UPDATE: A Fox Sports spokesperson tells Ryan Glasspeigel of Front Office Sports that they are currently not partnering with Vince McMahon on a wrestling project.
A Fox Sports spokesperson told @FOS the rumors that Vince McMahon is launching a new wrestling show with the network are untrue.
— Ryan Glasspiegel (@sportsrapport) February 25, 2025
The original story can be seen below.
Vince McMahon’s appearance at Super Bowl LIX earlier this month raised more than a few eyebrows.
And according to one prominent wrestling podcast host, there could be more to the story.
On the latest episode of his 83 Weeks with Eric Bischoff podcast, Conrad Thompson floated the rumor that McMahon could be on the verge of launching a new wrestling company. Not only that, but according to Thompson, the former WWE chairman may already have a television home for the project: the same network that happened to air the Super Bowl he recently attended, Fox.
“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… 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,” Thompson, who is well connected in the pro wrestling industry, told Bischoff. “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 for Vince McMahon.”
If that sounds crazy to you, you’re not alone. Even Thompson admits that his initial reaction to the rumor was that it “doesn’t sound real” and that it “sounds like bulls**t.”
While it may just be dots, there are certainly connections in the media and political world that can’t be ignored. Although they are separated in the wake of the allegations against him, Vince McMahon’s wife Linda is the current Secretary of Education in Donald Trump’s cabinet. And Trump and Vince McMahon have had a relationship that goes back decades both on air with WWE programming and off. Finally, no circle of conservative power brokers is complete without Fox and the Murdoch family.
The more he thought about it, Thompson considered the strangeness of Vince McMahon attending the Super Bowl. And after connecting some more dots, the Something to Wrestle With co-host seemed to think there’s at least a chance that the rumor isn’t “bulls**t” after all.
“I say to myself, ‘Self, when is the last time I remember seeing Vince McMahon at 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 Fox? Because I think it was,'” Thompson said. “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?”
Conrad Thompson said he’s heard rumors about Vince McMahon potentially running a wrestling show on FOX!
– Vince is hiring a bunch of former WWE executives
– Vince’s people have had conversations with people who have experience shooting wrestling
– Fox is allegedly holding a spot… pic.twitter.com/Ainw8AJBTw— AIR (@AIRGold_) February 25, 2025
Thompson went on to note that while Fox seemingly exited the wrestling business following the expiration of WWE SmackDown‘s five-year run on the network last fall, the company did just make a deal to put a new WWE developmental show (WWE Evolve) on its Tubi streaming service. Factor in McMahon’s… let’s call it “boldness”… and the idea of him launching a pro wrestling promotion with a network he already has a preexisting relationship with might not seem all that far-fetched.
Of course, McMahon’s attendance at the Super Bowl — which has become as much of a networking event as a football game at this point — is hardly a guarantee that such a deal will come to fruition and there are several obstacles the 79-year-old would have to overcome to make it a reality. For one, he’s still the subject of a high profile civil lawsuit from a former WWE employee accusing him of sexual misconduct, including assault and trafficking. For another, it’s hard to fathom McMahon building a wrestling roster worthy of a national television show considering both his reputation and how much of the world’s top talent is currently under contract with WWE and AEW.
Ultimately, both Thompson and Bischoff said that they’ve heard the same rumors and have connected the same dots. Neither, however, can imagine the rumor — which has been floated before — becoming a reality
At this point, what do know is that since stepping down from TKO following the initial filing of the lawsuit in January 2024, Vince McMahon has reportedly been planning to launch his own production company, with at least some of his employees including ex-WWE staffers. What that company will look like — and whether or not it will be producing pro wrestling — remains to be seen.
