Fox Originally Wanted WWE Raw Instead Of SmackDown

Fox signed a huge rights deal with WWE that saw SmackDown move back to network television in October of 2019. The deal was huge for WWE, creating massive amounts of revenue. It also led to a big deal from NBC Universal to keep the rights to Monday Night Raw.

The network originally didn’t want the show they wound up with. At the time, SmackDown was considered by many to be the “B show” for WWE. Fox wanted to become the exclusive home of Raw.

Dave Meltzer discussed the situation on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio. Fox wanted to ink a deal to broadcast Raw. USA had the first right of refusal to match any offer Fox made. When they made an offer for SmackDown, USA matched it. The rest is history.

“It was a unique situation because it was multiple bidders. The deal was Fox wanted Raw, not SmackDown. USA had the right to match any offer, and so they matched the offer that Fox bid for Raw. Fox, at that point, wanted SmackDown.

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And at that point, USA had spent so much money on Raw, it was just kind of like, ‘We’re not going to match you for SmackDown,’ but that’s how the numbers went way up.”

The big money offered by Fox was too much for USA to match. Ultimately, the blue brand wound up on Fox. Things could look a little different if USA hadn’t matched that initial bid. It only meant good things for WWE’s books, though.

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Transcription by Ringside News