A new article for CNN.com, looking at pro wrestling ‘getting specific about politics’, claims that Warner Bros. Discovery has a minority stake in AEW. The article’s main focus is AEW and WWE being in a ‘politically shaded rivalry.’
Below the excerpt from the article with the minority ownership claim:
The embrace of contemporary issues is part of a larger, politically shaded rivalry playing out in the industry, between the 7-year-old AEW and the industry’s ruling juggernaut for generations, WWE (Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent corporation, owns a minority stake in AEW).
Since 2023, AEW head Tony Khan has never confirmed or denied if WBD has owned any stake in AEW. Khan would always say he owns 100% of the decision-making within AEW.
If WBD ownership is more than 10 percent, they would need to disclose it, as they would be considered a publicly traded company. It is not known if the majority stake was part of the latest media right deal between WBD and AEW. The other question is what would happen if AEW ended up with a new television partner, should WBD no renew their deal, or if WBD were to actually get acquired by Paramount.
Paramount has been in an embroiled battle with Netflix to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. Netflix’s offer only sees the streaming giant acquiring the WB Movie Studio, HBO Max and HBO, with the television entities being spun off into a separate entity. Paramount’s offer is purchase the entire company and have the television networks and HBO Max all under one roof.
On the politics side, the article mentions specifically how professional wrestling has always drawn on politics as a source of melodrama, giving an example of the time Sgt. Slaughter turned heel at the height of the Gulf War, where he became a Saddam Hussein sympathizer.
AEW has been the center of attention with the recent “F—” chants that took place before the match between Brody King and MJF. King wore an “ABOLISH ICE” T-Shirt last June at AEW’s Grand Slam Mexico event last June. It was reported by fans in attendance at AEW Grand Slam Australia, that “F— ICE” chants rang out during the title match between MJF and King. That show will air tonight on a tape delay at 8:00 pm ET on TNT and HBO Max.
The article also has comments from Eero Laine, a professor of theatre at the State University of New York at Buffalo who studies the history of professional wrestling. He said the anti-ICE from the AEW crowds, “are interesting in that they support a political stance associated with one of the wrestlers, but they are not necessarily directly related to what’s happening in the ring. And the chant is not part of the repertoire of standard wrestling chants.”