Could Vince McMahon be gearing up for another run in the pro wrestling business? And if so, could FOX be on board?
This was the conversation piece during a recent episode of the 83 Weeks podcast with Eric Bischoff and Conrad Thompson.
According to Thompson, he has been hearing rumors about McMahon possibly rehiring former WWE executives and speaking with seasoned wrestling cameramen.
Bischoff echoed similar reports, leading to both debating the chances of FOX rekindling its interest in wrestling, considering its past decision to part ways with WWE’s SmackDown, with Bischoff even speculating on the possibility of FOX becoming a partner in the project.
Conrad Thompson: “You know, you mentioned earlier, there’s been lots of speculation, lots of rumor and innuendo about Vince McMahon starting a company. Should I say the quiet part out loud? There’s been lots of whispers. You’ve heard the same things that I have. I don’t know what’s real and what’s not, but allegedly, Vince McMahon’s people have made contact with people who have experienced shooting wrestling, maybe cameramen. And allegedly. I don’t know if this is real or not, but the rumor mill, the whispers, say perhaps FOX is holding a spot. Wow. And I think to myself, self, that doesn’t sound real. That sounds like bullsh*t, as my dad would say, I find myself watching the Super Bowl on Sunday, and my phone starts blowing up. ‘Vince McMahon is at the Super Bowl.’ And I’ll say to myself, ‘Self when is the last time I remember seeing Vince McMahon in a football game for a league he didn’t own?’ I don’t remember ever seeing or hearing that. And wait a minute, was the Super Bowl on FIX? Because I think it was. Now I’m not saying anything, but I am saying we’ve heard rumors that Vince has a studio and that he’s hired a bunch of former WWE executives, and then we’re hearing rumors that he’s had conversations with cameramen who have experience shooting wrestling, which seems awfully specific, and if he’s just shooting traditional entertainment, why do you need a wrestling cameraman? And we’re hearing, well, maybe he’s got a spot with FOX. And that sounds like bullsh*t. They just got out of the WWE business. And besides, doesn’t FOX own to be which is going to air EVOLVE? That’s a WWE product. It can’t be, wait a minute. Are you saying, Vince, was that a FOX ran Super Bowl? Hmm, I don’t know. Eric, what say you is there smoke to this fire? Or are people trying to will all of this in and try to put on their tin foil hats? Where do you land on all of this? Eric?”
Eric Bischoff: “I’ve heard some different things, and maybe I’ve even remembered to share with you another big, or I remember to share it, but yeah, little bits and pieces, comments here or there, that kind of make you go, hmm. But part of that is because I want to go, Hmm, what if? Because, hey, it’s fun, but I just don’t see it. There’s too many there’s too many things that make sense in this rumor. Makes sense. You’ve connected some dots that are definitely dots and worthy of connectivity. But it’s not the complete picture because there’s a couple of other things that would have to happen that I just can’t imagine happening.”
Thompson: “I can’t either. I can’t imagine that it’s real, but we just keep hearing these whispers in the background. And ‘Hey, did you hear?’ and it’s like, if I’m Vince McMahon, this would be the last thing I would be interested in.”
Bischoff: “You’re not Vince McMahon, and neither am I, which is one of the reasons why I think it’s a possibility. It’s one of those dots. Remember when I say there’s dots here, he’s gonna take a lot of dots. Got to connect them all. Well, the first big dot, like the starting….is Vince McMahon. Would he really want to do this? F**k yeah. Doesn’t mean. He can pull it off, or he or he would allow himself to try, necessarily make the decision to try, but in terms of what he would want to do because he’s not going to, he could have a really cool yacht. He could be. He could have his own little island down in Bimini, or wherever else he wanted an island. He could live an amazing life and never have to experience one moment of stress again. And he ain’t gonna do that. You might do that. I would definitely do that. He’s not gonna do that. I don’t care if he’s 98. If he’s still drawing breath, he is going to be driven to conquer something. Here’s the missing link for me, Conrad, to be just really blunt about it, do I really believe there’s a scenario or FOX Network would lay down that big of a bet on another wrestling company? I just can’t wrap my head around that part.”
Thompson: “I can’t either, you know, if it didn’t work with WWE, why would make me think it would work with a startup like Now, granted, they were looking for a return on investment, and maybe he’s going to be much more affordable now.”
Bischoff: “Now, this is another dot I could connect. What if FOX is a partner and not a distribution partner? What if they’re building their own version, and they’re gonna own it? They’re gonna own it, and they’re going to have it internet…..I’m not there yet, because that’s a giant freaking leap, but I’m not gonna totally discount it either.”
Thompson: “That’s what’s fun about wrestling. You know, what’s possible, that is right now probably the biggest what if. And although most of us would say, ‘What are the odds that’s going to happen?’ I’ve got a two screen experience going on right now. And Linda McMahon is in her confirmation hearing for the Secretary of Education right now, and she’s gonna get and never did I imagine that would be happening right now, either we’re in some sort of an alternate timeline simulation right now. Anyway, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed that. I mean, listen, I for one, hopeful there might be another major professional wrestling spin-off, or, I mean, startup, that would be f**king awesome.”
UPDATE:
Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported today, as did F4WOnline.com, that rumors of FOX being a partner in the Vince McMahon project are untrue.
“There is a report that Vince McMahon might start a wrestling company with Fox as a partner. If McMahon is planning that or not, I don’t know, but the Fox part is not true, according to a network spokesman,” Marchand wrote.
(H/T to WrestlingNews.co for transcribing the above quotes.)
