WWE Reportedly Recently Held High Level Meetings with FOX

WWE reportedly recently held several high level meetings with FOX, according to Fightful Select.

It was reported that one meeting was held the night before SummerSlam between Vince McMahon, WWE President Nick Khan, FOX Sports CEO Eric Shanks, and FS Head of Production Brad Zager. This meeting reportedly was around four hours in length and was said to have been productive based on their sources within WWE. One topic discussed included WWE nixing plans to hold an episode of RAW at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in order to appease FOX and hold the December 10th episode of SmackDown instead at the venue for their first show back in the city with fans in attendance.

It was also reported that one source spoken to from FOX stated that while SmackDown’s viewership numbers have been disappointing compared to their expectations, it has also been something that has been difficult to truly gauge due to the coronavirus pandemic being in effect for most of SmackDown’s time on the network. Sources spoken to from both WWE and Fox stated that despite the lower than expected ratings, SmackDown is still the most watched wrestling television show in the world.

In regards to FOX’s issues with WWE’s constant promotion of NBC’s rival Peacock streaming service, one source spoken to stated that it has not become a serious issue. One WWE source spoken to stated that if FOX had wanted pay-per-view content, they could have paid the price NBC eventually did for Peacock.

In regards to FOX’s owner Rupert Murdoch, one FOX source spoken to stated that the current feeling is that Murdoch will likely be portrayed in a negative light in the upcoming Vince McMahon-based television series, titled The United States vs. Vince McMahon. This source described this as a “childish move” that will not help WWE’s relationship with FOX. Murdoch reportedly was the key person who held a meeting in May of 2018 with Stephanie McMahon, Paul “Triple H” Levesque, and other high level WWE officials to lure WWE programming away from US Network. This same source also stated that while this might be an issue later, both McMahon and Murdoch held a talk in recent months that did not involve this topic being brought up. The same source also stated that the relationship between both families has been “one of great respect.”

In regards to WWE recently bringing back John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and Becky Lynch for SmackDown, FOX officials reportedly felt that was an effort by the company to go above and beyond in stacking the star power for shows since the return of fans.