By Allison Weiner
Welcome to my 2nd series of blogs called What If? (Pro Wrestling Edition). In this series, I give a predicament that could or could have potentially happened in the pro wrestling universe. The 1st what if is….. What if Disney buys WWE?
For those who don’t know, the devil known as Vince McMahon returned to WWE at the beginning of this year with one purpose only. Selling the company that his family has owned for decades. You can listen to the Face Turn podcast to hear everything going on with the company being sold. I want to get to a point where it’s the middle of 2023 and WWE has officially been sold. The board of directors has formally posted something close to these words…. “As of this day, this month in 2023, the World Wrestling Entertainment has new ownership. Disney has officially bought WWE.” Out of all the companies interested in buying WWE, Disney was a shocker to me when I heard that they were interested in buying WWE. But after seeing them acclaim WWE, now comes to question, what does mean for WWE. Will their PPVs go onto Disney+ or another streaming service? Where will they stream Raw, Smackdown, and NXT? Will they be going back to a PG era? Will Disney build a new wrestling center at Disney Springs in their parks?
First off, if this happens, we know Disney will be as strong as the Monopoly game, and people will post all over social media that WWE will be run by a mouse. Now to answer the questions previously mentioned. I don’t see Disney+ running WWE PPVs as it wouldn’t be as strong for their brand. However, if it does happen, I’m sure more people will cancel other subscriptions such as Peacock. But most likely Disney will run WWE PPVs on either Hulu or ESPN+. With Hulu also being owned by Comcast, I can see Disney negotiating a deal with them to air Raw, Smackdown, and NXT on their NBC Universal stations. I don’t see any of these shows on Disney-affiliated stations such as ABC and ESPN due to certain popular shows and sports events that will air during the days of these live shows. I do have a weird feeling that Disney will make WWE go back to PG for their younger viewers, but you know some swear words will come out here and there. Finally, I don’t see WWE taping NXT in a built arena in Disney Springs, but you would expect an official WWE merchandise store at Disney Springs in Florida and California.
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