The Disturbing Truth Behind Saudi Arabia Buying WWE
That's how much money they have to play with. And then, when everything simmers - if it even boils over, which will be difficult now that 2018 has already happened - those sponsors will return, or different ones will take their place. Another key, bleak factor here is the near-total reliance upon which the USA network has on WWE. That station is in a critical place without WWE programming. Morals, or survival?
In this world, what do you think matters most?
WWE, surely, has at least one massive offer on the table when negotiating its next TV rights fee, which, 24 hours ago, was the very lifeblood of the organisation. That is no longer the case.
The only time sponsors were driven to give a sh*t about WWE in its image clean-up, post-PG era is when the Fabulous Moolah's name was attached to WrestleMania. Any suggestion that outcry actually matters is nonsensical. Really, the story that Vince McMahon actually relinquished control in the first place is even bigger and more shocking now than it was at the time. Sadly - and it's really f*cking depressing, in fact - he didn't have to resign in disgrace. He is reported to have said himself, by sources close to the Wall Street Journal, that it all would have blown over.
To be less cynical about the whole thing, there are legitimate concerns over the future of Sami Zayn. He probably is never going to be Undisputed WWE Universal champion with the new ownership in place. He might even leave outright when his contract is due. The same could be true of Kevin Owens, who had the balls and the scruples not to bother with the blood money. John Cena feared for his PR image, but with Bryan Danielson now in AEW, the list of objectors is extremely short. The idea of a mass exodus is, again, nonsensical. Certain AEW wrestlers might stop teasing their exits. Then again, that's not how to leverage a better offer, so probably not. Zayn is not going to be banished from WWE SmackDown. That's not how any of this works. The idea is to show the Saudi Arabia regime in the most flattering light imaginable to prevent this exact sort of PR disaster. They are trying to babyface themselves here. That is the goal. You don't babyface yourself by burying the most popular act on the show. If Sami speaks up, that's another matter entirely, but if he doesn't, nothing will change that hasn't been in place since 2018.
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