Tony Khan Reveals Why He Attempted to Buy WWE in 2023

The wrestling world would look significantly different right now if Tony Khan were running WWE, something that could have happened in 2023.

After Vince McMahon's sudden departure from WWE in the summer of 2022 following allegations of sexual and professional misconduct, rumors of a potential sale began to surface. McMahon, who still controlled voting interest in the company, moved to pursue an acquisition, opening a bidding process for WWE.

While an ongoing shareholder lawsuit alleges that McMahon had pre-selected Endeavor to purchase the promotion in order to receive a guaranteed role, it revealed more information than many realized on the surface. Reports indicated that a company called Base 10 placed a bid worth nearly $7 billion on WWE, with AEW founder Tony Khan having an ownership stake in the entity.

Speaking with Jonathan Coachman and Vince Russo on The Coach & Bro, Khan confirmed he did put in a bid on WWE, explaining his reasoning.

"I was very interested in the process. And I think that if there was going to be a sale, I would at least want a chance to be involved. And if it had gone for any less than that, I would have really kicked myself," Khan said.

Endeavor won the bid for WWE

Vince McMahon sold WWE to Endeavor in 2023. | IMAGO / PicturePerfect

While the $6.9 billion bid from Base 10 was a competitive offer, Endeavor, which also owned UFC alone at the time, came in above market value with a $9.3 billion offer that would ultimately win out. The plans for the acquisition were announced during WrestleMania 39 weekend in 2023.

Though the shareholder lawsuit alleged that there may have been pre-arranged elements to the deal, Khan noted that he doesn't have any regrets about throwing his name into the hat and trying to acquire WWE.

"While respecting the confidentiality of that, I would say I don't have any complaints about that process from my side right now that I want to talk about right now," he said.

"I do think there was some stuff to that, and while respecting the confidentiality of the whole thing, I also would say that at the time, that seemed like to me, just reiterating, if it had gone for any less, I would have really beat myself up. Like, why wouldn't you put in a bid? I thought that was a very reasonable number that I put in."

Endeavor would go on to merge UFC and WWE under one umbrella, spinning them off under the TKO brand. McMahon would resign for good from the company in January of 2024 after details from Janel Grant's lawsuit emerged.