WWE: Update on Vince McMahon Selling More TKO Stock, WWE Originally Held Talks with Netflix for NXT, John Cena Teases WrestleMania 40 Appearance

TKO’s Marc Shapiro Comments on TKO Not Being Involved with Vince McMahon’s Recent TKO Stock Sale

As noted before, former TKO Executive Chairman Vince McMahon recently sold around 5.35 million shares of his Class A TKO stock, which is around 25% of the total amount of TKO shares he owned at the time.

A recent Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, & Telecom Conference event featured TKO Group President Marc Shapiro as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Shapiro revealing that TKO did not have any involvement with McMahon’s recent stock sale and McMahon will not be returning back to the company.

“We did not participate in the recent sale on Vince McMahon’s load that he dropped off. This is now his second time. He’s gone from 28 million shares to 15 million shares. He now roughly has 8.5%. We’re not in conversation with him. We don’t talk to him, we don’t know his motive, his plan, his timeline, what if any, he doesn’t consult with us. He doesn’t work for the company. He doesn’t work at the company. He doesn’t come into the offices. He’s not coming back to the company.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

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WWE Originally Held Talks with Netflix for NXT Prior to RAW Deal

A recent Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, & Telecom Conference event also featured TKO Group President Marc Shapiro’s thoughts about WWE’s new media rights deal with Netflix for their RAW brand and revealed that their original talks with Netflix was for their NXT brand.

“When we met with Netflix, Apple, and other streaming platforms, the conversation always started with, ‘When are the PLEs up?’ When we met on Raw, always started with that. ‘We’re not here to talk about the PLEs.’ We are in the sense that it’s part of the narrative. When you watch Raw and SmackDown, things weave in and out of the PLEs. It’s an important part of the narrative concept. ‘Why wouldn’t Netflix be there?’ Let’s just get out of the gate with Raw strong. We have time. Let’s see how that partnership goes and that marketing delivers and the viewership shows up and we’re monetizing it from a sponsorship, consumer product, site fee standpoint, and then we’ll talk about where it goes, if it doesn’t go back to Peacock. We’re patient and that has bode well for us. We had a lot of pressure when we announced the SmackDown deal. Market was freaking out. “Raw, NXT, why didn’t they announce it? They don’t have anybody. There is no demand.’ There was pressure, but we said we were going to be patient and it was going to work in our favor. It over-delivered on our expectations. Never did I think Netflix was coming in. Not in my wildest dreams. When we first started talking to Netflix, it was frankly about NXT. It wasn’t even about Raw. That just turned into a bigger conversation. Then the Raw conversation became a global conversation.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

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John Cena Teases WrestleMania 40 Appearance

As noted before, WWE currently has plans for John Cena to make a potential appearance at next month’s WrestleMania 40 event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania depending on him having free time with his current acting schedule.

A recent episode of ESPN’s First Take show featured Cena as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Cena teasing that he might be making an appearance at next month’s WrestleMania 40 event.

“So it depends, it depends. If we’re talking WrestleMania 40, crossing my fingers, I hope the jorts are there. If we’re talking First Take, I will do my best to put on a waistcoat for you.”

Ryan Clark asks John Cena if he prefers jorts or suits, but first notes: "Today I'm sitting in Stephen A.'s seat and this the best dressed this seat is going to be for the entire year."

😳 pic.twitter.com/1doJGRoZMf

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 6, 2024

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com