What Would Happen If Vince McMahon ACTUALLY Sold WWE?

Waiting for the final slide to address the in-ring impact of all of this was no accident. It's precisely where it would land on a takeover agenda between the two sides.

Vince McMahon clearly doesn't live or die by the bell-to-bell, but it's a fallacy that he doesn't - or at least didn't - care at all about the action. WWE may be more about business than it's ever been, but as made abundantly clear during that f*cking weird Triple H celebration on SmackDown, it's still the family business and the business is still Sports Entertainment. And that's still wrestling, pal.

Disney might not see it that way, and on evidence may not give a sh*t if fans disagree. WWE is massive. The size and scale reduces AEW's presence far more than NXT being positioned against it on television, but all of that's only within our bubble. The company remains most people's shorthand for all wrestling, but Disney is that for animation, film, television, and even a major American state. When the rich kids at school got back from their Florida holidays, did you ask them about the alligators or eating themselves half to death on International Drive, or about Disney?

Wrestling and wrestlers would become tertiary concerns as "WWE Superstars, by Disney", but what they actually do may never matter less. More profile and exposure for less bumps is possible, but becoming even more like cast members in a barely-passable play is probable.

McMahon fought tooth and nail to remove wrestling from the conversation when he coined "Sports Entertainment". The Mouse may want shot of the "Sports" too.