Report: How Long Vince McMahon Has Been In Talks With Saudi Arabia PIF Revealed

While nothing has been confirmed by the organisation, reports overnight noted that an agreement in principle has been reached with the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, known as PIF, for the sale of WWE. Several reports have since emerged which state an agreement in principle has not been reached, however.

The uncertainty comes after Vince McMahon's return to WWE in recent days. He first elected himself, Michelle Wilson, and George Barrios to the Board of Directors on January 5 and it was announced on January 10 that McMahon had been unanimously elected by directors as the Executive Chairman of the Board at the same time Stephanie McMahon resigned from WWE. 

Upon Vince's return on January 5, it was noted the 77-year-old had come back to pursue a WWE sale. The new Executive Chairman of the Board has seemingly been in talks about a sale for some time as Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that McMahon has been speaking to PIF since he resigned as WWE CEO and Chairman in July 2022.

"The one thing we do know about this story is that ever since he was ousted, he did open up talks with the Saudis. So this didn't come in the last week and his coming back was obviously to close a deal that perhaps the people who are running the company for all the reasons we're talking about probably felt very uneasy about the deal closing because they're perhaps looking out for the long-term [future] of the company and their own asses too as well. That's another layer," Meltzer said.

Vince McMahon resigned as WWE CEO and Chairman due to a sexual misconduct and hush money scandal. He allegedly paid millions of dollars to women to "suppress allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity" between 2006 and 2022. 

H/T to WrestlingNews.co