WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon is gracing the latest cover of Variety, complete with a WWE title on his shoulder.
With a headline of “King of the Ring – Vince McMahon brings the WWE to broadcast’s Big Stage,” the magazine takes an in-depth look at the $1 billion broadcast deal with FOX, WWE’s international operations, WWE’s success, and more.
The exclusive cover story, written by Variety Business Editor Cynthia Littleton and TV reporter Joe Otterson, is entitled “Ready to rumble: With a billion-dollar deal in its pocket, Vince McMahon’s WWE has become a Wall Street darling, despite past baggage and future rivals.”
A few interesting highlights of the story, McMahon likened WWE’s longevity to the military. “At the end of the day I’ve got these ribbons and all these medals, and I wake up the next morning, and every one of them is gone. You have to earn everybody’s respect every day, all over again, and I don’t take it for granted.”
When asked if he would be willing to sell WWE, he simply said that they’re open for business, but did not elaborate on it. It’s a statement that WWE Co-President George Barrios also said during a conference call with investors last year.
Talking about the company’s $1 billion deal with FOX, Vince commented, “WWE talent will be appearing on [Fox] programming. It’s going to be a totally integrated approach. We’ve never had a platform like this in terms of promotion. Fox is going to go all-in, and they’re great promoters.”
You can read the full article at Variety.com.
