcast the company’s key “Smackdown” and “Raw” shows, while Comcast also showcases its special events and video archive could have brought pressure.
It likely never got to that point. McMahon was not going to do damage to the company he built from nothing, so he “retired” to protect his creation. Whether that retirement sticks or McMahon quietly remains a powerful player due to his ownership stake remains to be seen, but the company has installed Vince’s daughter Stephanie McMahon as Chairman and Co-Ceo with Nick Kahn, the former agency head who leads the company’s business efforts.
Those appointments seem like the big news from the company and that’s how WWE headlined the press release. “WWE & Board of Directors Announce New Co-CEOs Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan,” was the topline, but the real news was a single sentence toward the bottom of the press release.
Horacio Villalobos – Corbis/Getty
WWE Has a New Creative Head
McMahon was chairman of the board of directors and CEO of WWE, but his core role was running the company’s creative. He made the decisions as to which performers got screen time, who got a “push,” (meaning which talent got focused on), and what direction the company’s storylines took.
WWE had lots of writers and producers making suggestions, but in the end, Vince McMahon made the call. Even when he had stepped aside as CEO and chairman on a seemingly interim basis, Vince retained his position as head of creative. Now, he has resigned from that as well and that job will be assumed not by Vince’s right-hand Bruce Prichard, who ran the show Friday at “Smackdown in” his former boss’s absence, but by another member of the McMahon family.
“Additionally, WWE executive Paul Levesque will assume all responsibilities related to WWE’s creative, in addition to his regular duties,” the company shared.
Married to Stephanie McMahon, Levesque, known by his stage name “Triple H” had previously led the company’s developmental brand NXT. During his time leading NXT, Levesque hired wrestlers from the independent scene who did not fit the traditional WWE mold. He led that brand during the so-called “Wednesday Night War,” when the show aired head-to-head with All Elite Wrestling’s (AEW) Dynamite
WWE lost that war — AEW simply had too much star power — but Levesque was widely praised for the brand’s shows during that time period.
Why Comcast and Fox Should Pay Attention
Levesque clearly has views on wrestling that are not always in line with his father-in-law. That might help WWE modernize its core programming and freshen up its product. The company has delivered steady ratings on Fox and Comcast’s USA, but the numbers have shrunk in recent years, perhaps partially because Vince McMahon has a very narrow view of which performers can be headliners.
With Levesque heading creative, it seems likely that the company will be more open to shaking up its formula at least a little. That could lead to some new performers/wrestlers getting more of a chance to become stars. It could also lead to more established free agents being interested in WWE.
Many AEW and independent stars had become leery of signing WWE deals with Vince McMahon as the creative boss because he has historically not been all that open to featuring acts he did not create. (That changed a little with the recent return of AEW founder Cody Rhodes to WWE, but you could argue that as an exception and not the rule).
Levesque won’t turn WWE into a high-priced independent promotion, but he likely will slowly work performers into the top-of-the-card mix. That could cause ratings to inch up as the company starts to move closer to renewing its key television deals. A new creative boss, one who’s perhaps easier to work with than the old boss, might be seen as a positive by Fox and Comcast and could even bring another bidder into the mix.
WWE makes its profits from its TV rights deals. This move may seem like a big change, but it’s actually one that assures its TV partners while also exciting its fanbase.
