On April 3, WWE announced that they had entered a transaction agreement with Endeavor to sell the company. WWE and UFC will merge by the end of the year to form a new publicly traded company, though they will run separate operations.
Steve Austin was at the top of the business during arguably the height of WWE popularity as part of the Attitude Era. Coming out of the Attitude Era, Vince McMahon took WWE public.
Speaking to Jimmy Traina on the SI Media podcast, Austin was asked for his thoughts on the sale.
"I wasn’t shocked at all. It had been in the grapevine, and then it happened, and it kind of made sense. UFC did it. Why not WWE? Triple H went out there and cut that promo saying they are not going anywhere, meaning the people that are running WWE. I think it needs to come from a wrestling-minded family, all those key players. It’s a tricky business, not anybody with a television background can walk into the pro wrestling industry and can produce results. You keep the people running it that do because they know their fanbase better than anybody. I remember when Vince took the company public. I asked him, ‘Vince, why do you want to do this?’ He said, ‘Steve, to legitimize the business.’ I’m an old school wrestler. I don’t have that business brain that Vince has. I thought, ‘Dude, just hang onto it yourself.’ He’s done what he’s done. He’s the greatest wrestling promoter that has ever lived. It’s a business opportunity, and the machine rolls on," said Austin.
McMahon returned to the WWE board in January after retiring in July 2022 amid sexual misconduct and hush money allegations. Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel stated that he wanted Vince to remain on board following the sale.
Elsewhere during the interview, Austin discussed the possibility of joining WWE in a more full-time capacity. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
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